‘I fell out of a tree and broke my neck’: acknowledging fantasy in children's research contributions

Abstract

Creative and increasingly playful methods are now widespread in geographical research with children. These methods, encouraging imagination and fun, may illicit fantastical responses from children. However, ‘untruths’ in research contributions continue to be considered as reflective of failures in the research process. By ignoring untrue contributions we risk losing valuable data and silencing one form of children's voices. This paper calls for considered discourse on how imagination and fantasy might be included in analysis of research outcomes.