PSYCH 306: Qualitative research

What is visual qualitative research?

a qualitative research approach that uses visual materials, like photographs, videos, drawings, or maps, to gather and analyze data

What is photo-voice research?

participatory method where participants take photographs to express their perspectives and experiences, often used to influrnce social or policy change

• combines photograohy with dialogue, reflected, and action

Who developed photo-voice research + original study

Caroline Wang & Mary Ann Burris (1992)

• Rural Chinese women in Yunnan Province took photos over a year to highlight health and social issues in their lives, leading an exhibition to inform the public & policymakers

What schools of thought did photo-voice research emerge from

• Confician philosophy

• Paulo Freire’s critical consciousness

• Liberation theory

• Feminist theory

• Documentary photography

• Later influenced by arts-based research and photo-elicitation

Photo-voice research key aims

• Empower participants to express their lived realities

• Democratise the research process

• Educate audiences and policymakers through visual storytelling

• Generate individual, community, and structural change

Four Rs of photo elicitation research

• Researcher found visual “data”

• Researcher created visual “data”

• Respondent (or participant) generated visual “data”

• Representation & visualisation of “data”

Four Rs of photo elicitation research: Researcher found visual data

Visual data (e.g., news media, photographs, advertisements) is sourced/introduced by the researcher to explore and understand social or cultural phenomena

1) Researcher found data example

Case study - NZ, Sex Work & Media Stigma

• Research question: what role does the media play in reinforcing social and occupational stigma around sex work and decriminalisation?

• Method: The researcher brought in media reports (e.g., new articles) for participants to view & duscuss

Four Rs of photo elicitation research: Researcher created visual data

Involves the researcher actively producing visual data themselves as part of their research, often linked to arts-based research & critical self-reflection

• autoethnographic = the researcher draws on their own experiences and identity to explore broader social, cultural, or political phenomena.

2) Researcher created visual data example

Arts-Based Project – Mau Moko Book

• A visual and cultural project that explores Māori tattooing (moko) as a form of identity, resistance, and cultural survival.

• The visual data (e.g., photos or artistic representations) were created by the researcher to investigate deeper meanings.

Four Rs of photo elicitation research: Respondent/Participant generated visual data

Participants create or contribute visual data (e.g. photos, drawing, objects, videos) to explore their lived experiences, perspectives, and environments

3) Respondent/Participant generated visual data example

• Photo-elicitation: during interview to spark discussion & reflection on the meaning and significance of visual content

• Photo/object-elicitation: articipants use their own cultural artifacts (e.g., clothing, jewelry, books, phones, favorite places) or artwork (drawings, posters, videos). to offer insight into their identity, values, and everyday life.

“Walk-along”/”go-along” interview

The researcher accompanies participants through their enviro, allowing them to narrate their experiences in real-time

When might a “Walk-along”/”go-along” interview be used

To study:

• community health: useful for studying the health issues of a

  community within a particular local area or

  neighborhood (understanding how place matters

  for health)

• place-based issues

• social exlusion

Example

“Streeties” (people experiencing homelessness) photographed their worlds to share how they navigate and give meaning to urban spaces (like alleys, public toilets, or under bridges).

Four Rs of photo elicitation research: Representation/visualisation of data

e.g mapping

This combination of methods is particularly suited where respondents are spatially mobile, and where the research requires a narrative that retains a strong sense of context

• It helps retain narrative context and emphasizes participants as spatially and socially located beings.

Representation/visualisation of data example

e.g mapping

A participant’s photos used to illustrate how he moves through and makes sense of space over time (Hodgetts et al., 2006). Researchers discussed analysis openly with him, reinforcing collaborative representation.

How does the analysis of images in visual quantitative research differ from the analysis of text in thematic analysis?

• Images require contextual interpretation - their meaning depends on participant explanation and what lies beyond the frame

• Analysis includes visual content, symbolism, absences, and the relational/emotional impact of the image

• Emphasises participant voice, counter-storytelling, and relational ethics - often supports transformative goals

• Unlike thematic analysis of text (coding spoken/written language), image analysis is collaborative, reflexive, and more open-ended.

What 5 key concepts guide photo elicitation projects

Wang, 1999

I Play Clarinet PeePees

• Images teach

• Pictures can influence policy

• Community members ought to participate in creating & defining the images that shape healthful public policy

• Planners must engage key stakeholders (policymakers & health leaders) as part of the audience EARLY

• Photovoice emphasises individual & community action

  • helping individuals and communities become agents of change through storytelling and visual advocacy.

What 5 steps are involved in analysing the images in a photo elicitation project?

I Get Kenan On Instagram

• Identify the topic & scope of data

• Grid, plot, & defamiliarise

• Key categories, examples, and discrepancies

• Ordering categories, linking & constructing new story

• Interpretation and writing

Distinctions between research questions, interview questions, and the questions asked of qualitative data?

• Research Questions → Big-picture questions guiding the overall purpose of the study.
  E.g., “How do people experience displacement after a natural disaster?”

• Interview Questions → Specific prompts used to gather data from participants; they explore aspects of the research question.
  E.g., “Can you describe how the earthquake affected your daily life?”

• Questions Asked of Data → Analytical questions asked during coding or analysis to interpret meaning.
  E.g., “What themes are emerging across participants' experiences?”

What are the “levels of mass communication”

PR = mass communication

• Production: how stories emerge

• Representation: how news items play out

• Reception: how media is negotiated by audience

What ways can journalism and visual qualitative research overlap?

How and why do some community psychology researchers try yo “democratise the method”?

To reduce power imbalances and make research more inclusive

• Traditional methods (e.g. interviews) can be unsafe or biased, especially for minoritised groups

• Researchers use creative tools (e.g. photography, mapping) to let participants lead the conversation, making research a collaborative exchange rather than extraction