Beyond the standard interview: the use of graphic elicitation and arts-based methods

Abstract

This article reviews three visual methods based on drawing that I applied in my research on young people: the arts-based projective technique, the self-portrait, and the graphic elicitation methods of the relational map and the timeline. Examples of these methods are drawn from their application in two studies, the Narratives of Identity and Migration project, exploring young people and identities in England and Italy, and the Young Lives and Times. The article argues that applying these drawing methods in the context of an interview can open up participants’ interpretations of questions, and allow a creative way of interviewing that is responsive to participants’ own meanings and associations. The article discusses the analytical potential of graphic elicitation and arts-based methods, by making reference to the insights that they offered in the contextual analysis with more traditional text-based data. The efficacy of these methods is critically discussed, together with their limitations, and their potential within the context of qualitative longitudinal research.

Understanding Adaptation to First Episode Psychosis Through the Creation of Images

“…It seems likely that, as well as providing an engaging and nonthreatening means of communication about a difficult topic, the medium of the 'visual interview' also facilitated insightful exploration of that topic. Visual methods are sometimes considered superior to verbal research because they encourage expression of emotions when these may be difficult to articulate [40,41,60]. We found that the visual and verbal methods constantly strengthened each other, as other authors have highlighted [29,37,45].…”

“…The transcript and image analyses were combined, and codes of meaning were grouped into emergent themes. These were sometimes derived directly from the drawings and their metaphors (see [40]). Once this was completed for each transcript, emergent themes were then clustered into superordinate and subordinate themes.…”

“…Mapping: Once the participants fully completed their drawing, they were guided to describe parts of the drawing, the overall meaning, and the process they went through as they drew. This illuminated the meaning of the image for the individual [30,39] Some previous research has indicated that research participants may be reluctant to draw [36,40,41], therefore the purpose of the drawing was carefully explained [30]. Consideration was given to anonymity and the ownership of the drawings.…”

Landmarks in the professional and academic development of mid-career teacher educators

“…The living graphs were then used alongside discussion and exploration in the interviews. Visual methodologies are a rapidly developing area of social enquiry (as in Bagnoli, 2009), but photos or artefacts are used more frequently to stimulate discussion (e.g. Cremin et al, 2011).…”

Advancing towards inclusive social research: visual methods as opportunities for people with severe mental illness to participate in research

“…This participative basis of visual research is also 8 highlighted by Packard (2008), who considers this type of method to contribute to empowering participants by creating more ethical research contexts and realities and generating new forms of knowledge that cannot be drawn out any other way. (Bagnoli, 2009;Harper, 2002;Keats, 2009;Pink, 2006;Prosser & Loxley, 2008) and even in researching identity positions that are usually silent (Croghan, Griffin, Hunter & Phoenix, 2008).…”