Emotion Curves: Creativity and Methodological “Fit” or “Commensurability”

Abstract

The “emotion curve” is a creative methodology that asks research participants to express in graphic form changes in their emotional responses over time, reflecting on a given time period or on a particular activity or event (in our case, music-based activities). This methodology was developed as part of our research with community music-making NGO Musicians Without Borders at their “Music Bridge” participatory music and movement training program in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This article discusses how the “post-conflict” context of our research, and our engagement with the principles of prefiguration and participatory action research, shaped the development of this innovative methodology, paying particular attention to achieving methodological “fit” (or commensurability) with the practices, objectives, and ethos of our research partners. This creative and “fitting” (or commensurate) methodology has been the basis of a “mutually transformative dialog” with our research partners.

Occupying new sound worlds

“…As well as having important implications for our methodology, an engagement with bordering also fits with our ethical commitment to do 'research with and research for our research partners' , MWB (in addition to 'the "traditional" ethnographic sense of doing research about' MWB) (Donaghey and Magowan 2021). Perhaps this engagement with bordering is in some sense nominatively determined -the name Musicians Without Borders compels us in this directionbut we do well to take this 'borderlessness' seriously (for a parallel discussion of this concept as it applies to Médecins sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders, see Debrix 1998).…”

Critical Qualitative Inquiry: One Attempt to Actualize a Reconceptualization of Research

“…Another way I sought to use tools that allowed for communication that was not solely linguistic was through emotion curves. Based on Donaghey and Magowan’s (2022) work, I created a survey that asked participants “Reflecting on your experience during the sessions, draw a curve to express changes in how you experienced the emotions listed over the course of the sessions. Feel free to express the emotion in any design, graphic, or color that you feel reflects this process” the emotions were empathy, frustration, joy, critical, and content.…”