OR?
Traditionally, research with younger children has often used the so-called “Smiley Face Scale” to measure acceptability of products. They have also been used in cross-cultural studies where respondents are illiterate and word-anchored or numerical scales are inappropriate.
Researchers have debated the format of this scale for years. Should it use photographs? Should it show faces which are both gender and ethnically neutral? Should you use a cartoon character? What works best? In an effort to use images which do not upset a child or can be misinterpreted, scales have often been used in which the facial expression is highly stylized and the face belongs to no particular gender or race.
This approach may not “offend” your young participants, but does it “engage”? We don’t talk about “engagement” in research enough, in my opinion. Is the task you have assigned interesting or boring? Does the length of it match the attention span of the children taking part? This is very important where you are researching with very young children. In my experience, engagement = good quality data and boredom can easily lead to poor quality data. This is true with adults also – if your task bores them, they will want it over as quickly as possible.
All of this suggests that piloting any new tasks you are asking children to do and the tools you are using is a vital part of any work you do. Never assume that tools which other researchers have used can be uplifted and used for your own situation!