ABSTRACT
This case study describes how the Narrative Approach Informing Story was used in research involving 6 to 12-year-old children in youth care. The aim of the research was to describe how children experienced their own participation in youth care. The Informing Story was used to gain informed consent from children who could not be reached directly, but were informed about the study through either their parents/caregivers or youth care organisations that provided mobile, semi-residential or residential care. An Informing Story video was constructed to provide organisations, parents/caregivers and children with a standardised yet accessible tool that explicitly sought children’s consent to be interviewed by informing them about content and goals of the research project, and what it meant to be a participant in the research. The Informing Story allowed these persons to discuss research participation together, ask questions and indicate if the children wanted to take part in the research project. In situations where it is difficult to reach children directly for research, the Informing Story was found to be a promising tool to gain informed consent from children.
