Ethical Usability Testing with Children

Usability testing of children’s software on children is an important part of the software development and evaluation cycle, but the dilemmas of conducting usability testing in an ethical manner need careful consideration in order to protect the participants’ well-being. The main issues in conducting research with children are the protection of the child, informed consent, and voluntary participation. Protection of the child is achieved by careful consideration of the design of the research. Consent is required from the parent and the child depending on the ability of the child to give informed consent. The final issue is voluntary participation, and thus the child’s right to refuse to participate must be respected.