Surveying children and young people on sensitive topics: Creating engaging, accessible, trauma-informed digital questionnaires

Research with children and young people requires bespoke measurement tools and methodologies, designed with the end-user in mind. This paper describes the design of digital questionnaires for children and young people which are engaging, accessible, and trauma-informed. It is presented in the context of a larger study, which designed violence prevalence survey questionnaires for participants aged 11–25 years in the United Kingdom. Data collection was conducted with child abuse and violence research professionals, adults and children with lived experience of violence in the UK, and children and young people in the target age group in the UK. Feedback on the design of the questionnaires was gathered via online Delphi surveys, focus groups, participatory research sessions, qualitative interviews, and individual consultations. Thematic analysis was conducted to review feedback on digital format features, trauma-informed design, and accessibility. The project followed an iterative and multi-stage process. Digital formatting (including matrix questions, survey branching, and navigation buttons), trauma-informed design (including question introductions and opt-out response phrasing), and accessibility features (including audio recordings and readability) can be utilised to generate an engaging, accessible, and trauma-informed measurement tool appropriate for children and young people. Using an inclusive and child-focused approach to design has the potential to positively impact children's ability and willingness to engage with surveys, ultimately improving the resulting data and our understanding of children's experiences of violence. • Children and young people must be involved in the development of surveys for them. • Questionnaires designed to be accessible and trauma-informed are most effective. • Digital features should be maximized to create surveys which avoid retraumatisation. • Question layouts, readability, and opt-out responses can impact engagement.