Research with Refugee Children and Families: Ethical Dilemmas and Methodological Insights

Offers advice using first-hand experiences navigating the ethics of researching the well-being of refugees.

In the aftermath of the war in Syria, Canada and Germany welcomed thousands of refugees. Scholars in both countries conducted studies to learn how the refugee children and families were faring, and how local populations and non-governmental agencies were responding. This book presents researchers' accounts of responsible ethical conduct in complex situations such as these.

In this volume, contributors describe the challenges of data collection, analysis, and dissemination of findings. These include getting institutional and parental permissions to access children; ensuring privacy, comfort, and safety; and developing trusting relationships with those whose language, culture, and lived experiences are very different from their own. In doing this work, researchers can get caught between their obligations toward the refugee children and families, research ethics boards, service providers, and government agencies. This book offers advice on navigating these competing ethical obligations.

Research with Refugee Children and Families reveals ethical dilemmas, insights, and methodological innovations to build an effective framework for refugee research in various contexts.