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'I wanna tell you a story': Exploring the application of vignettes in qualitative research with children and young people
Abstract
Few methodological papers exist which examine the use of vignettes within qualitative research and more specifically, with children and young people. The paper will briefly discuss the application of vignettes within quantitative and qualitative research traditions derived from the available literature before outlining the major theoretical and methodological issues relating to the use of this technique in social research. Using empirical examples of young people's responses to a selected vignette, we then go on to explore the various benefits of vignettes that can ensue when employing this technique in isolation or as part of a multi-method approach. This discussion concludes with an exploration of how vignettes can be harnessed to engage young people, particularly in the discussion of sensitive topics, whilst enabling them to retain a high level of control over the research process.
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“Vignettes can be suitable to use when asking children to talk about sensitive topics (Barter & Renold, 2000; Hill, 2015).”
From “I Feel It In My Heart When My Parents Fight”: Experiences of 7–9-Year-Old Children of Alcoholics (2018) · cites this paper as Barter & Renold, 2000
In the citing paper
“It allows for young people's subjective definitions, meanings and experiences of cyberbullying to be brought to the fore (Barter & Renold, 2000;Mishna, 2004).”
From Young people’s conceptualizations of the nature of cyberbullying: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research (2020) · cites this paper as Barter & Renold, 2000
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“…are short, hypothetical scenarios that allow participants to respond to plausible and contextually relevant situations, making them a useful tool for exploring attitudes, values, and reasoning in relation to complex social practices (Barter and Renold, 2000; Burstin et al., 1980; Hughes, 1998).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Barter, C., & Renold, E.
- Venue
- International Journal of Social Research Methodology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2000-01
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 307-323
- ISSN
- 1364-5579 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-5300
- OpenAlex
- W2046503950
- Cited by
- 543
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 38 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 31 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 6.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Social Research Methodology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Children's Rights and Participation
- Keywords
- vignettes, children and young people, qualitative research with children, research engagement, sensitive topics, multi-method research, research ethics with children
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