Visual research and development docx

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Kevin Meethan

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• _{There is a long tradition of using}

photography and film in ethnographic research.

• _{There is a tradition of using}

photography in documenting social conditions.

• _{Even so, the use of photographs and}

film (and later video) remained as rather marginal research methods.

Visual

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• _{Digitisation means taking}

photographs and videos, storing them and sharing them has never been easier.

• _{The global spread of the mobile}

phones with cameras has also changed the way we record and engage with the world.

• _{We can share our pictures through}

networking sites and via email.

Visual

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• _{The realist assumption: the camera does}

not lie.

• _{Photographs and videos are often}

assumed to be a way around the problem of ‘observer bias’.

• _{Photographic images have always been}

manipulated.

Visual

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Take for example this picture of Lenin …

Visual

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• _{A photograph both includes, as well}

as excludes

• _{A photograph is always selective}

• _{The optics of a camera do not mimic}

human eyesight

• _{They convert three dimensions into a}

two dimensional plane

Visual

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• _{When we take a picture we are}

making decisions that may involve aesthetic concerns as much as

anything else.

• _{Images are produced and interpreted}

through forms of tacit knowledge

• _{There are many different kinds of}

photography

• _{Certain things may be ignored as}

subjects

Visual

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• Assumption that photography

bypasses human agency and removes subjectivity because it is a purely

mechanical process

• _{It is convention that enables us to see}

photographs as a ‘true’ representation of the world

• _{As well as rendering three dimensions}

into two, they also ‘freeze’ the fourth dimension of time

Visual

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• _{Nonetheless photographs have the}

capacity to document in a way that writing cannot

• _{As such they isolate specific events}

from the flux of our experiences

• _{And by doing so, allow us to}

scrutinise a particular place, or incident many times over.

Visual

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The following photographs were taken in the Gambia. They are part of a sequence that shows someone preparing green tea. This is a widespread and semi-ritualised custom, green tea is boiled up with sugar, and drunk from small glasses, and is

shared between family and friends.

Preparing Green

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Preparing Green

Tea

These photos enabled us to see the process in some

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• _{Nonetheless photographs have the}

capacity to document in a way that writing cannot.

• _{As such they isolate specific events}

from the flux of our experiences

• _{And by doing so, allow us to}

scrutinise a particular place, or incident many times over.

Visual

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• _{Problem of decontextualisation}

Baetens (2009) writes that photographs

are ‘…considered to be good at

‘showing’ but not very good at

‘telling’’ (p143)

Visual

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• _{Gold (2007) uses photography as one}

aspect of his research methods in the study of immigrant communities.

• _{Pictures can be used as the basis for}

interaction with his informants

• _{How they view the images can reveal}

information that interviews might not have

• _{This technique is known as ‘photo}

elicitation’

Visual

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User generated images: where the research subjects are asked to take pictures

Guillemin and Drew (2010) used what

they termed ‘photovoice’ to examine the experiences of young people with

chronic medical conditions.

Such an approach requires the active

involvement of participants and as such can be empowering.

User generated

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• _{Problems with anonymity and}

confidentiality are not really any

greater with visual data than written data

• _{Often confused with ideas of}

ownership and permission

• _{Under UK law the person who takes}

the photograph owns it

Ethical

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• _{You do not need permission to take a}

photo in a public place, to take a

photo of a building or to take a photo of private property from a public

place

• _{You need permission if you are on}

private property e.g. shops, shopping malls

• _{Some public buildings such as}

museums and art galleries do not allow photography, but some do

Ethical

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• _{Photos and videos are useful but}

underused research tools within the social sciences

• _{We need to be aware of the}

conventions of both taking and interpreting images such as the

problem of ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’

• _{Ethical issues are less understood but}

no greater than those involved with other forms of recording

Visual research:

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Photographs of Lenin courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons /e/e8/RedSqlenintrotsky.jpg

Accessed 11/8/11

Photographs from Gambia courtesy of Kevin Meethan

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Baetens, J. (2009) Is a Photograph Worth a Thousand Films?. In Visual Studies 24, 2, 143 – 148

Gold, S. (2007) Using Photography in Studies of

Immigrant Communities. In Stanczak. G. (ed) Visual Research Methods: Image, society and representation.

Sage: London.

Guillemin. M. and Drew, S. (2010) Questions of Process in Participant Generated Visual Methodologies. In Visual Studies 25, 2, 175 - 188

Heath, C., Hindmarsh, J. and Luff, P. (2010) Video in Qualitative Research. Sage: London

L. Macpherson (2009) The UK Photographers Rights Guide V2.

http://www.sirimo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ukphotographersrights-v2.pdf Accessed 11/8/11

Rose, G. (2007 2nd_edition)_{Visual Methodologies: An}

introduction to the interpretation of visual materials. Sage: London

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Author Kevin Meethan

Institute Plymouth University

Title Visual Research

Description Presentation – Qualitative Methods – Visual Research Date Created November 2010

Educational Level 7, Masters

Keywords UKOER ,LFWOER ,UOPCPDRM, Learning from WOeRK ,WBL ,Work-Based, Learning, CPD ,Continuous Professional Development ,Research Skills, Qualitative Research Methods ,Visual Research

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