In this chapter, I discuss some of the accumulated knowledge regarding the techniques for interviewing children in person in large-scale surveys and the strategies for optimizing the measures used and the quality of the resulting data. The chapter draws together practical knowledge from diverse sources and reflects on the lessons that can be learned for quantitative research concerning children. This practical knowledge comes from a very wide range of disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, education, criminology and sociology. In addition, in order to illustrate the constraints and practical challenges of including children in an ongoing large-scale, general purpose, survey, I describe, as a case study, the development and implementation of a Children as respondents 89 Young Person’s questionnaire for children aged 11–15 in the British Household Panel Study. First, however, I consider why, in our supposedly child-oriented society, children are so often ignored by large-scale, general population, survey research.

In this chapter I reflect on why children are so often excluded from largescale quantitative research. I argue that the social and economic questions that such research addresses are often framed in ways where the adultcentric bias is unacknowledged and inappropriate. I also elaborate on how, at least for research using the life course perspective (Elder et al. 1993; Elder 1995), the crucial concepts of choice and agency means that it is essential to collect information from children themselves concerning their present experiences and future aspirations. Until recently survey researchers, when investigating aspects of childhood, have preferred to ask adult respondents such as parents or teachers to report on children’s lives, rather than to ask children themselves. In part, this has been because of concerns about the cognitive ability of children to process and respond to structured questions about behaviour, perceptions, opinions and beliefs. Drawing on research from cognitive psychology, I suggest ways that questionnaires and interview practice can be modified to make them more suitable for young respondents. I also reflect on ways that practical and ethical challenges posed by the inclusion of children in general surveys can be overcome. By including children in population surveys, especially longitudinal surveys, social scientists can improve the theoretical understanding and empirical knowledge of the dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion that are so evident in childhood experiences and life course trajectories.