ABSTRACT
A growing interest in qualitative studies of children has led to a shift away from traditional methods such as experiments and hypothesis testing strategies. The identification of consistent trends and stages in children's development within social, family and educational contexts has provided the thrust for many studies, and has influenced the work reported by Odette Parry and by Lesley Pugsley, Amanda Coffey and Sara Delamont. The value of an empirical grasp of kids' culture, the transformation of traditional methods of professional investigation, and the radical implications of understanding for and with children, extend far beyond discipline boundaries. In their discussion of children's rights in AIDS research, M. Rotheram and C. Koopman point out that ethnographic research raises ethical tension between confidentiality and clinical concerns very acutely, because ethnographers are more likely to witness unacceptable or risky behaviour. The ethical issues created by ethnographic inquiry may find distinctive expression, but they are no less acute.
