Children's voices--Differentiating a child perspective from a child's perspective.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper was to discuss differences between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective based on the problem being investigated.


METHODS
Conceptual paper based on narrative review.


RESULTS
The child's perspective in research concerning children that need additional support are important. The difference between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective in conjunction with the need to know children's opinions has been discussed in the literature. From an ideological perspective the difference between the two perspectives seems self-evident, but the perspectives might be better seen as different ends on a continuum solely from an adult's view of children to solely the perspective of children themselves. Depending on the research question, the design of the study may benefit from taking either perspective. In this article, we discuss the difference between the perspectives based on the problem being investigated, children's capacity to express opinions, environmental adaptations and the degree of interpretation needed to understand children's opinions.


CONCLUSIONS
The examples provided indicate that children's opinions can be regarded in most research, although to different degrees.
CHILD, School of Health Sciences, Borås University , Borås , Sweden .
Stefan
S
Nilsson
Berit
B
Björkman
Anna-Lena
AL
Almqvist
Lena
L
Almqvist
Polly
P
Björk-Willén
Dana
D
Donohue
Karin
K
Enskär
Mats
M
Granlund
Karina
K
Huus
Sara
S
Hvit
D035841:Behavioral Research / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*
Child perspective; child’s perspective; methodology