The ‘Rich Pictures’ Method: Its Use and Value, and the Implications for HRD Research and Practice

Abstract

Embracing new and innovative qualitative methods has helped researchers in a number of fields to access aspects of the lived experience that traditional methods cannot easily reach. This paper explores the use and value of one such method – ‘rich pictures’: a technique whose origins lie in ‘soft systems’ engineering but which has been successfully applied in a broader range of contexts in recent years including health, medicine and education. Despite its use in these disciplines, however, recent studies suggest that HRD research continues to rely on established methods and that uptake of visual methods – and ‘rich pictures’ in particular – is virtually non-existent. The aim of this paper therefore is to shed light on this underused method and encourage HRD researchers to recognize its potential for studying human development.

Decolonising Fire Science by Reexamining Fire Management across Contested Landscapes: A Workshop Approach

“…The first activity invited participants to reflect upon the question "what does fire mean to you?". Rich pictures are an epistemological constructivist approach that acknowledge diversity in our understandings of a specific issue based on previous experiences and background knowledge [85]. Participants were asked to illustrate their individualistic interpretation of the question using drawings, symbols, and text [86].…”

‘I Would Have Never Told You that’ – Using Rich Pictures as a Qualitative Tool to Uncover Tacit Perspectives on Leadership

“…We set out at the start of this paper with two questions: ‘What are the affordances and constraints of using Rich Pictures to uncover tacit perspectives?’ and ‘Moving forward, how can we most effectively use Rich Pictures in future research?’ From our research and the literature on Rich Pictures we have identified that the affordances are that firstly, Rich Pictures allow people to think in a non-linear way to reveal tacit perspectives and depict emotions, relationships, culture and context in complex social situations (Cristancho, 2015; Cristancho & Helmich, 2019; Gisby et al, 2023). Second, they can be used in a variety of cultural contexts or situations where verbal interactions may be difficult (Amazonas et al, 2019; Bell et al, 2016b) and third they allow participants the space and time to reflect and draw about complex social situations which provides the researcher with more nuanced perspectives around the phenomenon being investigated (Bood et al, 2019; Helmich et al, 2018).…”

“…Second, they can be used in a variety of cultural contexts or situations where verbal interactions may be difficult (Amazonas et al, 2019; Bell et al, 2016b) and third they allow participants the space and time to reflect and draw about complex social situations which provides the researcher with more nuanced perspectives around the phenomenon being investigated (Bood et al, 2019; Helmich et al, 2018). However, as with any method, there are constraints to the Rich Picture method, namely that participants often feel reluctant to draw due to their perceived lack of artistic ability and that the time to reflect and draw may place a heavy burden on participants (Cristancho & Helmich, 2019; Gisby et al, 2023). The benefits need to outweigh the costs for both researcher and participant.…”

“…Additionally, within leadership there is a growing movement to use arts-based approaches in both the development of leaders and researching leadership (Grisoni & Collins, 2012; Winther, 2018). It is argued that these arts-based approaches assist participants to reflect and express their emotional and cultural perspectives, which can be difficult to put into words (Gisby et al, 2023; Winther, 2018). Arts-based approaches that have been utilised include storytelling, poem houses, drama and dance (Grisoni & Collins, 2012; Winther, 2018).…”

“…Arts-based approaches that have been utilised include storytelling, poem houses, drama and dance (Grisoni & Collins, 2012; Winther, 2018). However, the use of Rich Pictures in investigating leadership is sparse and has recently been advocated as a way forward to understand the nuances of human resource development (Gisby et al, 2023). We focus here on the use of Rich Pictures as a visual elicitation technique to explore health professions education leadership as they are reported to be better than interviews alone for exploring individual perspectives, incorporating feelings and emotions, culture and context, whilst also maintaining anonymity (Amazonas et al, 2019; Cristancho & Helmich, 2019).…”