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Children have the right to express themselves and to be involved in the construction of knowledge. In this article, we argue for the right of refugee children to express their thoughts and feelings in research, and for the obligation of researchers to enable their self-expression. We propose respect as the driving force for enabling children's rights and entitlements. As respect is translated and instantiated in the specifics of research activities, it brings those rights into practice. We describe a set of computer-assisted interviews (CAIs) developed at the Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture (VFST). We show how they meet the criteria of respect and enable refugee children's contributions to knowledge. CAIs allow children to express their thoughts and feelings about their own well-being through their accessibility, in how they present children with multiple ways to contribute to knowledge, and in the usefulness of the individualized profiles of responses they provide for holistic analyses. This research using CAIs is suitable for providing an evidence base for tailoring assessment and services for refugee children and has potential for use in rights-based practice.

What are the most appropriate methodological approaches for researching the psychosocial determinants of health and wellbeing among young people from refugee backgrounds over the resettlement period? What kinds of research models can involve young people in meaningful reflections on their lives and futures while simultaneously yielding valid data to inform services and policy? This paper reports on the methods developed for a longitudinal study of health and wellbeing among young people from refugee backgrounds in Melbourne, Australia. The study involves 100 newly-arrived young people 12 to 18 years of age, and employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods implemented as a series of activities carried out by participants in personalized settlement journals. This paper highlights the need to think outside the box of traditional qualitative and/or quantitative approaches for social research into refugee youth health and illustrates how integrated approaches can produce information that is meaningful to policy makers, service providers and to the young people themselves.

Recognition of the communal nature of the culture and traditions of many refugees who have resettled in Australia in recent years, particularly those from African countries, has urged a stronger consideration of community-based approaches to their recovery and resettlement. In 2004, a framework of recovery, developed to enhance the mental health and well-being of refugees during resettlement in Australia, was applied to a community capacity-building programme among South Sudanese refugees living in an outer western suburb of Melbourne. This paper explores the integration of recovery goals into the structures and processes initiated throughout the programme. It assesses the contribution of this model to strengthening the community's ability to adjust to resettlement and enable greater control in determining their lives in Australia.