Method guide · Work with a structured grid
Peer Research Question Design Workshop
Design answerable, analysable questions with young peer researchers while separating researcher and respondent consent and retaining adult responsibility.
- People
- 4–16
- Base procedure time
- 120 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Organise and narrow ideas.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A method for designing answerable and analysable research questions with young researchers. As in the original source, researcher roles are usually for ages 14 and above; if including younger children, separately design roles, explanations, consent, and safety for developmental stage. Prepare a brief describing purpose, participants, and use, and training in collection and analysis before starting. Separate researcher-role consent from respondent consent to answer and be recorded, and decide deletion, anonymisation, and stopping use after withdrawal. The result is accepted questions, reasons for non-acceptance, trial owners, and response deadlines. This description is an original adaptation with changes to UK government guidance under OGL 3.0. Do not proceed without the adult research lead, safeguarding staff, brief, or training.
Phase schedule
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- Secure two consents, payment, and safety0–15 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Safeguard. Participation: Everyone with the safeguarding lead and backup.
Shared record
- Separate purpose and young people's interests15–35 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Separate. Participation: Groups of 2–4.
Shared record
- Revise for accessibility and less bias35–60 minutes from the start (25 minutes)
Action: Revise. Participation: Groups of 2–4.
Shared record
- Check methods, consent, risk, and data60–85 minutes from the start (25 minutes)
Action: Check. Participation: Groups of 2–4 with the adult research lead.
Shared record
- Confirm questions, supervision, and responses85–120 minutes from the start (35 minutes)
Action: Confirm. Participation: Everyone with the adult research lead.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 15 minutes, check the brief, collection/analysis training, separate researcher/respondent consents, withdrawal, and safety routes.
- For 20 minutes, separate the research purpose from what young researchers want to find out, without speaking for absent young people.
- For 25 minutes, revise candidate questions into plain language suited to age and reading approaches, answerable by dictation or drawings too.
- For 25 minutes, check each question's method, necessary consent, risks, advice contacts, and ways not to collect personal data.
- For 20 minutes, choose analysable questions and write reasons for non-selection and publication/secondary-use/storage/deletion arrangements on the checklist.
- For 15 minutes, decide the adult research lead, supervision scope, post-withdrawal handling, trial owners, and response deadlines.
If something changes
If
Before starting, any of the safeguarding lead and backup, emergency advice contact, adult research lead, brief, or collection/analysis training is missing.
Then
Do not begin question design; cancel and have only the organisation confirm responsibilities, procedures, training, and a rescheduled date.
If
Even one person indicates withdrawal of consent, a break, leaving, or participating without being recorded.
Then
Stop recording without asking why; return, delete, or anonymise existing records according to the person's choice and stop their use. Do not use non-participation in evaluation or reduce payment or participation opportunities.
If
Even one safety concern is raised, such as harm, illegal acts, self-harm, or harm to others.
Then
Stop research recording and whole-group discussion; do not promise secrecy, and have the safeguarding lead connect to the prearranged emergency procedure and advice contact.
Preparation
Materials
- One research brief and data-collection/analysis training pack per person
- One purpose/question/participants/method/risk/selection sheet per group
- One separate researcher-role consent draft and one respondent consent draft per person
- One post-withdrawal deletion/anonymisation/stop-use sheet per question
- One safeguarding/backup/day-contact/advice card per person
- One whole-group publication/secondary-use/storage/deletion sheet
- One set of dictation, drawing, large-print, and pass cards per person
- One thick pen per person
Room and setup
- Display the safeguarding lead and backup, contact on the day, local emergency procedure, advice contact, and adult research lead; cancel if even one is missing.
- As in the original source, researcher roles are usually for ages 14 and above. If including younger children, do not use this draft unchanged; separately design roles, explanations, consent, and safety for their developmental stage.
- Prepare a clear research brief and data-collection/analysis training before starting; cancel if either is missing.
- Separate consent to become a researcher and necessary guardian/organisational procedures from respondents' consent to answer and be recorded. Explain plainly both parties' withdrawal, no disadvantage for non-participation, and payment conditions.
- Provide dictation, drawings, large print, breaks, and passing. Collect no personal data or only the minimum; define publication, secondary use, storage, deletion, and post-withdrawal handling beforehand. Specify the scope of questions/methods delegated to young researchers, adults' ethics/safety/data responsibilities, response deadlines, and reasons for accepting or rejecting questions; do not ask them to speak for all young people.
Adjust for people and time
Use one group for 4 people, two for 5–8, three for 9–12, and four for 13–16, differing by no more than 1 person. Check consent, risks, and data handling for each group's questions before combining them. With 17 or more, use separate sessions, each with safeguarding staff, backup, and research lead.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not start without safeguarding lead/backup, emergency advice, adult research lead, brief, and training. Separate the two consents; support accessible formats, breaks, passing, and non-recorded participation. Honour withdrawal without reasons, evaluation penalties, or payment/opportunity reduction, handling existing records by the person's choice and stopping use. For any safety concern, stop recording and discussion, promise no secrecy, and use prearranged safeguarding routes. Adults retain ethics/safety/data responsibilities; do not generalise or claim to speak for absent/all young people.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- GOV.UK Methods for engaging young people: Youth/peer researchers
Adaptation under OGL-3.0; changes made
- Conditions of OGL-3.0
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
OGL-3.0
Current-page licence notice
A Taiwa no Fumen adaptation based on the UK government publication identified below. Any separately stated terms apply to the material they identify.
Changes: timings, instructions, materials and branches have been edited for this site. The English edition translates the Japanese manuscript, not the government text verbatim.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This notice does not grant blanket rights to third-party works, personal data, organisational logos or trademarks.
This is not an official or government-endorsed method.
See the licence for its no-warranty and other terms.
© Crown copyright 2026
Credits on the checked source page
- Published by: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Methods for engaging young people.
Source lineage
Open Government Licence v3.0 · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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