Ethical, informed consent is the foundation of a great design session with children or young people.
Before young participants join a design research session, they should be clear on what we’re doing and why, what we’re asking of them, how the session will work in practice, what their rights are, how we will use their data, and so on.
We need to make sure we are communicating this information in an age- and context-appropriate way. Most importantly, young participants need to feel empowered to opt in or out. They need to know that they don’t have to take part, that they don’t have to answer questions - and whatever they decide is OK.
Getting truly informed consent is a challenge
Consent forms are often too long, filled with jargon (like GDPR) and feel formal and ‘legal’, which can make young people feel pressurised.
Even the word consent can be problematic: when we asked our young people to define ‘consent,’ they told us it meant ‘telling someone yes, go ahead.’ The idea of being able to say no hadn’t come through clearly. We have to go out of our way to make sure they know that ‘no’ is an option.
Saying yes or no can raise difficult questions for young participants: 'Will you be angry at me if I say no? Will it change our relationship? Or make things harder for you? Am I letting other children down by not sharing?'
Young people have also told us that some of the things that matter most when deciding to participate aren’t usually in consent forms. For example, they were eager for more information about who they are going to be speaking to: 'Why should I come to share with them when they’ve shared nothing about themselves with me - even what they look like!'
Formal consent is an important part of the process, but it's only meaningful if it’s genuinely voluntary, informed and freely given.
Reinventing the consent form
We've rewritten our consent forms in child- and young-person friendly tone, language and format. We used simple visuals to break up and communicate key information, included pictures of our project team mates for better transparency and relationship building, and busted jargon wherever we could.
We’ve developed templates that are now the standard starting point in our work for formal consent gathering:
- an information sheet template for older learning ages setting out the project details and the main consent principles
- an information sheet templates for younger learning ages setting out the project details and the main consent principles
- a consent form template – the actual ‘sign here’ written documentation of consent
- an event announcement example – with enough information for a young person to make a decision, without being overwhelming
We always work through these materials in conversation with a young person, so we can answer questions, check their understanding and assent, and also emphasise the voluntary nature of getting involved. Just ‘sending and signing’ isn’t sufficient.
These templates need thoughtful and careful adaptation to fit your own use. You’ll need to ensure they faithfully mirror the details of your own design sessions, particularly in terms of the data gathered and how we will use it.