Representing Youth: Methodological Issues in Critical Youth Studies

From youth culture to adolescent sexuality to the consumer purchasing power of children en masse, studies are flourishing. Yet doing research on this unquestionably more vulnerable--whether five or fifteen--population also poses a unique set of challenges and dilemmas for researchers. How should a six-year-old be approached for an interview? What questions and topics are appropriate for twelve year olds? Do parents need to give their approval for all studies?
In Representing Youth, Amy L. Best has assembled an important group of essays from some of today's top scholars on the subject of youth that address these concerns head on, providing scholars with thoughtful and often practical answers to their many methodological concerns. These original essays range from how to conduct research on youth in ways that can be empowering for them, to issues of writing and representation, to respecting boundaries and to dealing with issues of risk and responsibility to those interviewed. For anyone doing research or working with children and young adults, Representing Youth offers an indispensable guide to many of the unique dilemmas that research with kids entails.
Contributors include: Amy L. Best, Sari Knopp Biklen, Elizabeth Chin, Susan Driver, Marc Flacks, Kathryn Gold Hadley, Madeline Leonard, C.J. Pascoe, Rebecca Raby, Alyssa Richman, Jessica Taft, Michael Ungar, Yvonne Vissing, and Stephani Etheridge Woodson.

Author: Amy L. Best
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 01/01/2007
Pages: 342
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 8.91h x 6.18w x 0.84d
ISBN: 9780814799536

About the Author
Amy L. Best is Professor of Sociology at George Mason University. She is the author of Fast-Food Kids: French Fries, Lunch Lines, and Social Ties, Fast Cars, Cool Rides: The Accelerating World of Youth and Their Cars, and the award-winning, Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture. She also edited Representing Youth: Methodological Issues in Critical Youth Studies