ABSTRACT
Since the 1990s there has been an overwhelming increase in the number of studies conducting research with children which has led to many discussions of appropriate ways to engage children in the research process (for example, Fraser et al., 2004; Lewis et al., 2004). In particular there has been a focus on ethics (Alderson and Morrow, 2004; Hill, 2005) and the extent to which doing research with children is the same or different to doing research with adults (Lewis and Lindsay, 2000; Punch, 2002a). It is now widely acknowledged that, as children have different competencies and interests, there is no one magic method to carrying out research with them (Boyden and Ennew, 1997; Christensen and James, 2000). Thus, some studies recommend a flexible multi-method approach (Punch, 2001; Clark, 2004) or the use of multiple techniques within one key method, such as employing a range of tools during interviewing (Morrow, 1998; Punch, 2002b; Hadfield et al., 2005).
