Facilitating Interviews in Qualitative Research With Visual Tools: A Typology

Abstract

Visual methods are gaining traction in qualitative research to support data generation, data analysis, and research dissemination. In this article, I propose a preliminary typology that categorizes five identified purposes of applying visual methods in qualitative interviews: to (a) enable communication, (b) represent the data, (c) enhance data quality and validity, (d) facilitate the relationship, and (e) effect change. Examples of visual tools are presented to demonstrate their utility in addressing these five aims. An existing ethical framework for visual tool use in qualitative research is then presented to structure a discussion on ethical considerations related to confidentiality, consent, representations and audiences, fuzzy boundaries between researchers and participants, authorship and ownership, and minimizing harm. Future directions include testing and extending the typology with respect to other visual methods and qualitative research processes, and research to evaluate the effectiveness of various visual tools at achieving the aims represented in the typology.

How congenital Zika virus impacted my child’s functioning and disability: a Brazilian qualitative study guided by the ICF

“…20 Visual tags were produced with images from the ICF illustrated gallery (see online supplemental material 2) 21 to assist in understanding the concepts, as studies indicate that visualisation has the potential to support data production during the qualitative interview process. 22 The duration of the focus groups ranged from 60 to 90 min. The participants were given a therapeutic toy developed by research team at the end of the groups, called 'fun fishing', in order to thank the parents for participating in the study.…”

Mapping Experiences of Serodiscordance: Using Visual Methodologies to Construct Relationality in Families Living With or Affected by Stigmatized Infectious Disease

“…Indeed, the familiarity of the approach borne from previous encounters in clinical settings was apparent when one participant (man, diagnosed with HIV) remarked, “I’ve done something similar before with a psychiatrist.” With its original design in mind, and in terms of the representational function it was put to, this mapping exercise holds more in common with visual methods than therapeutic devices (although the distinction between the two can be difficult to differentiate between), and so it can be positioned within wider literature championing the use of visual methodologies in research on perceptions of health and illness (Drew et al, 2010; Guillemin, 2004; Harrison, 2002). The benefits of such methodologies lie in how they can facilitate discussion based on the content of these maps; social science research outside of the clinical setting have used such mapping exercises as data generation methods (Bagnoli, 2009; Glegg, 2019; Rempel et al, 2007). While visual methodologies can be considered in addition to conventional spoken forms of expression, in that they are used as a way to enhance or supplement data, it is also important to remain attentive to additional ethical considerations when they function as an alternative to methods focussed on the generation of talk, especially when topics may be inexpressible or difficult to verbalize (Lenette et al, 2018).…”

Digital Stories as Data: An Etymological and Philosophical Exploration of Cocreated Data in Philosophical Hermeneutic Health Research

“…Conversely, if someone does not fully understand a phenomenon, they may not have the language to express their thoughts. This presents a challenge in qualitative health research as participants may not understand their own experience of the phenomenon being explored and therefore be unable to communicate it verbally to the researcher in an interview (Glegg, 2019). In Martina's example, she was not able to express some of her thoughts about touch, but when asked "What does that look like?"…”