Planning. Baskýdaki Makaleler: PLAN-60243

Çocuk-merkezli araþtýrma yöntemlerinin araþtýrmacý perspektifinden deðerlendirilmesi: aktivite günlükleri üzerine bir inceleme

Yücel Can Severcan
Orta Doðu Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlýk Fakültesi, Þehir ve Bölge Planlama Ana Bilim Dalý, Ankara

Planlama disiplininde çocuklarý konu alan çalýþmalar kentlerde artan çocuk nüfusu ve kentsel sorunlar ile birlikte giderek yaygýnlaþmaktadýr. Bu çalýþmalarda, çeþitli nedenlerle araþtýrmacýlarýn çocuk-merkezli araþtýrma yöntemlerini daha fazla kullandýklarý görülmektedir. Bu eðilimlere paralel olarak, gelecek araþtýrma çalýþmalarýný yönlendirmek amacýyla, araþtýrma sorularýný çocuk-merkezli araþtýrma yöntemlerini deðerlendirmek üzere formüle eden bir yazýnýn baþta Batý ülkelerinde olmak üzere hýzla geliþtiði izlenmektedir. Ancak, yöntemlerin araþtýrmacýlar açýsýndan baþarýsý bir coðrafyadan diðerine deðiþebilmektedir. Bu durum, konu hakkýndaki yöntem yazýnýnýn geliþtiði ülkeler dýþýnda çalýþmalarýný yürütmekte olan araþtýrmacýlarýn, yerelde yürütülen çalýþma bulgularýndan beslenmeleri, diðer bir ifadeyle mevcut yazýnda yer alan yöntem bilime iliþkin her paylaþýlmýþ tecrübeyi genelleþtirilmemeleri gerekliliðine dikkat çekmektedir. Bu çalýþma, çocuk-merkezli veri toplama yöntemlerinin baþarýsýnýn nasýl deðerlendirilebileceðini mevcut yazýna atýfla ele almaktadýr. Daha sonra ortaya konulan bu yöntem, yazarýn Ýstanbul ve Ankara’da yürüttüðü iki araþtýrma projesinde 9-14 yaþ arasý toplam 1303 çocuk ile deneyimlediði farklý tasarým ve uygulamalara sahip aktivite günlüðü çalýþmalarýnýn araþtýrmacý perspektifinden deðerlendirilmesi için kullanýlmaktadýr. Bulgular, söz konusu aktivite günlüðü çalýþmalarýnýn uygulama kolaylýðý, çocuklarýn yapabilirlikleri ve elde edilen verilerin bilimselliði hakkýnda hem farklý hem de örtüþen avantaj ve dezavantajlarýnýn olduðunu göstermektedir. Elde edilen deneyimler, çizelge formatýnda uygulanan aktivite günlüðü çalýþmalarýnýn yaratýcý olarak nitelendirilebilecek günlük tasarýmlarýna kýyasla daha fazla olumlu yanýnýn olduðunu göstermiþtir. Bu olumlu yanlar, bilimsel çalýþmalarda aranan ampirisizm ve bulgularda tekrarlanabilirlik kriterleri baðlamýnda öne çýkmaktadýr. Çocuklarýn aktif katýlýmýný saðlamaya yönelik, bireysel uygulamalarýn iki çocuklu uygulamalara kýyasla daha iyi sonuçlar verdiði deneyimlenmiþtir. Gelecek araþtýrmalarýn baþarýsý için bu tür deðerlendirmelerin paylaþýlmasý önemlidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Çocuk-merkezli yöntemler, aktivite günlüðü, veri toplamada baþarý ölçütleri, çocuk, planlama

---

Evaluation of child-centered research methods from a researcher's perspective: an investigation of activity diaries

Yücel Can Severcan
Department of City And Regional Planning, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkiye

Studies focusing on children in the field of urban planning are increasing along with an increase in the number of children living in urban areas and problems associated with urbanization. In line with these trends, the use of child-centered methods has grown exponentially over the past few decades. While a growing number of researchers have evaluated the success of their own use of different child-centered research techniques, such as interviews, diaries, and drawings, most of these studies are centered in Western countries. However, the success of these methods may vary by context. Thus, researchers should be cautious when taking into consideration lessons learned from elsewhere. Each research has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the sharing of knowledge is crucial to the success of future research projects. This study presents a method of assessment to evaluate the success of child-centered data collection methods. Thereafter, it uses this method to assess the success of various activity diaries completed by 1303 9–14-year-old children in Ankara and Istanbul from a researcher’s perspective. Comparisons were made between activity diaries designed as spreadsheets and those formatted as clock templates, which were filled out individually and in pairs and conducted in the presence of researchers and uncontrolled environments. Results show that the diaries analyzed in this study have both overlapping and non-overlapping benefits and drawbacks in relation to the applicability of the methods, children’s capabilities, and the principles of scientific research. The author found that activity diaries in the form of spreadsheets are more beneficial to researchers than those formatted as clock templates. These benefits are particularly evident in relation to the empiricism and repeatability dimensions of scientific research. Children tend to provide more complete responses in spreadsheet-formatted activity diaries. It can be inferred that compared to activity diaries formatted as clock templates – where all questions are open-ended – diaries designed as spreadsheets, which feature close-ended time-related questions divided into morning-to-noon and noon-to-night activities sections, enable researchers to gather more reliable data regarding the timing of children’s activities. Asking children to explain what they did on a particular day rather than on a typical week or weekend day decreases subjectivity in defining the time scope of the diaries and thus increases the reliability of the findings. Children’s age seems to influence the accuracy of the results. In studies conducted in the presence of researchers and in a single meeting, it was observed that younger children (aged 9–10) are more likely to change their responses to questions about the time of their activities than older children (aged 11–14); asking children to fill out the activity diaries at home may lead younger children to develop better knowledge of when they do what. Conducting the activities in pairs leads to increased boredom among children and necessitates that researchers invest more time and effort in data collection. The discussion of these experiences is essential for the success of future research.

Keywords: Child-centered methods, activity diary, success of data collection, children, planning

---

ATIF KOPYALA