CO:RE | Children Online: Research and Evidence Project

Work package 6

Coordinated by Tampere University

Introducing

Work package 6 is about the research journey and about the goodness and soundness of methods utilised when conducting research about and among children and youth in sociotechnical environments.

About work package 6

The team at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication of Tampere University (FI) identifies, develops and provides access to resources on qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods together with evaluating their validity in research on and with children about their digital lives. In work package 6, the team identifies new methodological aspects together with validity issues arising from doing research on and with children in an online environment.

Our goals

The main focus in work package 6 is on a holistic review and evaluation of empirical findings with regard to their methodological bases. These efforts peak in an open-access handbook on mixed method approaches for digital environments, promoting traditional as well as non-conventional ways to produce high-quality research.

Our three-year timeline

Year 1

In the first year, work package 6 releases resources that promote robust and ethical methodological approaches in the study with and of children and their digital media experiences. In the process of launching these CO:RE features, children and young people are invited to engage in the design of better research tools and methods, which in turn is also sought to expand youth scientific digital literacy.

Year 2

The second year is focused on planning and organising two events critical to furthering methodological advancement. First, the team arranges a design workshop, inviting researchers as well as children and youth as empirical experts to drive and shape research methods and the ways knowledge is being produced. Second, the team hosts a European methods summer school that explores traditional and non-conventional research methodologies used in studying children and digital media and promotes approaches that enrol youth as empirical experts in research practice.

Year 3

In the third year, the team focuses on finalising and publishing an open-access handbook on mixed method approaches for digital environments. Promoting traditional as well as non-conventional ways to produce high-quality research, the handbook emphasises the indispensability of children and youth taking the role of empirical experts in research practice.

Our team

Sirkku Kotilainen

WP6 co-leader

Sirkku Kotilainen, PhD, is professor in Communication Sciences at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences of Tampere University (FI). She has over 20 years of experience in research topics mainly covering digital literacies and media education among children and youth, teacher’s media competencies and media education in youth work. More recently, her research has focused on promoting media education among at-risk youth and, methodological developments in co-research with young people as empirical experts in their uses of online media.

Iiris Tuvi

WP6 member

Iiris Tuvi, PhD, is a post-doctoral Research Fellow a the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences of Tampere University. She has long experience in experimental psychology and methods involving psychometrics and data analysis. Currently working on methods used to research children in digital environment. Iiris is a member of Work Package 6 team.

Jussi Okkonen

WP6 co-leader

Jussi Okkonen, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication of Tampere University (FI). Okkonen’s research interests lie in socio-technical environments and digital literacy. He has recently done research on educational technology, children and youth in socio-technical context, and impact of AI.