Focus Groupssss

NYU Press
New Village Press
Chapter Title: Interviews, Focus Groups, and Surveys
Book Title: Placemaking with Children and Youth

Book Subtitle: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities
Book Author(s): Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla and Mara Mintzer
Published by: NYU Press; New Village Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/j.ctvwrm51q.15
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6
“Every individual matters. Every individual
has a role to play.” 1
A Interviews,
rticle 13 of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child includes the “freedom to
seek, receive and impart information
and ideas of all kinds . . . either orally, in writing Focus Groups,
or in print, in the form of art, or through any
other media of the child’s choice.”2 Interviews, and Surveys
focus groups and surveys are all methods that
adults can use to gather information from chil-
dren and youth, and they are equally methods
for young people to gather information from
others. We hope that you will apply the methods
in this chapter to understand how children use
and value their communities as a foundation for
participatory design and planning that is sensi-
tive to young people needs. We also offer these
tools as a way for young people to carry out their how you shared their information and how it
own investigations of the places where they live. was received and applied.
Some of the methods in this chapter are This chapter focuses on methods that in-
used by professional researchers to gather infor- volve asking people direct questions, one-on-one
mation from a community for the use of distant or in group settings:
decision-makers, such as interviews and surveys
• Interviews
to understand what community residents think
about an issue or how they act. Conducted with • Focus groups and other group discussions
children, research of this kind can enable them • Photo elicitation
to impart important information, for example, • Activity diaries
their level of mobility or their access to parks. If
• Surveys and questionnaires
children simply answer adult questions, however,
• Visual preference surveys
it is not likely to do much to develop their skills
as citizens. Enabling young people to understand Each section describes the method’s pur-
how their city works and contribute their ideas pose, gives directions for how to apply it, and
and agency is the purpose of this book. Therefore offers examples in practice.
if you use methods in this chapter primarily as These methods range from loosely struc-
a form of consultation, it is important that you tured discussions and informal conversations,
report back to your young respondents about on one side, to highly structured interviews,
1. Jane Goodall, With Love, (Vienna, VA: Jane Goodall Insti-
surveys and questionnaires on the other. An ex-
tute, 1994), back matter. tended formal community study often proceeds
2. UNICEF, “Convention on the Rights of the Child.” from informal conversations and unstructured
UNICEF.org. http://www.unicef.org/crc. (Retrieved June interviews, as a way to begin to understand a
30, 2017).
115

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116 Placemaking with Children and Youth
community’s history and issues, to semi-struc- were also a core method of the urban planners
tured interviews that focus on selected topics, and designers Kevin Lynch and Robin Moore
to structured interviews to find out how many and the geographer Roger Hart as they studied
members of the community think or act in cer- how children used and valued environments in
tain ways. Whereas it takes considerable time up the 1970s and 1980s;5 and they remain a staple
front to design highly structured tools, the re- part of ethnographic research with children.6
sults of less-structured, open-ended approaches They are central to the Mosaic Approach that
may take more time to analyze. Although some Alison Clark and Peter Moss developed to hear
of the methods in this chapter may require ex- the views of children under five.7 Although in-
tensive time and expertise, they can provide terviews began as a way for adults to understand
essential information for policies, programs, children’s worlds, children themselves can suc-
and plans that seek to advance the goal of child- cessfully learn to use interviews to gather in-
friendly cities. Other methods in this chapter can formation from their families, other children,
be applied with little preparation and still yield community members, and experts on the envi-
useful insights. ronment.8 Therefore this section includes both
If you decide to import any of the interview methods for adults to use with children and for
questions or survey measures in this chapter into children to use with others.
another language, make sure the translation is Interviews are generally categorized ac-
culturally appropriate. In her action research cording to the amount of structure given to the
with South African children from different tribal questions:9
groups, Jill Kruger looks for translators who work
with children and who know how to find words
that will be familiar and comfortable for adults
5. Roger Hart, Children’s Experience of Place (New York:
and children alike. She then has this first transla- Irvington Publishers, 1979); Kevin Lynch, ed. Growing Up
tion back-translated into the original language, as in Cities. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1979); Robin Moore,
a way to identify words and phrases that should Childhood’s Domain (London: Croom Helm, 1986).
be re-examined. A third translator reviews these 6. See, for example: Louise Chawla, ed. Growing Up in an
Urbanising World (London: Earthscan Publications, 2002);
places in the text to determine where changes Victoria Derr, “Children’s sense of place in northern New
should be made.3 Mexico.” Journal of Environmental Psychology 22, no. 1
(2002): 125–137; Angela Kreutz, Children and the Envi-
ronment in an Australian Indigenous Community (London:
Routledge, 2015).
7. Alison Clark, “The mosaic approach and research with
Interviews young children,” in The Reality of Research with Children and
Interviews with children to understand how they Young People, ed. V. Lewis, M. Kellett, C. Robinson, S. Fraser
and S. Ding. (London: Sage Publications, 2004), 142–161;
use and value their environment have a long his-
Alison Clark, “The mosaic approach,” in Steps for Engag-
tory. In pioneering work in the city of Hamburg, ing Young Children in Research, Volume 2: The Researcher’s
Germany in the 1920s and early 1930s, the child Toolkit, ed. Vicky Johnson, Roger Hart and Jennifer Col-
psychologist Martha Muchow and her students well. (Brighton, UK: Education Research Centre, University
of Brighton, 2014), 143–146. Available at https://bernard
interviewed children as they traced their path-
vanleer.org/publications-reports/steps-engaging-young
ways through their city on maps.4 Interviews -children-research-volume-2-researcher-toolkit/. (Retrieved
December 5, 2017).
3. Jill Kruger, personal communication with Louise Chawla, 8. Mary Kellett, How to Develop Children as Researchers
16 July 2017. (London: Paul Chapman Publishing, 2005).
4. Günter Mey and Hartmut Günther, eds., The Life Space of 9. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Qualitative Research
the Urban Child: Perspectives on Martha Muchow’s Classic Guidelines Project, available at www.qualres.org/Home
Study (New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2015). Info-3631.html. (Retrieved December 5, 2017).

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
Interviews, Focus Groups, and Surveys 117
• Structured interviews consist of precisely There is also a place for informal conversa-
worded questions arranged in a fixed tions when a researcher or community develop-
order, which are always asked in the same ment professional observes a social setting and
way. They are typically composed of closed talks with people there. The interviewer partic-
questions that require respondents to ipates, but lets the respondent take the lead. In
choose among predetermined answers the Growing Up in Cities project initiated by the
(such as “yes”or “no”), though they may urban planner Kevin Lynch, conversations like
include open questions (such as “Do you this were part of the initial phase of “hanging
have anything else you want to say about out” at a site, when program leaders were trying
this subject?”). They work well when the to understand how a locality functioned and
goal is to generate quantitative data, such find partners who shared their goals for creating
as the percentage of people who believe or supportive spaces for children.10
act in certain ways. This was the approach Regardless of the type of interview you use,
teens in Boulder, Colorado, adopted when you are likely to move through the following
they interviewed local business owners steps.11 Work through these steps in a team, such
and managers about their views of teens as staff from your organization or an advisory
as customers and employees (Box 6.7). group. For advisors, you may want to include
• Semi-structured interviews follow an project partners, members of the community,
interview guide that groups similar young people similar to those you seek to reach,
questions together, but the interviewer and someone who has experience in design-
can use the guide in different ways with ing and conducting interviews.
different respondents. It provides for flex-
• Identify the goals and purpose of the
ibility in the order of the questions and interview. What do you want to know?
allows follow-up questions, and it gives Who has this information? How will you
respondents freedom to introduce unex- use this information once you have it?
pected ideas. Semi-structured interviews
may include closed questions, but open • Determine the means of collecting
information. Possibilities include face-
questions typically form its core. “Expert
to-face interviews, video conferencing,
interviews” often follow this approach,
chat rooms, email, recorded videos, and
when either a child or adult interviews
telephone. The means of collecting infor-
someone with special expertise, such as a
mation that you choose will influence the
community leader or urban planner. In the
type of questions you can ask.
Monterey service-learning project featured
in Chapter 7 (Box 7.6), students used a • Determine the type of interviews.
semi-structured format for their expert Will structured, semi-structured, or
interviews (Box 6.8). unstructured interviews best serve your
purpose?
• Unstructured interviews have a prede-
termined focus and goal, but questions • Develop questions. See the description of
can be asked in any order. Questions are this process in the following section.
typically open-ended, and respondents are
free to take a topic into areas that the in- 10. David Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and
terviewer may not have anticipated. Given Youth: A Practical Manual (London: Earthscan Publications,
2002), 99–101.
its conversational style, an unstructured
11. A useful guide through key steps is William Gibson and
interview may extend across multiple ses- Andrew Brown, Working with Qualitative Data. (Thousand
sions. Oral histories fall into this category. Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009).

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Box 6.1. Tips for Successful Interviews
• Find a setting that is free from distractions, • If anyone says they would rather not an-
with comfortable places to sit. swer a question, accept this choice politely.
• Explain why the information that the par- • How something is said can be as import-
ticipant provides is valuable and how it will ant as what is said. Note when someone’s
be used. body language, facial expressions, and
mood convey messages.
• Get the participant’s consent to proceed.
• If you want to use an audio recorder or • Be respectful. Other people’s views may be
video camera, get the person’s permission different from yours, but you are there to
for the recording. learn from them, not judge them.
• Show that you are listening carefully and • Put the person at ease by appearing
that you care about what the person is friendly and accepting.
saying. • Avoid interrupting.
• Ask questions slowly and clearly and give • If you need to clarify a point, wait until
the respondent unhurried time to answer. there is a natural pause.
• Avoid leading questions that imply that • Thank your respondents in the end. Ask if
you expect a particular answer. they have anything they want to add.
• Ask follow-up questions when someone’s

answer is unclear or it opens an important
line of inquiry.
• If you are interviewing adults or older • Determine recommendations for action.

youth, determine how you will introduce • Disseminate the results. See Chapter 9 for
yourself and gain consent. If you are inter- suggestions for this step.
viewing children under 18, have processes
in place to gain a parent’s consent and the Some general rules for conducting success-
child’s informed assent. (See Chapter 3.) ful interviews that hold across all categories and
ages are listed in Box 6.1.12
• Pilot the interview. Test the interview The following section describes interviews
with others similar to your target group.
with children conducted by adults. Subsequent
Revise it and pilot it again if necessary.
sections feature interviews with adults about
• Conduct the interviews. children’s lives, followed by interviews that chil-
• Analyze and present the results. Whereas dren and youth design and lead.
structured interviews and closed questions
lend themselves to quantitative analysis,
less-structured interviews and open-ended 12. These recommendations are adapted from Driskell, Crea-
questions yield general themes about a ting Better Cities with Children and Youth; Matthew Kaplan,
subject, as well as factual information such Side by Side (Berkeley, CA: MIG Communications, 1994);
Kellett, How to Develop Children as Researchers; Perpetua
as the history of a place. For more detail
Kirby, Involving Young Researchers: How to Enable Young
about generating themes and analyzing People to Design and Conduct Research (Layerthorpe, UK:
information, see Chapter 9. York Publishing Services, 1999).

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Adults Interviewing Children and established trust with the interviewer, and
general themes in children’s experience of their
In his guide to interviewing children about their
communities became apparent. With a subset of
community, David Driskell observed that un-
16 children, Derr went on walking interviews,
structured, semi-structured, and structured in-
when the children showed her special places and
terviews have their place at different points in a
described their use and importance. By the time
participatory process.13 Unstructured interviews
the children led walks, they were comfortable
and informal conversations are a good way to
with the adult researcher and had developed a
get to know children, establish rapport early in
sense of ownership over the project in their de-
a project, and begin to learn about local issues.
sire to highlight many diverse places.
Semi-structured interviews enable you to inves-
Some children may be hesitant to speak
tigate children’s experience in their locality with
freely during interviews, for many reasons. In
more depth and detail. Because semi-structured
collectivist cultures that emphasize values of
interviews contain open-ended questions and
group harmony and conformity rather than in-
follow-up questions, they take considerable time
dividual ideas and achievement, being asked
to conduct and analyze. Therefore they usually
about personal experiences and ideas may put
involve a small pool of children, who should
a child in an uncomfortable position.18 In cul-
be carefully chosen to represent the commu-
tures where children are expected to always show
nity groups whose lives you want to understand.
respect and obedience to adults, asking them
When Kevin Lynch initiated Growing Up in Cit-
to critically evaluate environments that adults
ies, he recommended working with 20 children,
created and suggest alternatives may violate in-
divided between boys and girls.14 When his pro-
ternalized norms. Some children have little prac-
gram was revived in the 1990s, interview num-
tice articulating their own ideas, and some feel
bers at most sites ranged from about 20 to 40
shy speaking with strangers. Some have trouble
children.15 When people need larger numbers in
sitting still for long. For these reasons, many of
order to talk about community issues with more
the variations described in this section represent
authority, they turn to structured interviews and
ways to put children at ease.
surveys.
The list of “Tips for Successful Interviews”
Driskell notes that late in a participatory
in Box 6.1 applies to interviews with all ages.
process, it can be useful to return to unstruc-
Additional considerations become important
tured interviews or informal conversations to
when you work with children (Box 6.2).19 These
explore issues more deeply.16 One way to do this,
points are developed further in the following
he suggests, is through “walking interviews” or
description of the interview process.
guided tours led by young people (described
in Chapter 7). In her research with 89 children
Drafting and piloting
aged 10–11 in northern New Mexico, Victoria
the interview instrument
Derr used this approach.17 Children began by
Once you have decided what you need to know,
making maps that they then talked about in in-
with whom you need to talk, and the type of
terviews. In this process children built rapport
18. Harry C. Triandis, New Directions in Social Psychology:
13. Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth, Individualism and Collectivism (Boulder, CO: Westview
103–114. Press, 1995).
14. Lynch, Growing Up in Cities, 85. 19. These recommendations are adapted from Jo Boyden
15. Chawla, Growing Up in an Urbanising World. and Judith Ennew, Youth in Focus (Stockholm: Save the Chil-
16. Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth, dren Sweden, 1997), 83–96; Driskell, Creating Better Cities
108. with Children and Youth, 112–113; Kirby, Involving Young
17. Derr, “Children’s sense of place in northern New Mexico.” Researchers.

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Box 6.2. Tips for Interviewing Children
• Have young people review questions to • More than one adult interviewer can be
ensure that they are written in words that intimidating, so avoid this.
others their age use and understand.
• If a child often uses the environment in the
• Consider the value of visual prompts. company of a sibling or close friend, con-
sider interviewing them together.
• Children often have limited mobility.
Schedule the interviews in a place that • A shy child may feel more comfortable
they can easily reach, where they feel sharing an interview with a friend.
at ease.
• Explain confidentiality in simple words that
• Always sit at the same level as the child. children at each age can understand.
• Take time to develop trust before begin- • Make sure children know they are free to
ning interviews. decline a question or withdraw from the
interview at any time without negative
• The interviewer needs to be fluent in the
child’s language and sensitive to the child’s consequences.
culture. • Let children know how the information
will be used.
• Pair children with interviewers with whom
they feel comfortable.
interview that will best serve your purpose, work Make sure the length of the interview is ap-
with others in developing questions. Bring your propriate for the time available and young peo-
staff or advisory group together to identify in- ple’s ability to sit still and pay attention. If it is too
terview topics and brainstorm an initial range long, drop questions, divide it into two sessions,
of questions. Select questions that are most likely or see if you can gather some of the information
to provide the information you need. Assemble through other methods.
them in a logical order, beginning with straight- Format the final instrument so that it is easy
forward questions such as where young people to read and follow. Leave enough space for notes
live and go to school. Group similar ideas. Revise after each question. Add instructions as needed.
or drop any questions that people find confus- When you need to be able to guarantee confi-
ing or unclear. For suggested topics and ques- dentiality, use a reference number rather than a
tions to explore young people’s relationship with child’s name on the interview form. See a sample
their community, see Boxes 6.3, 6.4, and 6.15. interview in Form 6.1.
Have some young people review the draft
instrument and check how questions are worded Using prompts
to make sure they reflect the way people their age In all of the early approaches to interviewing
talk and that they appear relevant to young peo- children about their community, the interview
ple’s lives. Pilot the draft with young people simi- focused on some visual prompt that the inter-
lar to those you seek to reach, and ask them about viewer and child discussed together, rather than
their experience and whether any questions could making the person interviewed the center of
have been asked differently. Video-record the attention. This made it more like a conversation
pilot or have someone take notes, and critique it about something of shared interest and less like
with your project team. Make adjustments. a “test” of the child’s information. In Martha

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Community Places Interview
Name of Person Conducting Interview

Reference # for Child Interviewed Date
Child’s Gender Child’s Age
A. Introduction: Introduce yourself and explain that you want to learn about places that young people know and
use in their community and how they feel about these places. Explain that the interview will take about 30-40
minutes. Review all assent procedures.
B. Interview: Begin by presenting a map of the community. Identify landmarks with the child to make sure he or
she can read and understand the map. Then work through the series of prompts below. Use this form to record
the basic coordinates and any supporting comments or information to help understand the map notations.
1. Find your home on this map. Write “my home” on the spot where your home is located.
2. Find your school on the map. Write “my school” on this location.
3. In each direction of the map, mark the farthest places where you go on your own or with friends,
brothers or sisters. If the place is off the map, draw an arrow toward this location, and write the name of
the place.
4. Which places do you go to most often? How often do you go to each of these places in a week?
Form 6.1. A Sample Community Interview Template.
Muchow’s research in Hamburg in the 1920s, terviewed children in a Vermont town in the
the prompt was a map of the child’s district and 1970s, he showed them aerial photos of different
surrounding part of the city, as she asked each parts of town and asked each child to tell him “as
child to mark her home, her school, places where much as you can about the places on this pho-
she frequently went, and then to “color all streets tograph, and name any places you can.”21 In the
and public places blue that you know very well, Growing Up in Cities program that Kevin Lynch
where you play often, that you pass often, and introduced in the 1970s and that was revived
that you can visualize when you close your eyes.” in the 1990s, children were interviewed about
When this was done, she asked each child to a drawing or map that they made of “the area
color the streets red that “you have passed, but where you live.”22 In all cases, the map, drawing,
you don’t know as well.”20 When Roger Hart in- or aerial photographs were the interview focus.
21. Hart, Children’s Experience of Place, 108.
20. Mey and Günther, The Life Space of the Urban Child, 66. 22. Lynch, Growing Up in Cities, 89.

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
Jo Boyden and Judith Ennew also recom- they prefer to talk with adults or others their
mend using drawings, cartoons, photographs of age.24 No one else is likely to know their peer
community activities or events, or segments culture and language as well, or be as well pre-
of films or videos as prompts for interviews about pared to understand how participants feel in
community issues.23 They note that pictures of local settings or difficult situations. On the other
difficult issues, such as a small boy confronted hand, respondents may be more reluctant to dis-
by a bully, can encourage children to talk about close their feelings when the peer interviewer is
topics they might not bring up on their own. It someone they know and will continue to see, or
enables them to talk about a problem in a gen- when the interviewer belongs to a different social
eral way rather than exposing their own pain or group from their own. Young people may also be
embarrassment. reluctant to share information that they assume
Photographs and videos of places can be the peer interviewer already knows. In this case,
especially useful for engaging children with dis- they may explain themselves more fully to out-
abilities in discussing how places function for siders who don’t have the same local knowledge.
them, as the images can show physical details of
the environment that affect mobility. In a project Practicing interview skills
in Ontario, Canada, children with physical dis- Moving through questions in a balanced way in
abilities took photographs and used GPS devices the time available, while making respondents feel
(Global Positioning System technologies) to gen- at ease and unrushed, takes practice. Rehearse an
erate maps of the places where they traveled. interview with people similar to your intended
The photographs and maps were then used as respondents. Video-record or audio-record it
prompts for them to discuss mobility issues in and play it back, making your own observa-
interviews. (See Box 6.18 in this chapter and Box tions and inviting others you trust to critique the
7.17 in Chapter 7.) session, identify its strengths, and recommend
how it could be improved. Have novice inter-
Finding the right interviewers viewers accompany a more experienced person
Because successful interviews depend on a com- a few times, and then have the more experienced
fortable relationship of trust, members of a local person join them for the first few sessions that
organization who already know the children and they lead.
their families may form the most appropriate
interviewers. Or children may learn to interview Finding the right setting and schedule
each other, and after discussing what constitutes Find a neighborhood setting where children
a successful interview, decide who has the skills, feel comfortable and you can have a quiet, un-
interest and good rapport with others to do this disturbed place. This could be inside, like an
well. In some cultures, it may only be appropriate after-school program or youth center, or outside
for children to be interviewed by someone of the in a corner of a public place. Have comfortable
same sex. When there are several interviewers on seating that is appropriate to the child’s culture,
a team, see whom children gravitate to and with whether it be chairs, benches, cushions, the floor
whom they already appear comfortable. or the ground, where you can be on the same
As the following section of this chapter level. If you are at a table, sit side by side—do
shows, young people as well as adults can mas- not have the table between you.
ter the skill of interviewing. If children or youth Children in low-income communities may
are members of your interview team, then you work long hours, doing chores or work for pay,
can ask the young people you interview whether
23. Boyden and Ennew, Children in Focus. 24. Kirby, Involving Young Researchers, 20-22.

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with little time for recreation. When you inter- • Sit at the child’s level, whether the child is
view working children, they may be taking time comfortable in a chair or on the floor.
away from work to talk with you—which raises • Begin by explaining who you are and the
the question of compensation. 25 People who purpose of the interview, using simple
know the local culture well may be able to ad- language.
vise you in this case. You may want to pay the
• Using simple language that the child can
equivalent of their lost earnings, but if it gives
understand, ask for the child’s consent to
the children pride to feel that they are helping
be interviewed and explain that anything
you, then a small but useful gift may be more
shared will be kept confidential.
appreciated.
• If you plan to audio-record or video-record
Conducting interviews with children the interview, get the child’s consent.
• Starting with a drawing, song, or game
Ages. 3 and up
can help a child feel relaxed and happy to
participate.
Materials. interview schedule, printed on paper
or on an iPad; if you are recording on paper, a • Don’t rush. Give children time to formu-
pen or pencil and clipboard or other writing sur- late their thoughts.
face; audio recorder or video camera (optional); • If any question makes a child appear un-
prompts (optional but recommended). comfortable or distressed, never pressure
the child to continue. If the child appears
Time to Complete. Typically 30 minutes to an able to manage painful emotions and
hour. wants to go on, be sympathetic.
In her work with young children under age 5, • If you suspect children are not telling the
truth, don’t get angry. Try to understand
Clark found that even 3-year-olds could sit
their reasons.
through an interview of 14 open-ended ques-
tions, if it was about their daily activities, but it • Break up a session if you notice signs of
was most productive to use a “mosaic” of differ- restlessness. After taking time for a song,
ent methods including “walking interviews” or dance, or playful stretching, children may
child-led tours and child-taken photographs.26 By be ready to resume. If not, pick up the rest
age 7 or 8, most children can remain engaged in of the interview on another day.
an interview for 45 minutes, and older children • Thank children for their participation, and
and youth even longer. Beyond 45 minutes, if you ask them how they experienced the inter-
have more material to cover, schedule breaks for view. Tell them how the information that
movement, games, and snacks, or schedule more they shared will be used.
than one session.
As you work through the interview, keep the Even if you recorded an interview, it is a
following points in mind: good idea to keep basic notes, using the child’s
own words as much as possible. This also shows
• Make sure children are not too hungry or the participant that you find their ideas import-
too tired to engage with you. All children ant. Expand your notes as soon as the interview
may appreciate beginning with juice or a is over. If you recorded the interview, note where
snack. there were points when the child said something
that appeared particularly significant, where you
25. Boyden and Ennew, Children in Focus, 88-89.
26. Clark, “The mosaic approach and research with young might want to play the audio recording or video
children.” back to get the child’s exact words. Identify when

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
Box 6.3. Growing Up in Cities Interviews
W hen the Growing Up in Cities program

that was initially conceived by the urban
designer Kevin Lynch in the 1970s was revived
in the 1990s, it involved children aged 10–15 in
low-income urban areas around the world. In-
terviews provided a window into young people’s
lives and how they used and evaluated their en-
Figure 6.1. In the Growing Up in Cities program,
vironments. An initial one-on-one interview with
interviewers asked children to talk about maps,
each child, lasting about an hour, began with ba- drawings, and activity diaries that they created.
sic information about where they lived and went At a program site in India, a staff member from
to school. Each child was then asked, “Would a local organization interviews a boy about how
he uses and experiences his local environment.
you please make a drawing or map of the area
Photo credit: David Driskell.
around where you live, and show me whatever
you know in it.” (For more information on elicit- Are there places where you feel uncomfort-
ing sketch maps, see Chapter 7.) Using the map able, like an outsider? Which places?
or drawing as a prompt, children were then asked Why do you feel like an outsider there?
about places that they knew and used in their Because the program was introduced in differ-
area, special places, problem places, and whether ent countries with diverse cultures, a second in-
they felt a sense of ownership or control over any terview explored children’s daily schedules and
places. (See Figure 6.1.) family networks—aspects of their lives that af-
For each place that a child used, questions in- fected their use of their locality. It concluded with
cluded: questions about their perceptions of change and
What do you do there? aspirations for the future:
Do you go there alone or with others? Has this area where you lived changed in
your memory?
What do you like or not like there?
Has it gotten better or worse? Why?
What would you change in this place if you
could? If you could travel into the future, what
do you think this place would be like in
Other key questions included:
ten years?
Of all these places, which are the most
If you could make changes in your place,
special to you or your favorite?
what would they be?
Are there places in your area where you
Ten years from now, where would you like
don’t like to go? Why don’t you like it?
to live?
Are there places where you aren’t allowed
When Growing Up in Cities was initiated in
to go? Who forbids you? What are their
the 1970s, and again in the 1990s, interviews
reasons?
provided essential information about children’s
Are there dangerous places in your area?
experiences.1
What makes them dangerous?
1. For a complete guide to the interviews, see Chawla,
Are there any places where you feel as if you
Growing Up in an Urbanising World, 245–247. These
own them? Which places? Why do you feel questions and others are also shared by Driskell, Crea-
as if they are yours? ting Better Cities with Children and Youth, 110–111.

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a question appeared especially meaningful for a Variation:

child, or when a child appeared uncertain about a Interviews with Puppets
question or uncomfortable. Add your reflections.
Puppets can make an engaging medium for
children to speak through. Young children are
likely to be familiar with expressing themselves
Box 6.4. Children’s Views this way, which can be playful and serious at the
about Friendly Places same time. It shifts attention from the child to
the puppet, which can be liberating for a shy
W hen Samira Ramezani and Ismail Said

wanted to understand children’s feel-
ings for public places in a rapidly modernizing
child or in cultures where children are expected
to be seen but not heard. The puppets can be as
simple as a cut-out glued to a Popsicle stick, or a
district of Shiraz, Iran, they walked through
set of plastic “eyes” sewn on a sock. Given time
the district during summer holidays and asked
and resources, identifying and constructing the
children they met if they would be willing to
puppet characters can be an extended activity.
participate in an interview.1 In this way they
Puppets can invite children to project them-
conducted 106 interviews with boys and girls
selves into someone different from themselves to
ages 6 to 12. Using the six dimensions of
imagine how the environment appears from this
child-friendly places that Sudeshna Chatterjee
perspective, for example, how a child who works
derived from her research with children,2 they
on the street experiences the street, or how a
asked each child to nominate one place in the
child in a wheelchair navigates a public plaza. In
district under each category:
this case, puppets lend themselves to drama and
• a place that you respect and care for role play (Chapter 5). When the goal is to gather
information about a child’s personal experience
• a place with which you have
meaningful exchanges of the environment, puppets should be similar to
the child, or children should be invited to create
• a place that you learn from
their own alias. (See Box 6.5: Puppet Friends.)
• a place that you consider your own
territory, that you can create and
control Adults Interviewing
• a secret place Other Adults about Children
• a place where you can freely express When Kevin Lynch initiated the Growing Up in
yourself Cities program, core methods included inter-
views with city officials whose decisions directly
Many places that children nominated fell
affected the quality of children’s environments,
into more than one category. The interviews
such as urban planners and designers, engineers,
showed the value of small places in children’s
park managers, and political leaders.27 The in-
home precincts as well as public parks with
terviews served two functions: gathering infor-
nature and diverse activity settings.
mation about how decisions were made, and
1. Samira Ramezani and Ismail Said, “Children’s discussing connections between children’s needs
nominations of friendly places in an urban neigh- and urban policies. Ever since Growing Up Boul-
bourhood in Shiraz, Iran.” Children’s Geographies der was created as a variation of the Growing Up
11, no. 1 (2013): 7–27.
in Cities program, conversations with city staff
2. Sudeshna Chatterjee, “Children’s friendship with
place.” Children, Youth and Environments 15, no.1 have been an essential starting point for each
(2005): 1–26.
27. Lynch, Growing Up in Cities, 55-56, 77-78, 85, 104.

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Box 6.5. Puppet Friends
T he Phila Impilo! project in South Africa works

with children in long-term care in hospitals
and other care settings. It seeks to understand
children’s hopes and fears in these settings and
sources of distress and resilience, sensitive sub-
jects that children may not feel comfortable re-
vealing. Rather than asking these children to talk
about themselves directly, each child was given
an opportunity to create a puppet “friend” to Figure 6.2. By speaking through their puppets,
talk through. Colorful socks, buttons, and plastic children in the Phila Impilo! project were able to
eyes were spread on a table to choose from, and express their experiences in hospitals and other
facilitators helped the children sew on the but- settings for long-term care. Photo credit: Julie
Manegold
tons and glue the adhesive eyes on top. The chil-
dren were asked to name their puppets, and the were able to talk about their owners in caring
discussions that followed showed how strongly ways. The children kept their puppets among
the children felt about their new friends. As they their personal belongings, and sometimes went
acted out conversations with their puppets, they to bed with them for comfort.
were able to confide their thoughts and feel- For a profile of the Phila Impilo program, see
ings about hospital experiences, and the puppets Chapter 11.
project. As a rule, if you want your project to that would encourage them to give their children
result in changes to city programs and places, more freedom. Because children may tell you
it is important to talk with key decision-makers about places that they keep secret from their par-
during the planning stage and revisit them later ents, be careful not to share information without
to discuss potential responses as young people a child’s permission.
express their experiences and ideas.28 (See also Interviews with parents, other community
the section on “Key Informant Interviews” in members, and city leaders about their childhood
Chapter 4.) memories of city life and changes for children
If you are working with young children who since that time can have the effect of rallying
may not know the names and locations of places support for changes to improve the quality of
in their lives, interviews with parents may also contemporary children’s lives. This has been the
be important. They also provide an opportunity result of the play maps collected for four gener-
for you to present your project and gain parents’ ations in Tokyo, Japan (Box 7.16). Oral histories
support. Parents can explain reasons for their in Louisville, Kentucky, (Box 5.3) also vividly
rules that govern children’s use of the environ- showed the loss of former community places that
ment, and suggest changes in the environment once offered children play quality, adventure,
and social and environmental learning, as well as
28. Louise Chawla, Natasha Blanchet-Cohen, Nilda Cosco,
the continued significance of other places. Chil-
David Driskell, Jill Kruger, Karen Malone, Robin Moore
and Barry Percy-Smith, “Don’t just listen—Do something!” dren themselves may become expert collectors
Children, Youth and Environments 15, no. 2 (2005): 53–88. of oral histories, as the following section shows.

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Children and Youth Interviewing They may also watch films of different types of
Adults and Other Young People interviews and practice different ways of word-
ing questions on each other. Practice sessions
Over and over again, we have seen that when should be video-recorded or audio-recorded and
young people are asked to think about the design played back so that young people can hear what
of public spaces, they consider the needs of other worked well and what they would do differently
groups in addition to themselves. By interview- in the future.
ing community adults, they can open dialogues Young people may begin by accompanying
about shared values, potential conflicts, and how seasoned interviewers (adults or skilled youth)
different generations can respect each other’s to observe, listen, and begin to co-interview.30
needs and contributions to city life. This can be Roger Hart noted that carrying equipment like a
a powerful way for young people to understand clipboard and audio recorder is not just practical,
that different people can have very different ideas it conveys young researchers’ credentials and
about the same place. Through interviews with gives them confidence in their role.31
city leaders and decision makers, they can gather Before young people set out, they need to
information about current policies, how their practice courteous ways of introducing them-
own ideas are viewed, how decisions are made, selves, addressing an older person, and showing
and potential partners to help them advance their appreciation in the end. In some cultures, con-
ideas. When they interview other young people ventions for greeting, parting and asking ques-
their age, they bring an insider’s understanding of tions vary depending on a person’s age, sex, and
their peer culture and local environment. social position. Although some young people
All of the considerations for adults inter- may be well schooled in these courtesies, it can-
viewing young people, reviewed in the preceding not be assumed, especially in this age when many
section, also apply to young people interviewing interactions with other people occur through
others their age. Young people too should work social media rather than face-to-face.
in a team to determine the information that they Young people often feel more at ease in-
need to collect and with whom they need to talk, terviewing adults in pairs or small groups. In
brainstorm questions, create a draft instrument, this way one person can serve as the recorder
plan how they will introduce themselves and while another asks questions or thinks about fol-
record sessions, pilot the draft instrument and low-up questions. Sometimes an adult may also
make revisions, and find a comfortable setting feel more comfortable if they have a companion
that will put their respondents at ease. with them, because being interviewed by a child
Like adults, young people need training and or adolescent may be a new experience for them
practice to develop their interview skills. They and they may not be sure what to expect.
may need help developing initial questions. What Sometimes one good question is enough for
do they know about this topic? What are their an interview. This was the case in the Great Public
own views? What do they need to learn? Who Places interview that high school students shared
can best provide this information? What type of with family members, described in Box 6.6. An
interview will serve them best? Mary Kellett rec- interview with family members is a good way for
ommends passing out transcripts of structured,
semi-structured, and unstructured interviews for 30. For more suggestions and activities for training young
young people to read and discuss, where they can people as interviewers, see Lea Esterhuizen, Child Led Data
Collection. (Stockholm: Save the Children Sweden), https://
see how different types of questions are used.29
resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/5901/pdf/5901.pdf.
(Retrieved January 3, 2018).
29. Mary Kellett, How to Develop Children as Researchers. 31. Roger Hart, Children’s Participation. (London: Earthscan
(London: Paul Chapman Publishers, 2005), 72–73. Publications, 1997), 173.

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Box 6.6. Great Public Places Interview
W hen Growing Up Boulder initiated youth

engagement in a visioning process for
the redevelopment of the city’s Civic Area, a class
dents asked this question either by phone or in
person, and when possible, they also gathered
a picture of this space. Responses varied from
of 15- to 16-year-olds in one of the local high Central Park in New York to Mexican plazas, but
schools wanted to focus on the area’s cultural common themes that emerged were that these
history. Students visited the local history museum places felt safe, many people congregated there,
and learned about the Native Americans and and there were food vendors and natural set-
early settlers to the region. In order to understand tings for relaxation. These themes helped young
what gives public spaces vitality and meaning in people think about what makes a “great” public
different cultures, the youth in this socioeconom- space and identify their own vision for a pub-
ically and ethnically diverse class were asked to lic space that could integrate these themes in the
interview a family member about “What made context of Boulder.
a great public space where you grew up?” Stu-
young people to begin building their confidence creating socially and environmentally sustain-
as researchers. able cities. Expert interviews can help young
Although young people may initiate, de- people ground their ideas within the frameworks
sign, and carry out interviews on their own, of existing city structures. For example, in Mon-
adult support is still vital. When teens in Boulder, terey, California, youth interviewed experts to
Colorado, for example, wanted to investigate help shape service projects in their community
teen-friendly business practices by interviewing (Box 6.8).
local business owners and managers, a doctoral Sometimes face-to-face interviews are not
student and a professor from the local university feasible or efficient, and phone interviews, on-
met with them for a series of Saturdays to help line interviews, or video interviews are required.
them define their goals and develop their inter- When Growing Up Boulder involved young peo-
view skills.32 These advisors also accompanied ple in visioning new uses for a large plot of land
them on their first few interviews, staying nearby that the city acquired, young people wanted to
in case they had questions. Another vital piece know how their ideas were received and how they
of support was a letter of introduction from the affected the city’s plans. Given students’ schedules
university professor that the teens carried with and the busy schedules of city staff, it was imprac-
them, which explained their project and listed tical to get everyone together physically. Instead,
adult sponsors and partners. This helped estab- young people were video-recorded asking their
lish their legitimacy. (See Box 6.7 and Figure 6.4.) questions, and the video link was emailed to staff
Through expert interviews with urban de- in the city’s Department of Community Plan-
signers, planners and other professionals, young ning and Sustainability. Staff watched the video
people can learn about different possibilities for when they had time and shared their answers,
and then their answers were combined in a de-
32. Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla, Mara Mintzer, Debra Flan- partment letter that was mailed back to the young
ders Cushing, and Willem van Vliet, “A city for all citizens:
Integrating children and youth from marginalized popula-
participants.
tions into city planning.” Special Issue on Designing Spaces for When children interview other children,
City Living. Buildings 3, no. 3(2013): 482–505. they may have creative ideas to make it playful,

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Box 6.7. Interviews to Assess Teen-Friendly Businesses
W hen Growing Up Boulder was just be-

ginning, a youth steering committee
identified teen-friendly businesses, public art,
on a short, structured interview that included
several open-ended questions, such as “How
do you feel about high school students coming
and nightlife as issues they wanted to explore. into your business?” and either “If you do not
Action groups were formed for each of the three employ youth under 18, why not?” or “What
topics (See also Box 6.17). For the Business Action is your best experience employing a minor?” It
Group, teens were trained in research practices also included a sheet for their observations when
and collaboratively developed an interview pro- they entered a store, such as how long they had
tocol to use in the downtown area. They decided to wait to be helped and how they were treated.
Teens conducted the interviews in small teams of
two to three students and developed a video to
summarize the findings. The video was shown in
a range of settings, including school assemblies
and city council. The project resulted in the estab-
lishment of a database of teen-friendly businesses
and local jobs for teens.
Figure 6.3. Two teens

review their notes after
interviewing a business
owner about teen-
friendly practices.
Photo credit: Debra
Flanders Cushing.
This image initially
appeared in Derr et al.,
“A city for all citizens.”
Figure 6.4. Three

teens work as a
team to interview
the owner of a
local business and
video-record the
session for a short
documentary.
Photo credit: Debra
Flanders Cushing

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Figure 6.5. A letter from an estab-

lished adult can help provide legit-
Growing Up B o u l d e r A Child- and Youth-Friendly City Initiative
imacy and facilitate positive youth
Initiative Partners
University of Colorado - September 11, 2009 research. Image credit: Growing Up
Children, Youth & Environments:
Willem van Vliet- Boulder
Louise Chawla
Debra Flanders Cushing To whom it may concern:
Mara Mintzer
This letter introduces a team of local high-school students,
Boulder Valley School interested in learning more about opportunities and experiences for
District local youth in downtown Boulder businesses. Through their survey,
Deirdre Pilch they intend to highlight practices that can serve as models. We
Andre Lanier hope that you will take a moment to answer their questions.
City of Boulder The students will present their findings at the Growing Up Boulder
David Driskell
Darcy Johnson kick-off event on Oct. 10. Some background is attached. The
website has more information on this new initiative, which is a
Community Members partnership between the City of Boulder, the University of
Dorothy Rupert Colorado, and the Boulder Valley School District, in collaboration
Bodh Saraswat with local organizations, aimed at making Boulder a better place to
Supriya Saraswat
grow up.
Youth
Middle-School and High-School We would appreciate it if you could post a flyer for the kick off in
Students of Boulder your business. If you’d like to know more or want to support
Growing Up Boulder, please contact us by email or phone.
Sponsors
CU Outreach Committee Thank you,
Cynda Collins Arsenault
Moe’s Bagels
Breadworks Bakery
Contact
Coordinators
Mara Mintzer and Willem van Vliet—
Debra Flanders Cushing Director
Children, Youth and Environments Center
University of Colorado, CB 314 University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0314 USA
[email protected]
Phone: 303-735-5199
Fax: 303-492-6163
www.cudenver.edu/cye
Box 6.8. Providing Support for Expert Interviews
A s part of a place-based service learning proj-

ect, 10 to 11-year-old students in Monte-
rey, California, identified individual projects that
• Collaboratively generating questions on
a one-on-one basis
If the students had more time, they could have

they planned and implemented to improve the
generated their own questions first, discussed
conditions of their city (Box 7.6). As part of this
them with each other, received teacher feedback,
process, a number of students decided to inter-
and then revised them to arrive at a final set of
view an expert to learn more about their project
questions. However, given a short time frame, the
topic. (Topics included ocean pollution, wildlife
collaborative question generation worked well.
protection, and support for the local animal shel-
ter). The teacher helped students develop their The semi-structured interview format meant that
interview questions by working with them in the students knew the questions they needed to ask
following ways: in order to develop their projects, while still allow-
ing flexibility so that they could be responsive to
• Identifying goals of the project overall the ideas that the expert provided.
• Brainstorming types of questions that
students wanted answered

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Box 6.9. Easy Targets: Participatory Interviews with Undocumented Youth
I n order to understand the challenges that un-

documented youth face in going to college, a
team of researchers that included academics,
which would have revealed their immigration
status in vulnerable settings). While the project
sought to influence public policy, it also provided
community members, and youth aged 14–18 de- a forum for young people to speak out against
veloped interviews for a neighborhood in western the racism and discrimination they experienced
Salt Lake City, Utah where many immigrant and in their city and to “speak back” to stereotypes
working class families reside. Over two years, the of undocumented immigrants. For young people
Easy Targets research team conducted interviews who experience a marginalized status in their
with undocumented students and family mem- cities, the issue of immigration transcends most
bers to identify barriers to considering college, aspects of their life. Collectively, the Easy Tar-
applying to, or attending college. Interviews were gets research team chose how to frame their
also used to identify a means of addressing these research, and by moving interviews into a doc-
issues. One of the biggest barriers young peo- umentary film, also to raise awareness about
ple faced was their immigration status, along the experiences of undocumented youth in their
with the feelings of discrimination they expe- new home.1
rienced and a lack of supportive services. The
1. Caitlyn Cahill, “The road less traveled: Trans-
research team decided to create a documentary
cultural community building.” Transcultural Cities:
so that students would have a “safer space” Border-Crossing and Place-Making, ed. Jeffrey Hou,
to speak out (in contrast to speaking in public, (New York: Routledge, 2013), 195-206.
such as pretending that they are doing interviews shared.33 In Salt Lake City, Utah, a research team
on a radio program (if the local radio likes this that included youth created a documentary that
idea, this may be an option). When youth in the enabled undocumented youth to speak without
Growing Up Boulder program worked on draft- jeopardizing their vulnerable status (Box 6.9).
ing a Child and Youth Bill of Rights, they wanted (For more information on participatory videos,
to know what other young people thought these see Chapter 5.)
rights should be. They put a chair in front of When young people create interviews to-
a blackboard where this question was written, gether, they should review results together. To
and then each respondent took turns sitting in make analysis easier, they may want to divide
the chair and giving an answer. This was a way it into parts, working on different tasks in small
of “playing school” that rapidly collected many groups based on their interests.34 Armed with
suggestions. results, they will be ready to discuss explanations
Given the ease of filming on mobile phones and recommendations, and at this point in the
now, this way of recording interviews is easier process, it is a good idea to bring in other people.
than before, and it lends itself to sharing results What do the interview respondents think about
with community groups. When youth in Harlem, the results and preliminary interpretations and
New York, explored the impact of gentrification recommendations? Is there further information
on their community, they asked a number of
33. David Driskell, “Growing Up in NYC: Reflections on
residents about this topic, video-recorded them,
Two Summers of Action Research.” Children, Youth and
and turned responses into a short documentary Environments 17, no. 2 (2007): 472-783.
that evoked animated discussions when it was 34. Kirby, Involving Young Researchers, 101-103

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
that could help explain results? Does a draft re- “How do you think life will be for you when you
port reflect the views of everyone consulted? get to be my age?”
Who needs to hear the interview results? Which
recommendations appear most achievable? Who
could help carry recommendations forward?
These are questions that invite discussions with Focus Groups and
larger circles of young people, project partners, Other Group Discussions
and community members.
Group discussions are a core tool for participa-
tory planning and design. Participatory projects
Reminiscence Interviews
need to reflect the experiences and aspirations of
Older residents are history carriers whereas young people and other community groups, and
young people will inhabit a distant future. To one of the best ways to understand a group’s per-
create livable and sustainable cities, the wisdom spective is to engage in discussions with repre-
and vision of the full age spectrum is required. In sentative members. It is also a way to understand
his guide to intergenerational design and plan- how much agreement there is within a group
ning, Matt Kaplan suggests that young people and how the views of one group compare with
work in small groups to interview senior resi- those of another.
dents in their community.35 He recommends that This section presents a variety of ways of
they begin by developing a timeline that goes structuring group discussions. Discussions can
back 100 years, broken into five-year increments, be used to guide decision-making, assess a policy
on which they mark major events like wars, eco- or service36 (Figure 6.6), or generate design ideas
nomic booms and busts, political milestones for a new space (as in the co-design facilitation
in their nation’s history, and social movements. described in Chapter 8 in Box 8.1). They can be
Senior adults and young interviewers begin by helpful at the start of a project, to generate ideas
placing their birth dates on the timeline, and or interests that young people have (Figure 6.7),
then the seniors may add additional events. If comment on design concepts or other proposals
people want to take this activity further, both midway through a project (Box 6.10), plan a
young and old participants can bring in photos course of action (Figure 6.6), or evaluate a proj-
of themselves and their families and memora- ect as it draws to a close (Chapter 10). They can
bilia from different periods to place on the time- also be used to interpret data such as results from
line or display in an exhibit. interviews or questionnaires. In some projects,
With this historical context, young people they can be used as a primary method of engage-
are ready to ask the seniors about their lives: ment, as in the example of the Junior Rangers
where they were born, their childhood fami- who participated in photo-framing and a focus
lies, childhood chores, school life, out-of-school group to generate and share ideas for open space
work and recreation, city institutions that they planning in the City of Boulder (Chapters 5 and
found important, their professions, their fam- 11). Group discussions enable young people to
ilies as adults, and their concerns and aspira- share and build on each other’s ideas.
tions for their community. Details about daily
life like clothes, food, music, and media are also
fun to explore. Small groups of seniors can ask 36. Anne-Emmanuel Ambresin, Kristina Bennett, George C.
the young people similar questions, including, Patton, Lena A. Sanci, and Susan M. Sawyer, “Assessment of
youth-friendly health care: a systematic review of indicators
drawn from young people’s perspectives”. Journal of Adoles-
35. Kaplan, Side by Side. cent Health, 52, no. 6 (2013): 670–681.

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
Figure 6.6. A middle school focus group discusses ways to change policy so that they can have more
free time during lunch. The image illustrates some focus group principles: a group of five students,
with a facilitator and recorder, in a comfortable setting within the school. Photo credit: Lynn M. Lickteig
Focus Groups ing on a limited number of questions.”38 Focus

group members usually meet once, though they
As the name implies, focus groups are a method
can come together a few times.
for discussion focused on a particular topic
The role of the moderator is critical. She
among a group of similar people.37 They are a
sets up a framework for discussion, establishes
form of interviewing that brings together groups
ground rules, creates an environment in which
of people with some similarity, such as similar
young people feel comfortable talking freely, and
ages, gender, neighborhood of residence, or in-
moves the discussion along so that all questions
terests, and asks them to share their perspectives
get covered in the allotted time. Instead of ask-
as a group. Boyden and Ennew define a focus
ing questions of each person in turn, she intro-
group as “a purposeful, facilitated discussion
duces a question and then encourages people to
between a group of respondents with similar
talk to each other, exchange views, comment on
characteristics, within a fixed time frame, focus-
each other’s experiences and perspectives, and
ask related questions that engage more deeply
37. Hennink, Monique, Inge Hutter, and Ajay Bailey, Qual- with the topic. Participants are generating as well
itative Research Methods. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publi- as sharing group knowledge about a topic. In
cations, 2011). This section also draws on Anna Bagnoli and
the process, their interactions may be as reveal-
Andrew Clark, “Focus groups with young people,” Journal of
Youth Studies 13, no. 1 (2010): 101–119; Driskell, Creating ing as their words. Focus groups may develop
Better Cities with Children and Youth, 147–152; Boyden and consensus around a theme or clarify divergent
Ennew, Focus on Youth, 128–133; Marilyn Hoppe, Elizabeth viewpoints.
Wells, Diane Morrison, Mary Gillmore and Anthony Wils-
don, “Using focus groups to discuss sensitive topics with
children,” Evaluation Review 19, no. 1 (1995), 102–114. 38. Boyden and Ennew, Focus on Youth, 129.

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
The role of a recorder is also important. Even Method

if a session is audio-recorded or video-recorded, Richard Krueger and Mary Ann Casey offer sev-
it is helpful to have someone making a “group eral suggestions specific to conducting focus
memory” by recording main ideas on a flip chart groups with young people that we use to frame
or a large sheet of paper on the wall.39 (Make sure our discussion of this method:41
the paper is two sheets thick so that marker ink
won’t stain the wall.) If you video-record, you can • Select the right moderator
more easily connect contributions to individual • Ask age-appropriate questions
respondents when you go back to make notes on • Keep the age range of participants within
the session. two years
In order for focus groups to be effective,
• Avoid close friends
the setting needs to feel safe and relaxed for the
participants to express their views and opinions. • Facilitate young people talking to each
Focus groups are usually comprised of five to other rather than to the adult facilitator
ten people (Figure 6.6). For younger ages, have • Provide food, a friendly location, and a
four to six participants so that they all have time relaxed and flexible atmosphere
to express their views without losing interest or • Ask youth for their assent to participate
getting wiggly. (See Chapter 3)
Ages. 10 and up. It is possible to conduct a short Selecting the Right Moderator. Moderators
focus group with children aged 8–9. However, should have a natural interest in eliciting young
this method is more effective with youth, who people’s views. They need to relate well to chil-
can stay actively engaged in discussing and lis- dren and youth, listen actively, and enjoy playful
tening for longer periods of time. conversation. They may be able to build more
immediate connections if they share character-
Materials. Name tags or folded name cards for
istics with participants such as the same ethnicity
each participant, markers, flipchart sheets, or
or community of residence. When issues in a
large sheets of paper on the wall for recording,
community are contentious, however, there may
a video camera or audio recorder if you want to
be an advantage in having an outside moderator
save the session for later analysis. Children can be
who is perceived to be neutral.
asked to choose the name they want to be called,
or if confidentiality is important, a nickname.
Training Moderators. Like interviewers, mod-
Asking children to decorate and personalize their
erators need training. They should begin by ob-
name card can put them at ease in the beginning.
serving skilled moderators in action and then
If the session begins with a prompt, then ma-
practice by leading a group of volunteers who
terials for this purpose also need to be supplied.40
are the same age as their target group, or practice
with staff from their own organization or part-
Time to Complete. Approximately one-half to
ner organizations who can role-play challenging
one hour to facilitate. Older youth may remain
participants whom they are likely to encounter—
engaged for two hours. Expect to spend at least
such as the dominating speaker, rude interrupter,
as much time preparing beforehand and review-
shy silent child, or bored bystander. Members
ing notes afterwards.
39. Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth,

152. 41. Richard A. Krueger and Mary Anne Casey, Focus Groups:
40. Erminia Colucci, “’Focus groups can be fun.’” Qualitative A Practical Guide for Applied Research. (Thousand Oaks, CA:
Health Research 17, no. 10 (2007): 1422–1433. Sage Publications, 2014).

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of the practice group should share their experi-

ence and suggestions. Practice sessions should be
video-recorded so that the moderator-in-training
can play them back and discuss what went well
and what could be done better with someone
who is already a skilled facilitator.
Finding a Comfortable Location. Places

such as schools represent adult-driven decision-
making for students. Locations such as an after-
school club, youth center, or library room may
feel more comfortable for young people. Have
comfortable seating and a quiet, well-lit place, Figure 6.7. In this focus group, youth (ages ten to
free from interruptions. The seating should all be eleven) brainstormed various impacts on ocean health
and discussed them as a group. Then each student
at the same level to express the equality among
used sticky dots to identify the issue they were inter-
participants and reflect what children are ac- ested in learning most about as a way to shape future
customed to, whether participants sit in chairs, engagement in a school coastal stewardship program.
on cushions on the floor, or on the ground.42 Photo credit: Victoria Derr
Arrange the seating in a circle so that every-
one can make eye contact. If you are in a sterile if young people have a role in developing the
room, make it inviting by hanging colorful cloth questions or have a voice in reviewing and se-
or posters appropriate to the age group you are lecting them. Activity-oriented questions, such
working with.43 as brainstorming, rating, ranking, sorting, and
Food is a natural icebreaker for any age. storytelling, can encourage reflection.44 (See, for
Young advisors can suggest what young people example, Figure 6.7 and Box 6.10.) Test ques-
their age would like to eat when they gather at tions in advance and ask young people to provide
the beginning of a group. feedback on their relevance, clarity, and age-
appropriate wording.
Identifying the Purpose and Questions. Organize questions in the following order:45
Topics and questions for the focus group need
to be established in advance. Begin by asking • Introduce the purpose and topic
the purpose of the focus group: What kinds of • Begin with an “icebreaker” game if par-
information are important? Who will use the in- ticipants don’t already know each other,
formation? With others in your organization followed by one or two questions that ask
or an advisory group, brainstorm an initial list children to share something about them-
of questions. If you want to go into one topic selves and establish rapport. You might
deeply, four or five key questions are enough. ask, for example, “What is your favorite
If your purpose is to collect information about animal?” or “Where is your favorite place
several topics more superficially, you can have to play?” (These questions are rarely
twice this number. analyzed).
Make sure they are questions that interest
• Generate questions that introduce the
young people. This is more likely to be the case topic. (For example, “What types of places
42. Boyden and Ennew, Youth in Focus, 130.

43. Hoppe et al., “Using focus groups to discuss sensitive 44. Colucci, “Focus groups can be fun.”
topics with children.” 45. Hennink et al., Qualitative Research Methods.

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Box 6.10. Discussion Groups that Respond to Conceptual Designs
A n important stage in the design process is

the development of Conceptual Drawings,
in which professional designers begin to render
• a farmer’s market with a long farm-to-
table gathering
The renderings were shared at several public

ideas about what a space might look like. This is
meetings to solicit feedback about both aesthet-
a prime opportunity for feedback in the design
ics and programming. They were highly finished
process. In Boulder, Colorado, 22 youth (ages
and polished, or of “high fidelity,” to show what
11–14) participated in a Growing Up Boulder dis-
might appear on the site.
cussion group to review concepts for a prominent
public space that was part of a larger planning Youth viewed the drawings in class and partic-
process for the city’s Civic Area. Prior to the dis- ipated in a focus group to share their perspec-
cussion, youth had visited the site multiple times tives. To facilitate discussion, youth were each
(see Chapter 7, Box 7.8), and had suggested given an engagement form, which contained
design ideas of their own through City as Play the four images and a series of words for the
model-building (see Chapter 5). An independent young people to choose from to describe their
design firm who was consulting on the project feelings about each image. Response options
received young people’s initial ideas for the site included “happy,” “inspired,” “excited,” “under-
(as well as suggestions from adults in community whelmed,” “unhappy,” “confused,” and “other”
workshops), and developed a series of four digital (Figure 6.8). Youth were asked to complete the
drawings, or renderings. The drawings included: forms individually and then discuss them in small
groups of three to four students. Then each table
• a nature play area along the creek that ran shared their responses with the whole class. The
through the site renderings led to a lively discussion about what
• a multi-use space with play areas and open youth wanted for the site. They motivated some
lawn, with a child flying a kite of the students, who did not think the render-
ings reflected their ideas well, to work harder so
• an outdoor open-air café primarily with
adults sitting they could communicate their alternative design
ideas clearly.
do young people use to socialize in this • Use closing questions to wrap up a topic,
community?”46) such as ranking the ideas generated in
• Move into key questions that provide in- their order of importance, or summarizing
depth information, that ask young people themes that people heard.
to explain themselves and examine the Aim for open-ended questions, not binary
topic more deeply. yes/no questions. Marilyn Hoppe and her col-
• Near the end of the session, if parts of leagues found that concrete questions that chil-
the discussion were contradictory or dren could associate with their experience were
confusing, leave a place for questions of catalytic.47 Rather than asking a theoretical ques-
clarification. tion, such as, “What does it mean to feel safe?”
47. Hoppe et al., “Using focus groups to discuss sensitive

46. Ibid., 144. topics with children.”

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Responses on the engagement form were com- on the practicality of some of the designs, asking
piled by categories to provide city partners and if it was appropriate to have tables so close to
the design firm with quantitative feedback for the creek, or who would maintain the elaborate
each image, but it was the discussion that best nature play area.
revealed students’ responses to each image. Our reflection as facilitators of the process was
Students spoke to three themes: the aesthetics that rather than soliciting emotional responses
and style of the digital images themselves (more to the images, it was more instructive to ask
than the design itself), the programmatic goals youth to reflect on details of the proposed de-
that the images suggested, and their own desire sign. The group discussion provided this oppor-
to have more inclusive spaces rather than age- tunity more than the response sheet.
segregated functions. Youth also commented
Figure 6.8. Sample

worksheet for focus
group feedback, which
included renderings,
emotions for circling,
and written feedback.
Image credit: Growing
Up Boulder
ask instead, “What are some things you do to Don’t forget the value of nonverbal commu-
keep yourself safe?” nication, such as a pause with a look of expecta-
During the discussion, have probing question or a gesture to say more.
tions ready, such as:
Grouping Participants. Because children and
Tell me about that.
youth move through different developmental
Does anyone else have an opinion about that? stages and associated perspectives, focus groups
What do you mean by that? work best with young people of a similar age.
Give me an example of that. Krueger and Casey suggest that participants be
no more than two years apart in age.48 Our ex-
Anything else?
perience also supports this. Furthermore, we
Could you explain that?
48. Krueger and Casey, Focus Groups.

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have found that grades matter, such that mixing • Explain the purpose of the discussion
middle and high school students (even within and how the information will be used.
two years) has not been effective. Young people Give participants time to ask questions.
who have more in common will find it easier to • Establish ground rules. You can present
share ideas and trust each other. Kreuger and a set of rules for the group to review,
Casey also recommend that focus groups should confirm, or modify, or ask participants to
not be comprised of close friends.49 If friends define rules. The final list should be posted
group together it can not only limit their own in the room. It should include the follow-
thinking, but it can sometimes lead to a feeling of ing basics:
“cliques” within the group that prohibits sharing
• Respect each person’s input.
ideas among the entire group.
By early adolescence (ages 11–14), it may • Keep individual input confidential—
be desirable to conduct focus groups with boys what individuals say does not leave
and girls separately.50 Girls and boys often have the room.
different views at this age, and they can feel awk- • There are no right or wrong answers.
ward together. In some cultures, if boys have • Let everyone have a chance to speak.
a tendency to dominate conversations that in-
• Avoid interruptions and put-downs.
clude girls, separating groups by gender may be
helpful even in childhood, and some have found You can also let people know that if some-
separating groups by gender helpful into early one is not participating, you will call on them.
adulthood.51 At other stages in a participatory
• Consider if you will begin with writing.
project, groups can come together to share the If a discussion takes off in one direction,
ideas they generated in separate focus groups. some participants may feel afraid to ex-
press a divergent view. You can begin by
Obtaining Informed Consent. Make it clear
passing out cards and giving everyone
to everyone that their participation is voluntary one to two minutes to write down their
and they may withdraw from the discussion at answer to the first key question. This gives
any time. you a written record of everyone’s thinking
before the open discussion begins. You
Conducting the Focus Group
can also collect these cards and bring in
• If you have an agenda, post it where every- new perspectives if some people have not
one can see it.52 shared their views.
• Begin by introducing yourself and the • Avoid positive reinforcement, because
recorder. Then have participants introduce people are likely to interpret it as rein-
themselves, using their given names, or forcement for that particular answer.
nicknames for confidentiality. • If someone brings up a topic early (for
example, they begin to talk about question
49. Ibid. #4 during question #2), let them. Then
50. Ibid.
51. Uracha Chatrakul Na Ayudhya, Janet Smithson, land
when #4 comes along, pick up their contri-
Susan Lewis. “Focus group methodology in a life course ap- bution. “You have already talked about …
proach–individual accounts within a peer cohort group.” In- and people said …. Is there anything else
ternational Journal of Social Research Methodology, 17, no. people want to say about this?”
2 (2014): 157–171.
52. This list of recommendations draws on Krueger and • Monitor the group’s rhythm. If partici-
Casey, Focus Groups. pants appear to get tired during a long

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session, give them a chance to take a break one of the operating axioms for the Growing Up
and move around. in Cities program became, “Don’t just do some-
• At the end, briefly summarize results and thing. Talk about it.”55
thank everyone for their participation. Discussions become more formal when they
have to be planned and scheduled in advance,
Reviewing the Session. As soon as the session but, even then, all that may be required is a topic
is over, review notes with the recorder and fill in to discuss and informed and engaged partici-
gaps. Discuss how the session went and whether pants. For example, after 9- to 10-year-olds eval-
new questions arose that should be followed up uated a commercial street near their school that
with another group or through other methods. was targeted for revitalization, they decided on a
If you prepare a written summary, consider shar- set of suggestions to make the street more invit-
ing it with participants as well as others in your ing for pedestrians and worked in small groups
partnership. to develop practical but playful suggestions. On
Focus groups began in the United States, an “expert day,” people came from the commu-
and they represent a Western tradition of free and nity and city government. One or two experts
open discussion without turn-taking. In some met with each small group, such as a landscape
cultures this is not the norm. Instead, it may be architect with the group that was recommend-
customary for each person to take their turn in ing more trees and gardens, and a public artist
voicing an opinion. In this case, adjust these di- with the group that wanted murals. After the
rections to fit the cultural context.53 young people briefly presented their ideas, open
discussions followed, with participants asking
questions back and forth, students explaining
Other Group Discussions the reasons for their choices, and experts shar-
ing their knowledge. (See Figure 6.9. For more
In addition to focus groups, there are many
details about this project, see Chapter 8.) Many
other interactive ways to elicit young people’s
successful discussions primarily require making
ideas in small groups. Many take less time and
time to put the right people together.
skill than a formal focus group, and they can
A variety of activities can be used to pre-
serve different stages of a project’s progress. At
pare a fertile base for discussions, such as brain-
the most informal end are the many conversa-
storming, sentence completion, storytelling
tions that take place as young people plan and
and free listings (for example, “What is the first
carry out methods described in this book, such
word that comes to your mind when I say ‘Cen-
as planning what to include in a mural or a child-
tral Park’?”).56 The “Problem Tree” provides a
led tour, what to exhibit out of many pictures
systematic process for groups to analyze root
taken during photo-framing, what to place on
causes of problems in their community, as a way
a community base map, or what actions to take
to identify where they might most successfully
to improve their environment. Research on the
concentrate their efforts to leverage change.57
development of young people’s civic values and
behaviors shows that democratic values are pro- Adolescent Psychology, ed. R. M. Lerner and L. Steinberg
moted by frequent discussions about local, na- (New York: John Wiley, 2004).
tional, and international issues in a climate of 55. Louise Chawla, “Participation as capacity-building for
active citizenship,” Les Ateliers de L’Ethique, 4, no. 1 (2009),
acceptance for diverse views.54 For this reason,
69–76.
56. Colucci, “Focus groups can be fun.”
53. Boyden and Ennew, Children in Focus, 131. 57. Sheila Evans, PAR Guide: Promoting the Participation,
54. Constance A. Flanagan, “Volunteerism, leadership, po- Learning and Action of Young People. Kingston, Jamaica:
litical socialization, and civic engagement,” in Handbook of United Nations Children’s Fund, 2004), 36–38.

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
Figure 6.9. On “expert day,” experts in landscape architecture, public art, public works, and the mobil-
ity needs of the elderly visited a classroom to hear students’ initial proposals to revitalize a commercial
corridor near their school and to discuss how their ideas could be realized. Photo credit: Erika Chavarria
For suggestions for small group discussions that lies down on a large sheet of paper and another
focus on project assessment, see Chapter 10. person draws around their body shape. If young
Two methods that involve drawing can be people are studying children’s rights, for example,
used to explore many community themes. “Four they begin by listing inside their body the rights
Pictures” puts young people in groups of four, that they think children should have. On the out-
and each group begins by dividing a large sheet side, they write resources in their community
of paper into four quadrants.58 Each child takes that help them realize their rights. When youth
a quadrant, draws a picture in response to a in Nairobi, Kenya, embarked on participatory
prompt, and then tells the picture’s story. Prompts mapping of their settlement, they began with a
can be general (“what is good about our neigh- variation of Body Mapping called personal as-
borhood”) or personal (“where I go when I feel set mapping, which asked them to write down
sad and want to feel better”). In either case, the all their personal strengths inside the outline
activity requires that young people share and of their body, and then, around it, all the local
compare concrete places and situations. Body institutions, places, and people that helped them
Mapping invites young people to draw connec- develop their strengths. (For more about this
tions between resources in their community and project, see Box 7.18.) What all these activities
aspects of their internal world.59 Each individual have in common is that they are productively
58. Ibid., 22–23.
done in small groups, and they harvest ideas that
59. Claire O’Kane and Rita Panicker, “Body mapping,” in a group can evaluate and develop in more detail
Steps for Engaging Young Children in Research, Volume 2: later.
The Researcher’s Toolkit, ed. Vicky Johnson, Roger Hart
and Jennifer Colwell (Brighton, UK: Education Research
Centre, University of Brighton, 2014), 115–118. Available -engaging-young-children-research-volume-2-researcher
at https://bernardvanleer.org/publications-reports/steps -toolkit/. (Retrieved December 8, 2017).

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Box 6.11. Youth Creating Disaster Recovery and Resilience Project
T he Youth Creating Disaster Recovery and

Resilience project is a Canadian-U.S. part-
nership between the ResiliencebyDesign Research
plorer method provided participants with a set
of 200 photographs designed to elicit discussion
about “what it means to be a youth in your com-
Lab and Colorado State University. The project munity?” Participants were given the question,
has used arts-based methods to engage youth then they walked around a gallery of photos,
in participatory workshops in communities af- choosing those that reflected their perspectives.
fected by natural disasters. Through a series of They then shared their picture selections and
workshops, project leaders engaged youth, ages reflections, in pairs and then as a larger group.
13–22, in a series of trust- and team-building The Photostory method was employed in a sim-
activities. They employed art as a storytelling ilar fashion to photovoice, in which participants
method for youth to share their recovery experi- took their own photographs and wrote narratives
ences from disasters and to identify ways youth in response to prompts. The facilitators added
had contributed, or would like to contribute, to Graphic Recording by combining graphic images
recovery. Methods included the Magic Carpet with phrases and colors that resulted in wall-sized
Ride, Visual Explorer, Photostory, Graphic Re- projected murals.
cording, and Digital Stories. (For instructions for
In Canada, facilitators also used stop-motion an-
creating Digital Stories, see Chapter 5.)
imation as a kind of digital story. Working with
For the “Magic Carpet Ride,” participants stood a professional spoken-word artist, youth crafted
on a tarp, imagined themselves flying over their their personal stories of experiencing disaster and
community, and attempted to turn the tarp over recovery. They used mixed media to develop their
without anyone falling off. By successfully man- stories, for a final product in stop-motion digital
aging the challenge of flipping the tarp carpet, animation.1
the youth experienced the ride as a metaphor
for the collaborative aspects of disaster recovery. 1. Sarah Fletcher, Robin S. Cox, Leila Scannell, Cheryl
Heykoop, Jennifer Tobin-Gurley, and Lori Peek. “Youth
Facilitators also adapted the photo-elicitation
creating disaster recovery and resilience: A multi-site arts
method developed by the Center for Creative based youth engagement research project.” Children,
Leadership called Visual Explorer. The Visual Ex- Youth and Environments 26, no. 1 (2016): 148–163.
Photo-Elicitation particularly about topics that may be hard for

young people to talk about, such as cultural ex-
Photo-elicitation uses visual imagery to elicit dis- clusion or resilience (Boxes 6.9 and 6.11). Topics
cussion about a particular topic. It has emerged for photo-elicitation can be determined by a proj-
from a growing field of visual research in the ect, such as park planning, but they can also come
social sciences.60 The use of photographs can from young people themselves. In a study to ex-
help trigger memory and help build trust and plore youth resilience, researchers asked young
rapport with children. Like photovoice (Chapter people to identify images that could be used for
5), it can be a useful tool to facilitate discussion, discussion. In this way, the topics to be discussed
emerged from the photographs youth selected.61
60. Iris Epstein, Bonnie Stevens, Patricia McKeever, and More often, topics are selected by adults. While
Sylvain Baruchel. “Photo elicitation interview (PEI): Using
photos to elicit children’s perspectives.” International Journal 61. Linda Liebenberg, Michael Ungar, and Linda Theron.
of Qualitative Methods 5, no. 3 (2006): 1–11. “Using video observation and photo elicitation interviews

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
photo-elicitation can be used as an interview tool, what your experience as a young person
here we discuss its use to facilitate group discus- is like in your city. Walk around and look
sions, which is its most common application in at the images in the room. Select one that
participatory work with young people. Similar best represents your experience.” (If there
processes can be applied to film-elicitation, when is time, participants may select two or
video is used as the prompt.62 three, but keep to a small number that
allows for discussion.)
Ages. 4 and up • Have participants return to the discussion
circle.
Materials. Photographs (or drawings, cartoons,
• Have young people divide into small
graffiti, or any public image) and display space
groups of three to five people. Ask partici-
(a table, a cloth on the ground, a wall)
pant to take turns sharing the photos they
chose, explain why they chose each one,
Time to Complete. Approximately one hour to
and tell what it represents in relation to
facilitate, plus time for setting up
your question.
Method • Ask all participants to rejoin the full circle

and share with each other what they heard.
• Prior to the start of the activity, set up a Sometimes it is easier for people to share
space with a variety of images. The pic-
what they heard from other youth than
tures may depict a wide range of subjects
to share about themselves. Depending on
(such as people, nature, cities, animals)
your purposes, youth can identify com-
that represent different experiences and
mon themes that they hear and generate
that might evoke different types of feel-
“what next” ideas.
ings. Display the images in the space
where the discussion will be held. They
can all be arranged on a table, or a cloth
on the ground, or hung on a wall. Arrange Activity Diaries
the space so that participants can sit in a
circle for discussion, in chairs or on the Young people’s lives unfold in time as well as
ground. space. The places where young people go typ-
ically depend on the day of the week and the
• Introduce the activity and its purpose. time of the day. Activity diaries are a tool to un-
State your goals for the session.
derstand how time and space function together.
• Ask the young people to take about five They can document not only where young peo-
minutes to walk around the room and look ple go but when, for how long, with whom, and
for images that reflect their feelings or what they do there. They have been used to un-
experience on the topic you are exploring, derstand patterns of place use by children who
using a specific prompt that reflects your move independently through their community;
goals. For example, if you are interested in but they can equally show when a child’s life is
learning about young people’s experience constrained to a few places or always under the
of the city, you might ask, “Think about supervision of adults.
Activity diaries are most useful as the fo-
to understand obscured processes in the lives of youth resil-
cus of a brief interview about the places that a
ience.” Childhood 21, no. 4 (2014): 532–547.
62. Lesley Murray, “Mobile video,” in Steps for Engaging child moves through on a typical weekday and
Young Children in Research, Volume 2, 75–77. a day out of school. In the Growing Up in Cit-

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Form 6.2.
A Sample Activity
Activity Diary
Diary Template.
Name of Child Completing Diary Child’s Gender
Nickname (Pseudonym) for Child Child’s Age
Reference # for Child Name of Adult Who Helps Complete this Diary
Date that this Schedule Records Day of the Week
Was there anything special about this day? Yes No

If yes, please briefly write down what made this day special? (For example: “it was my friend’s birthday” or
“my grandparents visited from out of town.”)
To the best of your ability, carefully remember and record below what you did from the time you got up in the
morning to the time you went to sleep at night.
Time What I Did Where I Did It With Whom I Did It
6:00 am
6:30 am
7:00 am
7:30 am
8:00 am
8:30 am
9:00 am
9:30 am
10:00 am
10:30 am
Continue these time blocks on subsequent pages until a typical bedtime for the age of the child.
ies program, activity diaries formed one of the tion, adventure, or hanging out. They can also
main parts of a second interview that focused illuminate differences in the ways children use
on understanding how children’s use of their time and space depending on whether they are
community was structured by time and fam- girls or boys, or belong to different social classes.
ily networks, as children in some sites lived in In societies where children’s lives are run by
extended families, so that they moved among the clock, diaries often take the form shown in
the homes of aunts, uncles, and grandparents.63 Form 6.2, in which a typical day is recorded
Activity diaries show how much time children in half-hour intervals. Depending on how much
have outside of school, work, and home routines, detail you want, the time intervals can be longer
when they can freely choose places for recrea- (6:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m. …) or shorter (6:00 a.m.,
6:15 a.m., 6:30 a.m. …). If you are collecting
63. Chawla, Growing Up in an Urbanising World, 247; Lynch, schedules for just one weekday or weekend day,
Growing Up in Cities, 20, 90–91. make sure it was a typical day. Children should

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
record their schedules on the evening of the as- The diary schedules can be filled out on
signed day or one day after. their own time—but in practice, few children
Tailor the form to your participants’ lives. have the discipline to do this. This activity works
When Angela Kreutz wanted to understand typ- better if you pass out the schedules for children
ical days in the lives of the Aboriginal children to fill in as a small group activity, when you are
she worked with in Cherbourg, Australia, she available to help with spelling, prod their mem-
found that it was enough to break the day into ory, or answer questions. Or you can fill out the
three parts: “in the morning,” “during the day,” schedules one-on-one, as an opportunity to talk
and “at night time.” She added a fourth column through a typical day with each child.
to ask not only where they went, with whom, and If you sense any resistance or embarrass-
what they did, but also how the child was feeling ment from a child about disclosing what they
during each activity.64 did during any part of the day, don’t probe. Leave
An alternative format is to draw a large clock this part of the day vague and move on to the
face with space around it. Children work their next part of the schedule.
way around the clock, labeling their activities
beside each hour’s interval. They record an inner
circle for morning hours and an outer circle for Variation: Aerial
afternoon and evening hours. Another alterna- Geographic Diaries
tive is to draw a linear timeline from morning When Roger Hart was studying the place expe-
to evening. riences of children in a Vermont town, he gave
children seven identical aerial photographs of
Ages. 8 and up, when children have basic liter- the town as well as seven diary schedules in or-
acy to fill in the forms and a structured sense of der to record a week of their summer activities.
time. Younger children can fill in activity diaries For each day, from morning to night, each child
with the help of family members. listed “where I went,” “who I went with,” and
“what I did.” Hart met each child each day to
Time to Complete. 15 to 30 minutes for a child help complete the diaries, and then to mark on
to complete, depending on whether they fill in the map the places that each child visited each
one form for a typical weekday or two forms day, and to trace the routes that he traveled, us-
for a weekday and a Saturday or Sunday. Ap- ing a red pen when he traveled by bike or by foot
proximately the same amount of time for you to and a green pen when he traveled by car.65
review and discuss their diary with them.
Materials. Diary schedules, pencils, writing Variation: Sunrise to Sunset

surface.
When Sheridan Bartlett and other represen-
tatives of Save the Children developed a par-
Method
ticipatory process for the rebuilding of villages
Explain the activity and its purpose. Ask young destroyed by the 2004 tsunami in South Asia,
people to recall what they did the day before, or they needed to understand local routines in or-
on the recent weekend, if it was a typical day. der to plan accommodating physical spaces, and
They should select a day that represents a fairly how new spaces might encourage new, more de-
typical routine.
64. Kreutz, Children and the Environment in an Australian
Indigenous Community, 32–34. 65. Hart, Children’s Experience of Place, 42.

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Surveys and
Questionnaires
Surveys are a process for collecting and analyz-
ing information from a group of people.67 The
process includes designing a study, writing ques-
tions, selecting a sample of respondents, and col-
lecting and analyzing the data. Surveys are often
used to gather information from large, random-
ized samples in order to draw inferences about
Figure 6.10. A sunrise to sunset timeline that can illus- a population’s attitudes, opinions, knowledge or
trate the activities of different groups in a village or
urban neighborhood. Image credit: Louise Chawla
behaviors. In participatory research, survey re-
sults are often purely descriptive because samples
are not large enough and not randomly selected,
sirable routines.66 For this purpose they worked and often not appropriate for statistical analysis.
with separate small groups who represented men, Instead, community surveys commonly rely on
women, teenage boys, teenage girls, school-aged convenience samples, such as people in a park or
boys, school-aged girls, and caregivers for young other public space or people attending a public
children. With each group they filled in a time- meeting. In some cases, it may be possible to sur-
line of routine activities that followed the path of vey everyone in a population of interest, such as
the sun from sunrise to sunset. (See Figure 6.10.) all the children in an after-school program or all
As the facilitators worked across each time- the residents of a mobile home park. Surveys are
line sketching and writing activities, they asked: used extensively by government agencies and
“Where do you do this?” “Who do you do it non-governmental organizations to understand
with?” “What kind of spaces would make it pos- communities across the world.
sible for you to do any of these activities more A questionnaire is a set of printed or writ-
easily?” ten questions in a fixed order. It commonly in-
This process led to adjustments in the village cludes instructions for the interviewer, when
plan. Women shared, for example, that after they questions are asked face-to-face, or for respon-
finished their morning chores they had time to dents who fill out the form independently. It
socialize with each other before older children is usually composed of closed questions, such
came home from school and it was time to begin as multiple-choice questions, rating scales, and
preparations for dinner. They said that it would questions that ask how much people agree or
be nice to have a place to relax together where disagree with given statements. Questionnaires
small children could play in their sight. This led can be designed to collect individual data, such
the planners to locate several shaded sitting areas as when you ask a child to fill out a sheet of ques-
beside play spaces for small children. tions about all the places where she has lived
and all the schools she has attended, to learn
about her environmental history. But frequently,
they are used to collect group data. Surveys often
66. Sheridan Bartlett, Making Space for Children: Planning use questionnaires, though they can also collect
for Post-Disaster Reconstruction with Children and Their information from observations and interviews.
Families. (Chennai, India: Save the Children, 2007). Avail-
able from cergnyc.org/files/2011/09/Making-space-full 67. Johnny Blair, Ronald Czaja and Edward Blair, Designing
-version-11.pdf. (Retrieved December 8, 2017). Surveys (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2013).

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These are major distinctions between the words ery of Bangalore, India, and a squatter camp in
“survey” and “questionnaire” in social research,68 Johannesburg, South Africa.70 Household surveys
but in everyday speech the terms are often used were also an important part of the Safe Commu-
interchangeably. nity Program in slums in Mumbai and Bhopal,
Questionnaires have traditionally been dis- India, featured in Chapter 11; and surveys of chil-
tributed by mail or filled out during phone inter- dren, youth, parents, local authorities, and other
views. Increasingly, they are distributed online or service providers form the core part of UNICEF’s
via mobile phones. These new technologies have Child Friendly Cities toolkit to assess the quality
the advantage that results are compiled instantly. of children’s living conditions.71
Even if you are working with youth who all have Surveys can be useful at successive stages
their own computers or mobile phones, you will in a project. Early in a participatory process,
face the challenge of getting their attention to fill they can gather data about children’s lives and
out a questionnaire. You are more likely to get show how young people and adult community
responses if you ask children and youth to fill members rank the importance of local issues.
out questionnaires when they are together with Mid-way, they can help you gather data for more
you, or ask partner organizations to collect them focused design and planning. Near the end of a
during scheduled programs with young people. project, they are a way to get feedback on pro-
If you wish to conduct a systematic survey posals for action. Surveys can be used, for ex-
that can be generalized to a large population, we ample, to:
recommend that you consult with an expert in
survey design at a university or research firm. • Assess the child-friendliness of a com-
munity (Box 6.15, Table 6.1)
Most of the examples provided here involve local
surveys with small samples—which are often • Understand how children travel to school
most useful for local planning and design. When and the places they use (Chapter 11: mo-
survey data exist for a city, the data are usually so bility surveys for children and parents in
general that they do not capture variations and the Designing a Child-Friendly Neighbor-
details in a specific community. Very commonly, hood profile)
the data are not broken down by sex or age, with • Understand young people’s perspectives
data specific to early childhood, school-aged on a particular topic (Boxes 6.14–6.17)
children, and adolescence.69 Frequently, margin- • Understand the accessibility of the city
alized communities are not well represented in for children of different ages or abilities
city survey data—if they are represented at all. (Box 6.18)
If you want to speak with authority about
• Identify safety concerns in the city
conditions for children in your project area, con-
sider conducting your own door-to-door survey. • Assess the physical environment itself
This was necessary in the Growing Up in Cities (Boxes 6.15 and 6.18). (See also Chapter
program, for example, to understand family con- 11 for a site inventory checklist in the Par-
ditions in an informal settlement on the periph- ticipatory Schoolyard Design profile from
Ontario, Canada.)
68. Research Connections. Child Care and Early Educa- • Understand whether young people feel
tion Research Connections. The Regents of the University of
heard by city leaders (See Chapter 11:
Michigan. https://www.researchconnections.org. (Retrieved
December 27, 2017).
69. Sheridan Bartlett, Roger Hart, David Satterthwaite, 70. Chawla, Growing Up in an Urbanising World.
Ximena de la Barra and Alfredo Missair, Cities for Children 71. UNICEF, “Child Friendly Cities.” UNICEF.org. http://
(London: Earthscan Publications, 1999). www.childfriendlycities.org. (Retrieved June 28, 2016).

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Table 6.1. UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative and UNESCO’s Growing Up in Cities program
have both developed frameworks for young people to evaluate their cities, from their
own perspectives. This table combines frameworks for evaluation used in both contexts.1
Evaluate your City What Works Well What Needs More Work
Social Inclusion
We feel welcome in our community
Gathering Places
There are places we can meet friends,
play sports or games, or “hang out”
Freedom to Move About

We can move around our city on our
own, and without concerns about
safety
Access to Nature
There are places where we can see or
play with nature
Cultural Identity
We can see and learn about the culture
and history of people in our community
through arts or in public spaces
Basic Amenities
We can access basic things like food,
water, and go to shops that carry items
we need
Health
We can freely exercise and play, we have
access to healthy foods and water, we feel
supported in our community
1. Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth; UNICEF, Child-Friendly Cities Assessment
Toolkit. UNICEF.org. http://childfriendlycities.org/research/final-toolkit-2011/. (Retrieved June 30, 2017).
the Child Friendly City Assessment in the Developing a Questionnaire

Great Neighborhoods profile.)
Ages. 6 and up. While it is not essential, it is
Given the great variability in survey de- helpful if children can read and write in order
signs, this section focuses on instructions for for fill out a questionnaire. For younger children,
developing questionnaires, as a key part of most questions can be generated using visual icons, or
surveys.72 an adult or older child can read out the questions
orally.
72. This section draws on Driskell, Creating Better Cities with

Materials. Paper or computer for generating
Children and Youth, 139–146; and Craig A. Mertler, Action
Research: Teachers as Researchers in the Classroom (Thousand the questionnaire, access to a copier or printer
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2008). to reproduce questionnaires, clipboards or other

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hard surface if you will be collecting information • Pre-test the questions on representative
from the community on foot, pen or pencil. groups of young people. Orally, or in writ-
ing, ask for their feedback and suggestions.
Time to Complete. Filling out a questionnaire Revise.
may take only a few minutes, or 20–30 minutes
Some general tips for question develop-
for longer forms. It can take weeks or even longer
ment are given in Box 6.13.
to develop questions, pre-test and revise them,
collect responses, and analyze results, depending
Method—Determine
on the number of responses you seek.
How People will Respond
Method—Questionnaire Purpose You will need to determine the appropriate types

of responses for each question. Questionnaires
As a group, discuss the reasons for the ques-
can use a variety of response formats. These are
tionnaire, answering the following questions:
generally either fixed, in which people choose
What do you want to know about? Who do you
among a predetermined set of responses, or
want to know this from? What groups of people
open-ended, in which people provide responses
will you collect information from (what ages,
in their own words.
ethnic groups, schools, neighborhoods)? What
languages will the questionnaire be in? Will • Fixed Response: You can use words and
you use words and/or icons? How many peo- numbers to represent a range of experi-
ple should you collect this information from? ences (e.g., using a scale from “strongly
Once the questionnaire is written, how will you disagree” to “strongly agree” that corre-
gather the information? Will you issue it in per- sponds to numbers 1 to 5).
son (Box 6.15) or through a digital platform or Fixed Response: If asking about young
•
designated station (see Box 6.16)? How will you people’s attitudes or feelings, you can
use this information once you have it? use icons to represent a range of feelings
(Form 10.3).
Method—Question Development
• Fixed Response: You can also use Venn
• To begin, brainstorm a range of questions. diagrams to show relationships between
This can be done in small groups or with two or more ideas (Box 6.14).
one larger group.
• Open-ended Response: You can also ask
• Place similar questions together and select open-ended questions for which there are
the words and ideas that are most import-
no set responses (Box 6.15 and Box 6.16).
ant. You can do this by underlining key
Open-ended questions are useful when
words in a color or marking them with a
you do not know the types of answers.
star.
However, if you choose this method, you
• Write a list of all the questions that the should also be prepared to spend more
group has agreed upon. time grouping and analyzing results
• Clarify the question wording. Good ques- (see Box 6.16 and Chapter 9).
tions follow at least two rules: they are • Fixed Response with Open-Ended Com-
simply worded, and they ask about only ments: Some questionnaires ask questions
one thing at a time (Box 6.12) with set responses but then provide a com-
• If you are using icons, have young people ment box. This allows you to both quan-
draw them, or find copyright-free images tify the range of responses to structured
from the internet. questions but also to provide some of the

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Box 6.12. Only one question! Box 6.13. Tips for Question
Development
A common mistake when writing ques-
tions is to ask multiple questions at one
time. These “double-barreled” questions
• Collect needed information only. Keep
the questionnaire as short as possible.
make it hard for the person answering the
• Keep questions as clear and specific as
question to respond, and it makes it hard possible. Define terms where this will
for you to know what your results mean. be helpful.
For example:
• Start with easy-to-answer questions
This question asks more than one thing: that give respondents a chance to feel
My community is a great place to play comfortable.
and make friends. • Have the questions follow a logical
flow, going from general to more
It should be re-phrased as two questions:
specific.
My community is a great place to play.
• Group questions on a similar topic
I am able to make friends in my together.
community.
• When it is possible, use questions that
In the first question, a person who has friends have already been tested and used in
but few good places to play (or vice versa) similar contexts.
would find it hard to respond. It will also be • In multiple-choice questions, include
hard for you to know if they agree or dis- all possible options, including “don’t
agree with only one part or both parts of the know,” “no opinion” or “not relevant
statement. The re-phrased questions enable to me.”
you to learn about one thing at a time.
• Make the questions easy to code for
the purposes of analysis
• In general, if you include a few open-
thinking that people have in response to ended questions, put them after struc-
the question. tured questions.1
• If you ask any demographic questions

Method—Assemble the Questionnaire (such as age or gender), do this last.
Once the questions are determined, group them
1. Adapted from Melvin Delgado, Designs and
by topic, from the more general to more specific. Methods for Youth-Led Research (Thousand Oaks,
As a rule, begin with straightforward factual CA: Sage Publications, 2006), 164.
questions and then move on to questions that
elicit opinions. Leave open-ended questions to
the end. Add an introductory paragraph that terviewers who can survey different parts of a
explains the survey purpose, and any instruc- community at different times of day. Have the
tions that respondents will need to know how team practice so that everyone introduces the
to complete different sections. survey and fills out questions in the same way,
and knows how to put respondents at ease. An-
Method—Conduct Training ticipate and share questions that respondents
If the questionnaires are filled out during face- ask so that all interviewers can provide similar
to-face interviews, you may need a team of in- answers.

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Box 6.14. Using Venn Diagrams to Describe a Sense of Connection
C hild friendly surveys provide a range of infor-

mation about the qualities and experiences
of children’s environments. Sometimes it may
explanation that when the circles are completely
overlapping this means you feel very close to
nature, such that “me and nature are one,”
also be helpful to understand children’s sense whereas when the circles are completely discon-
of connectedness, to a park, to nature, or to a nected, you do not feel connected to nature in
community. any way. Or you might adapt the circles to con-
Wes Schultz developed a visual research measure tain simple icons of a person and a tree to repre-
using simple Venn diagrams for individuals to sent the same ideas without the need for words.
describe their sense of connection with nature. This method has since been applied in a range
The method provides a scale of connectedness of contexts, including “me” and “community.”
between “nature” and “self,” with participants Such a survey instrument could serve as a starting
choosing among a range of options, from com- point for dialogue to understand the range of
pletely disconnected from nature (with circles feelings young people associate with a particular
completely separated, A) to completely con- place, with nature within their community, or
nected (with circles completely overlapping, G). with their community as a whole.1
The survey is designed for participants to choose
1. Wesley P. Schultz, “Inclusion with nature: The psy-
the Venn diagram that most closely aligns with
chology of human-nature relations.” Psychology of Sus-
their individual feeling of connection with nature. tainable Development, ed. P. Schmunck and P. Schultz
With younger children, you might offer a simple (Springer U.S, 2002), 61–78.
Figure 6.11. “Me and Nature” Venn diagram.

Image credit: Emily Tarantini

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Box 6.15. Child Friendly Cities Questionnaire for Kindergarten and Fifth Grade
A pproximately 150 children in grades kinder-

garten and fifth grade (ages 5–6 and
9–10) participated in a neighborhood devel-
opment project in Dapto, New South Wales,
Australia. The process was implemented in two
phases: a participatory research phase in which
Figure 6.12. Two versions of this two-page survey were used to interview children in kindergarten
and fifth grade. An adult asked children individually about each question and wrote responses
on the forms. This survey was used with the fifth graders. Image credit: Karen Malone
Child Survey Number _____
Dapto Public School: How Child-Friendly is My Community

Grade 5 Survey
Name ___________________________________ Alias ________________________________ Age _____
Gender ____________ Suburb ________________________________
Where were you born? (tick) ____ Australia ____ Other, please specify ______________________________
What are your five favourite Are there any places you don’t What are your favorite What are your five least
places? Circle your most like to go? Circle the one you activites? Circle your most favourite actvities? Circle
favourite. dislike the most. favourite. your least favourite.
What do you like most about Can you name any places that Do you play any adult Are you allowed to play
your neighbourhood? are especially for children? organized activities? (sport, art, outside of your garden without
music). Make a list and note an adult?
how often you do these.
Yes ____ No ____
If yes, where do you go? Who

do you go with? If no, why not?
What do you dislike most How do you mostly travel to Do you go to any playgrounds Make a list of any issues for
about your neighbourhood? school? (Circle). With who? or parks close to your home? children in your neighbour-
(anything unsafe, dangerous) Which ones? Who with? What hood? Circle the most
Car Walk Ride bike can you do there? significant.
Transport
Describe your house and garden, the streets around your house, and the town you live in.
Finish this sentence: I am lucky because . . .
(Box 6.15 continued on the following page)

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(Box 6.15 continued)
children contributed their design ideas, and a places they liked or disliked in their neighbor-
second phase focused specifically on design. hood, places especially for children, and places
(See Chapter 11 for a detailed case descrip- with adult-organized activities (Figure 6.12).1
tion.) In the first phase, Karen Malone and her
1. Karen Malone, Designing and Dreaming a Child
team of adult researchers asked survey ques-
Friendly Neighborhood for Brooks Reach, Dapto (Uni-
tions orally during interviews with children. The versity of Western Sydney, Bankstown, NSW, Australia,
survey asked children about favorite places, 2011).
Child Survey Number _____
If you could wish for anything to improve the life of other children, what would it be?
Draw me a picture of your neighbourhood.
Draw me a picure of your dream town.

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Box 6.16. Youth Council Action Groups in Pachuca, Mexico
T hrough a participatory action research proj-

ect, children and adolescents in the city of
Pachuca de Soto, in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico,
how to end bullying. This team also made a short
video for adolescents about how to prevent bul-
lying and about the links between bullying and
identified priority issues and conducted research addiction.
with their peers. The research was conducted The youth council Consejo Pamar Revolución was
through five youth councils comprised of four interested in teen pregnancy prevention, so they
to eight children and adolescents on each coun- developed ten questions that they asked other
cil and was facilitated by adult advisors to each young people, aged 9 and up. They also recorded
group. interviews on video. The youth summarized re-
The project began with young people identifying sponses in a table that presented gender, age,
issues of concern through drawings (see Chapter and responses to each of their questions.
5). These issues included bullying, safety from Just as each youth council developed its own
street violence, and teen pregnancy. After pri- questions and research approach, the councils
ority issues were selected, youth councils were used diverse means to develop recommenda-
developed to investigate these issues in more tions. For example, the youth council that fo-
detail. These councils developed a set of survey cused on bullying wanted to understand the
questions that they could ask other children and motives of bullies. By asking, “What causes you
youth in their schools and community. Youth to bully others?” and “What do you feel when
councils then solicited input from their peers you bully?” they were able to identify clear pro-
over a month-long period in which they asked posals for addressing the problem. The youth
questions in person and also left questionnaires councils developed a variety of recommenda-
in public spaces and schools for students to re- tions, including awareness building and a segu-
spond. For example: ridad entre cuates (safety between guys) team to
The youth council Consejo Pamar la Raza was provide security on walks to school.
interested in bullying. They developed a series Youth councils analyzed the results from their
of questions that they asked 60 adolescents, questions and generated recommendations that
ages 13 years and older, specifically from the La they presented and shared with government and
Raza neighborhood. To conduct their survey, they other community institutions. Some of the results
used the idea of a “gossip column” by placing were presented in pie charts, some as lists, and
a notebook in public places with questions for some as posters. Consejo Pamar la Raza asked
adolescents to answer. open-ended questions through their gossip col-
The youth council Consejo Pamar Villas de Pa- umn, which made it challenging to analyze, and
chuca was also interested in bullying. They in- so they had to summarize the most common
stalled a mailbox in their school in order to collect answers. In the end, this council developed a rap
proposals from students about how to reduce song to prevent school harassment.
bullying in their community. They also made the During the process of facilitating this research,
mailbox available to adults, “because adults also children also internalized the idea that they were
have good ideas.” When the mailbox did not agents of change. While it was not part of their
result in many proposals, they decided to make initial goals, children noticed that the park where
a handprint wall in which each student made a they played needed improvement. They decided
painted handprint, along with a suggestion for to make recommendations for changes to this
(Box 6.16 continued on the following page)

45.71.7.34 on Tue, 26 May 2020 21:33:15 UTC
(Box 6.16 continued)
park in addition to the research they were carry- engaged in their work that they proposed a
ing out, and worked with local officials to trans- longer-term strategy for participation. As a re-
form the park into a better place to play. Initially sult, the city created seven school councils, which
the park officials said they would have adults do young people attend once a week to discuss their
some of the hard work, such as planting trees, rights and develop projects to promote their in-
but the children said, “No, we want to do that.” terests and concerns.1
Through their increased sense of agency, they
1. Yolanda Corona Caraveo and María Morfín-Stoopen,
were able to transform the park. This outcome
Nuestra Voz También Cuenta: Haz Que Se Escuche:
highlighted the importance of flexibility in adapt- Una Experiencia de Participación de Niñas, Niños y Ad-
ing to young people’s interests and desires for olescentes en el Municipio de Pachuca (Our voice also
community change. counts: make it heard: An experience of participation
of children and adolescents in the Municipality of Pa-
Another outcome of this project was that the chuca). Chapultepec, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico:
children and adolescents felt so successful and Grafimor S.A. de C.V., 2017.
Box 6.17. Nightlife Action Group
I n the early stages of Growing Up Boulder, a

Nightlife Action Group formed to identify safe,
healthy, and affordable evening activities for
of city council members and led to a number of
outcomes, including the development of monthly
teen nightlife activities at the local YMCA and a
young people. The group was comprised of youth computer programming class that developed
from area schools and an existing YMCA Teen a website portal for teen activities. Teen’s devel-
Advisory Board. The teens met several times to de- opment of this survey involved extensive oversight
sign, administer and analyze the results of a sur- from university faculty, primarily to guide teens in
vey that they issued to approximately 500 youth. developing a reliable survey tool.1
Survey questions asked about existing and desired
nightlife activities, how much money teens could 1. Victoria Derr, Louise Chawla, Mara Mintzer, Debra
spend on events, mechanisms for communicating Flanders Cushing, and Willem van Vliet, “A city for all
citizens: Integrating children and youth from margin-
about events, and modes of transportation to
alized populations into city planning.” Special Issue
events. Because the students collected such a on Designing Spaces for City Living. Buildings 3, no.
large sample, the survey garnered the attention 3(2013): 482–505.
Method—Collect the Information Method—Analyze and Present the Results

The most common means of collecting ques- Chapter 9 reviews a range of methods for cod-
tionnaire information is by distributing them ing, analyzing, and presenting data. As questions
in person and either asking the questions orally, provide for a range of responses, you generally
by distributing paper surveys in public spaces count the number of individuals who responded
or through school classrooms or after-school to each choice and then present this data in either
programs. Increasingly, questionnaires are dis- a bar graph or pie chart (Box 6.19). If you have
tributed digitally. A wide range of open-access collected both fixed responses and open-ended
survey instruments exist, many of which also comments, then you can provide a chart that
tally responses. quantifies the fixed responses, followed by sample
comments that share representative comments.

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Box 6.18. Surveys to Assess Elementary School Accessibility
T he ScHaN (School, Home and Neighborhood

Accessibility) Project was a participatory re-
search study supported by the Canadian Insti-
questions about the mobility methods children
use, features to enter and move about the school,
accessing washrooms, navigating playgrounds,
tute of Health from 2008–2011 to evaluate the and overall challenges in navigating the school.
accessibility of the environment for children with Children were asked if they went outside for re-
disabilities in Ontario, Canada. Using multiple cess, and the reasons why they remained inside
methods that are child- and disability-friendly, during this time. This information was used to
children aged 8–14 with physical disabilities en- inform school policy to improve accessibility.
gaged in an evaluation of their school, home, and While the focus here was on schools, such a pro-
neighborhoods. They identified barriers to mobil- cess could also be used to assess other physical
ity and accessibility, as well as creative strategies environments, such as a neighborhood, park, or
to improve these environments. The project in- public space. One of the important findings from
volved a range of methods including case studies this research was that while many practices and
that were developed with thirteen children who policies ensure children’s physical safety, these
had a range of mobility impairments. Paired with interventions sometimes further exclude children
a research assistant for three 90-minute sessions, with disabilities from important social and edu-
children discussed accessibility and environmental cational opportunities. Children’s involvement
quality by reviewing and discussing photographs, was central to understanding this context for
sketching spaces using computer software (Cam- decision-making.1
tasia Studio), and interviews. These case studies
then informed the development of a survey that
was issued to 624 children by mail. Three youth 1. Lindsay Stephens, Helen Scott, Henna Aslam, Nicole
Yantzi, Nancy L. Young, Sue Ruddick, and Patricia
who had mobility impairments worked with the
McKeever, “The accessibility of elementary schools in
research team to develop a colorful, child- and Ontario, Canada: Not making the grade.” Children,
disability-friendly survey. The survey itself asked Youth and Environments 25, no. 2 (2015): 153–175.
Visual Preference Surveys do not solely rely on an image alone, but also
information they associate with the image. For
Visual preference surveys are used to understand example, an image of a creek may not only indi-
people’s aesthetic preferences for an area to be cate water, but also opportunities for kayaking
re-designed, such as streetscapes, parks, or pub- and skipping stones. This means that people do
lic spaces.73 They are a visual adaptation of the not only respond to the aesthetics of an image,
survey method. In the landscape design field, but also potential activities they can imagine
visual preference research has helped us under- taking place there.
stand not only people’s preferences for natural As a tool for participation, visual preference
landscapes but also how people process visual surveys help young people express their feelings,
information.74 These studies show that people associations, and preferences for different kinds
73. Henry Sanoff, Community Participation Methods in De- of spaces. They can also help young people see
sign and Planning (New York: John Wiley, 2000), 88–96. a range of possibilities, by showing examples of
74. Stephen Kaplan and Rachel Kaplan, The Experience of
Nature: a Psychological Perspective (Cambridge University environment: public participation in design and planning.”
Press, 1989); Stephen Kaplan and Rachel Kaplan, “The visual Journal of Social Issues 45, no. 1 (1989): 59–86.

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Box 6.19. Presenting Questionnaire Results
I n the Great Neighborhoods project (Chapter

11), Growing Up Boulder modified a child-
friendly cities survey instrument to ask young
“The government asks me my opinion about
my life or community.” Prior to the project, 5%
of students responded that this was “some-
people their attitudes about participation, and times true” or “mostly true” for them. After the
if these attitudes changed over the course of project, 55% responded “sometimes true” or
the project. Young people who participated “mostly true.” The bar graph gives a clear visual
in the project answered the same three questions representation of this change.1
both at the beginning and end of the project.
Thus, the questionnaire was used as a way to eval-
uate changes in children’s perspectives on partic- 1. Victoria Derr, and Ildiko G. Kovács, “How partic-
ipation as an aspect of a child-friendly city. These ipatory processes impact children and contribute to
planning: A case study of neighborhood design from
results were then graphed using a bar graph.
Boulder, Colorado, USA.” Journal of Urbanism: Inter-
One of the most dramatic changes occurred with national Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustain-
secondary students in response to the statement, ability 10, no. 1 (2017): 29-48.
Figure 6.13. Pre- and post- project responses to the statement: “The government
asks me my opinion about my life or community.” Image credit: Growing Up Boulder
model parks, public spaces, or transportation are seeking preferences (Figure 6.15,
projects from around the world. There are many Boxes 6.20 and 6.21).
ways to construct a visual preference survey.
In participatory processes in which young
• Community-specific surveys use images people will be developing their own designs or
from the community to draw on familiar design recommendations, you may want to ex-
experiences with a place (Figure 6.14); pose young people to a range of ideas that are
• Conceptual surveys provide design draw- appropriate to that setting. For example, if you
ings or renderings about a conceived space are asking young people to design a city park,
that has not yet been built (Box 6.10); and you may want to present a range of examples
of city parks that have won design awards, that
• Generic surveys assemble images from a
are similar in ecological context, and that fit the
wide range of places that have character-
same budgetary constraints.
istics similar to the project for which you

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Figure 6.14.
Community-specific
visual surveys. These
images were taken from
different parks in the
City of Boulder to repre-
sent parks that children
would know, where they
could respond to the
play value in each. Photo
credits: Victoria Derr
Figure 6.15. Generic

visual surveys. These
images were assembled
from parks in Denmark
and Sweden and were
used as examples to
stimulate discussion
about play preferences
and design. Photo credits:
Victoria Derr
Ages. 10 and up. While younger children can Materials. Preprinted or digitally projected pho-
also participate in visual preference surveys, it tographs of the examples you will use for the
can be hard to understand what motivates their survey, posters or projector, survey instruments
preferences. Pictures of places are more effec-
tive with children under ten than conceptual Time to Complete. Approximately one hour
renderings. For this younger age group, three- to facilitate; approximately two to five hours to
dimensional models, drawings, and field trips prepare the survey
are usually more engaging.

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Box 6.20. Visual Preference Survey for Park Design
W hen the City of Boulder’s Parks and Rec-

reation Department began to develop a
Valmont City Park concept plan, they partnered
spaces, including seating and picnic options; play-
ground structures and settings; and food ven-
dors. Slides presented two, three, or four images
with Growing Up Boulder in a range of partici- for each category. Most also included a short ver-
patory methods that included a field trip to the bal description to clarify which aspect of the im-
park and a visual preference survey with youth age youth should respond to. In this survey, youth
aged 11–16. The visual preference survey was were asked to distribute their responses along a
presented using Power Point slides. A total of 22 spectrum of most-preferred to least-preferred
slides presented images related to the categories image. Some of the most-preferred results were
of: transport, both to and within the park; social compiled into collages for a final report.
Box 6.21. The Use of Precedents: Parks that Flood
W hen the City of Boulder began planning

a redevelopment of its downtown Civic
Area, Growing Up Boulder engaged young peo-
context, the visual preference survey was used
to deepen young people’s thinking by showing
them design examples and enabling them to dis-
ple in primary, middle, and secondary school in a cuss with each other what they liked and did
process of co-design for the “Park at the Core” not like in these images, within the context of
of this public space. (See Chapter 8.) After a se- flood zones. The images inspired children to think
ries of initial activities, including nicho boxes with about the creek and its banks not only as a place
primary-school students (Chapter 5) and field where they liked to play but also as an integrated
trips (Chapter 7), students reviewed precedents part of flood plain management. Children’s ideas
for “Parks that Flood” as a visual preference sur- included underwater viewing areas, a series of
vey. Because the city park was located in the “monkey bars” that spanned the bottom of a
immediate flood zone of Boulder Creek, whose creek bridge, and treehouses above the creek
waters rise and fall with seasonal snowmelt from where people could read books, learn about na-
the mountains, students could learn from other ture, and hear the sounds of the creek and the
parks that were located in the flood zones of birds.1
rivers and use these examples to creatively think
about their own park designs.
For the survey, examples were drawn from parks 1. Victoria Derr and Emily Tarantini, ““Because we are
all people”: Outcomes and reflections from young peo-
all over the world, including Mill Race Park in
ple’s participation in the planning and design of child-
Columbus, Indiana, and the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio friendly public spaces.” Local Environment 21, no. 12
Park’s ecological restoration in Singapore. In this (2016): 534–1556.

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Method—Preparation Method—Develop and

• Determine the purpose of conducting Implement the Survey
a visual preference survey. What do you Develop the format of your survey. Survey
•
hope to learn by conducting a visual pref- responses can be collected through a wide
erence survey with young people? What range of formats: on-line surveys, paper
kinds of information are you seeking? questionnaires, posters with sticky-dot
Do you hope to learn about their aesthetic voting, voting by hand-raising, automated
preferences or their activity preferences? response systems (commonly called
Are you trying to expose them to a range clickers), focus groups, or facilitated dis-
of places so that they can make their own cussions. It is generally best to present im-
design recommendations? You will need ages one at a time for voting or discussion.
to determine if you will be conducting However, if time does not allow this, peo-
a community-specific, conceptual, or ple can be given a certain number of votes
generic survey, or some combination. to distribute among their preferred images.
• Choose categories. Select a range of five to Surveys with structured voting. If you
•
six categories that you would like to gather want numeric voting, where partici-
information about. As an example, for an pants rate a response, you will need to
urban park you might want to include play use an on-line or paper format. Numeric
equipment, seating, nature spaces, public voting should provide a scale, with cate-
art, and food vendors. These categories gories that range from strongly like (or
will help you collect images and sort them. strongly appealing) to strongly dislike
You will want to have approximately four (or strongly unappealing). These catego-
to six images per category. ries should be rated as follows:
• Collect images. You may take or find
photos for existing places within the city, Strongly Strongly
Like Like Neutral Dislike Dislike
assemble designer images proposed for a
(+2) (+1) (0) (-1) (-2)
site, or collect copyright-free images from
Image A
the internet.75 Images for each category
should present a diversity of materials, Image B
colors, and design features. It may be Image C
helpful to have more than one person
collecting images so that the collection will Another adaption of this method can be
represent a range of aesthetic preferences. to prepare a poster with a series of images,
and give each person a set of sticky dots,
so that they can select the image they
prefer from each category. The sticky dots
can then be totaled as a numeric score.
The benefit of a “fixed” response (such as
75. A few sources for images include the Project for Public through on-line surveys or voting) is that
Spaces website; American Society of Landscape Architects
you can quantify the number of people
design awards; Landezine, a landscape architecture web-
site with a wide range projects, from streets to large scale who like a particular design or feature.
parks; and the Child in the City, European Network’s website.
Picasa also has albums of urban features. Make sure to give • Surveys as focus groups or facilitated
proper attribution and respect copyrighted or protected im- discussions. In focus groups or facilitated
ages for all images that are downloadable from the internet. discussions, the same survey process

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can be used, with young people voting By listening to others, young people begin
by a show of hands, and then discussing to shift their perspectives from “what I
aspects of each image that they like or do want” to “what we want.”
not like. Compared with structured votes,
To complete the visual preference survey,
these settings allow more time for discus-
you can assemble a collage of the images that
sion about why different people respond
people preferred most. This enables young peo-
the way they do. These discussions can
ple to identify common themes that guide pref-
help you understand young people’s aes-
erences. Groups can make posters of the images
thetics, as well as the activities and types
that inspire them to carry their own design
of experiences they desire. This feedback
thinking further, or they can use images as prec-
can be helpful not only for professionals,
edents for their own design recommendations.
but also for young people themselves.

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New Village Press

Chapter Title: Interviews, Focus Groups, and Surveys

Book Title: Placemaking with Children and Youth

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/j.ctvwrm51q.15

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Box 6.1. Tips for Successful Interviews

• Ask follow-up questions when someone’s

• If you are interviewing adults or older • Determine recommendations for action.

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Box 6.2. Tips for Interviewing Children

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Community Places Interview

Name of Person Conducting Interview

Form 6.1. A Sample Community Interview Template.

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Box 6.3. Growing Up in Cities Interviews

W hen the Growing Up in Cities program

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a question appeared especially meaningful for a Variation:

W hen Samira Ramezani and Ismail Said

27. Lynch, Growing Up in Cities, 55-56, 77-78, 85, 104.

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Box 6.5. Puppet Friends

T he Phila Impilo! project in South Africa works

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Box 6.6. Great Public Places Interview

W hen Growing Up Boulder initiated youth

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Box 6.7. Interviews to Assess Teen-Friendly Businesses

W hen Growing Up Boulder was just be-

Figure 6.3. Two teens

Figure 6.4. Three

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Figure 6.5. A letter from an estab-

Box 6.8. Providing Support for Expert Interviews

A s part of a place-based service learning proj-

If the students had more time, they could have

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Box 6.9. Easy Targets: Participatory Interviews with Undocumented Youth

I n order to understand the challenges that un-

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Focus Groups ing on a limited number of questions.”38 Focus

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The role of a recorder is also important. Even Method

39. Driskell, Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth,

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of the practice group should share their experi-

Finding a Comfortable Location. Places

42. Boyden and Ennew, Youth in Focus, 130.

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Gender Suburb ____________________