Research involving vulnerable young people: a discussion of ethical and methodological concerns

The stimulus for this paper arose from some research that the author is involved with which required the participation of a range of young people, gaining their experiences and views on illicit drug use. Some of the young people involved in the research were living in areas of social and material deprivation and others were attending a pupil referral unit, they could collectively be described as 'vulnerable'. Working with these young people presented some particular ethical and methodological problems. It is the intention of this paper to explore some of those problems with a view to opening debate on some of the challenges that were presented during the research process. While it is not intended to discuss the findings of the study in this paper, some of the unique ways in which participants responded during the process will be discussed.