Adults’ ad hoc practices in interviews with children - Ethical considerations in the context of adultness and generational ordering

Abstract

The paper reflects on researchers’ adultness in the context of two central motifs that accompany interview research with children, “ascertaining children’s perspectives” and “meeting research objectives (the researcher’s objectives)”. Sequential re-analysis of conflictual interview sequences reveals “ad hoc practices” in which researchers (re)produce adultness and generational orders. Reflection on such practices in connection with ‘turning points’ in adult actions may assist in fine-tuning the appositeness in the approach to interviews with children and helping researchers advance their individual research skills.