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Using Spoken and Written Qualitative Methods to Explore Children's and Young People's Food and Eating Practices

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  • Wendy J. Wills

Abstract

Research examining children's and young people's food and eating practices has become more common place in recent years. Qualitative methods can be useful in such sense-making research, where an individual's narrative is likely to involve complexity, contradiction and ambiguity. Speaking and writing about food and eating can offer participants of all ages and most abilities the opportunity to delve into their own world of practice. Commonly used methods, like the individual interview and focus group, whilst suitable for studies of this kind, are not without their drawbacks. There are important ethical issues concerning children's privacy and their right not to reveal ‘too much’ to the researcher or their family. Innovative methods which deserve greater consideration include audio diaries, memory work/books, email interviews and interviews ‘on the move’. All offer the researcher the opportunity to build rapport with and collect narratives about food and eating from children and young people.

Suggested Citation

  • Wendy J. Wills, 2012. "Using Spoken and Written Qualitative Methods to Explore Children's and Young People's Food and Eating Practices," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 17(3), pages 114-123, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:17:y:2012:i:3:p:114-123
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.2670
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wendy Wills & Kathryn Backett-Milburn & Sue Gregory & Julia Lawton, 2008. "‘If the Food Looks Dodgy I Dinnae Eat It’: Teenagers’ Accounts of Food and Eating Practices in Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Families," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 13(1), pages 67-79, January.
    2. Backett-Milburn, Kathryn C. & Wills, Wendy J. & Gregory, Susan & Lawton, Julia, 2006. "Making sense of eating, weight and risk in the early teenage years: Views and concerns of parents in poorer socio-economic circumstances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 624-635, August.
    3. William Housley & Robin James Smith, 2010. "Innovation and Reduction in Contemporary Qualitative Methods: The Case of Conceptual Coupling, Activity-Type Pairs and Auto-Ethnography," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 15(4), pages 36-46, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hartmut Derler & Simon Berner & Daniela Grach & Alfred Posch & Ulrike Seebacher, 2019. "Project-Based Learning in a Transinstitutional Research Setting: Case Study on the Development of Sustainable Food Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.

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