WorkshopsWorkshop Day · 15 September · Additional fee
Research & Analysis

Empowerment młodych! Jak badać młodzież na przykładzie case study badań agencji Hearts&Heads

September 19, 2024 12:50 PM
Long Lecture
🇵🇱 Polish
Bratysława 2

About

Żarówki LED z ciepłym światłem mogą się przydać do badań młodych ludzi. I trochę pluszu.

Ach! Ta dzisiejsza młodzież, ciśnie się na usta.

A ja powiem Wam: młodzi ludzie dają się lubić i chcą opowiadać o sobie, jeśli tylko stworzy im się odpowiednie warunki do tego, żeby pozwolili nam na chwilę wejść do ich świata. Posłuchać, jak u nich jest.

Studium dwóch badań: studentów i chęci ich zaangażowania społecznego dla programu Projektor oraz badanie licealistów i ich postrzegania nauki dla Centrum Nauki Kopernik przeprowadzone przez agencję Hearts&Heads pozwoli na głębsze zrozumienie tego, jak dotrzeć do świata młodych.

Będzie o konkretach - zastosowanych metodach, sposobie przeprowadzenia badania i wnioskach jakie z tego wyciągnęliśmy. A przede wszystkim będzie o tym, co robić (a czego nie), żeby młodzi ludzie wpuścili nas na chwilę do swojego świata i pozwolili zrozumieć ich prawdziwe potrzeby. Młodzież jaka jest niby każdy wie, ale… pozwólmy się nam, “dorosłym” badaczom trochę zaskoczyć!

‍

Talk by

Photo of Edyta Gawlak, Hearts&Heads - stanowisko: trenerka, badaczka doświadczeń odbiorców.
Edyta Gawlak
Hearts&Heads - stanowisko: trenerka, badaczka doświadczeń odbiorców. at Independent

Watch the full talk

Watch this WaysConf session, then continue with related talks or explore the current programme.

Explore the 2026 agendaMore WaysConf recordings
From the recording

Talk in brief

A field guide to qualitative research with teenagers and young adults, based on studies for the Copernicus Science Centre and a social-engagement program. The talk argues that young participants quickly detect forced familiarity and respond better to authentic adults who listen without presenting themselves as unquestionable experts. Recruitment combined social media with trusted schools and educators, while the sessions used collages, stories, speculative event design, repeated focus groups, cultural probes, photo diaries, personal exhibitions, and letters to volunteering. These methods let participants choose how deeply to reveal their world and gave clients evidence about needs beneath the literal ideas. Curiosity, psychological safety, non-judgment, and meaningful influence are the foundations of engagement.

Key takeaways

  1. 01

    Approach young people without performing youth

    Participants value accessible, honest researchers more than adults who imitate their language or claim authority over their experience.

    Watch from 2:01
  2. 02

    Recruit through digital and trusted local channels

    Social media widened reach, while teachers, schools, universities, and direct recommendations made participation feel credible.

    Watch from 10:00
  3. 03

    Make participation meaningful as well as rewarded

    Compensation matters, but young people also engage when they see that an institution genuinely wants their perspective.

    Watch from 14:01
  4. 04

    Use creative prompts to surface hidden needs

    Collages, fantasy scenarios, photographs, and letters allow emotions and motivations to emerge without demanding direct disclosure.

    Watch from 16:01
  5. 05

    Let participants control the depth of disclosure

    Clear boundaries, non-judgment, and self-directed tasks create safety while preserving the young person’s agency.

    Watch from 26:00
Read edited transcript highlights

These concise notes were edited from automatic captions and checked against the talk structure. They are not a verbatim transcript.

Authenticity matters more than generational mimicry

Researchers can become so anxious about a generational gap that they imitate youth language, clothing, or mannerisms. Teenagers are especially alert to that performance. They do not require the researcher to be the same as them; they need an adult who is available, admits what they do not know, and creates enough space for participants to describe their own experience without correction.

Watch from 2:01

Recruitment works through credibility and reach

The studies used social channels belonging to the agency, clients, and partners, but also relied on schools, university groups, teachers, and directors. Those analogue relationships helped the invitation travel through people young participants already recognized. More people volunteered than the studies required, showing that research can attract interest when the purpose and experience are made clear.

Watch from 10:00

Fantasy can reveal a practical requirement

When teenagers imagined an ideal science experience, they proposed ideas such as major expeditions or travelling with classmates. The literal concepts were not treated as a specification. Researchers interpreted the needs underneath them, including exploration, community, novelty, and comfort. Creative exercises are valuable because they give participants a language for needs that may be difficult to state directly.

Watch from 18:02

Cultural probes return control to participants

Students documented parts of their day and collected materials connected with social engagement between two group sessions. They decided what to photograph, what objects mattered, and how much context to share. The artifacts then anchored the second conversation in real routines and memories, helping the researchers understand time, motivation, and emotion without imposing a rigid observation script.

Watch from 22:01

A letter makes ambivalence easier to express

Participants wrote to a volunteering program as though it were a relationship, completing prompts about what they valued, what disappointed them, and what they wanted from a future version. Addressing an organization rather than a person created useful distance from difficult feelings. The familiar metaphor produced richer accounts of mentorship, courage, frustration, and unmet expectations than a conventional evaluation question.

Watch from 28:00
Explore WaysConf 2026

View the agenda

Get tickets