Researching with Men: Ideas and Strategies for Doing Better

This paper challenges the tendency of research to ignore issues related to the study of men and particularly men as parents. An argument is also presented for including men in studies of parenting and use of family services, including early childhood education services. We draw on our recent New Zealand study of fathers ’ experience of child and family services to highlight key issues in conducting research that involves men as informants and concerns men as parents. The issues identified include recruitment of men, interpretation of men’s voice and the impact of stereotypes and myths regarding fathering. From our experience of conducting the study and working on these issues we share a set of recommendations. We hope the ideas and strategies that were developed for addressing these issues will prove useful in providing some guidance for future research with men