Biographical Collage as a Tool in Inuit Community-Based Participatory Research and Capacity Development

Abstract

As a method in arts-based qualitative research, the collage technique has been previously utilized for data generation, elicitation, analysis, and presentation of results. Collage has also been used as a self-reflective, development exercise within community-based research due to its abstract and creative self-exploratory style. Although previously used in research with a variety of populations, there is limited evidence of applying the collage technique with First Nation, Inuit, or Métis peoples, even though many other arts-based methods, such as photovoice, have been used. This article describes the use of biographical collage as part of a community-based research project in a northern Canadian Inuit community. The technique was used as an exercise for building leadership capacity, as an elicitation technique in cross-cultural qualitative interviews, and as a decolonizing process in community-based participatory research. With the description of an in-depth example, this article showcases many benefits of using the collage technique when engaging in cross-cultural community-based research with Inuit.

Self and others in school bullying and cyberbullying: Fine-tuning a new arts-based method to study sensitive topics.

“…Since participant-led engagement is an important element of arts-based methods (Bravington & King, 2018; Dickson, 2021; Dutton et al, 2019; Gausman et al, 2019; Goopy & Kassan, 2019; Haberl, 2021; Roger & Blomgren, 2019), we were committed to following the lead of our participants and accepted the shifted focus of the study. This is an important point to keep in mind when designing one’s own graphic vignettes and employing them in research.…”

“…While a consensual definition of cyberbullying has not yet been reached, our findings support the claim that it might be meaningful to "measure the phenomenon of cyberbullying in a 'bullying context'" (Olweus & Limber, 2018, p. 142) and view it as a subcategory of traditional bullying. Since participant-led engagement is an important element of arts-based methods (Bravington & King, 2018;Dickson, 2021;Dutton et al, 2019;Gausman et al, 2019;Goopy & Kassan, 2019;Haberl, 2021;Roger & Blomgren, 2019), we were committed to following the lead of our participants and accepted the shifted focus of the study. This is an important point to keep in mind when designing one's own graphic vignettes and employing them in research.…”

A Guide to Selecting Participatory Research Methods Based on Project and Partnership Goals

“…In these participatory art-making methods, stakeholders engage in creating and interpreting art as a form of data collection and analysis ( Carter & Ford, 2013 ; Coemans & Hannes, 2017 ; Jones & Leavy, 2014 ; Van der Vaart et al, 2018 ). For instance, Yuen (2016) used collage as a method of inquiry collaborating with Aboriginal women to explore the meaning of leisure and their experiences of healing, and Dutton et al (2019) used biographical collage with Inuit women to foster capacity building and as a decolonizing process. Mental health studies on anxiety and depression have also used the creation of mandalas in research ( Henderson et al, 2007 ; Lee, 2018 ; Palmer et al, 2014 ).…”

School Bullying Through Graphic Vignettes: Developing a New Arts-Based Method to Study a Sensitive Topic

“…Many arts-based methodologies have the potential to facilitate participant-led engagement and empowerment. Indeed, structuring participant-researcher interactions around participants' creative activities allows them to be in control, as they are able to adjust the pace of interactions and focus on what is truly important to them personally (Bravington & King, 2018;Dutton et al, 2019;Gausman et al, 2019;Goopy & Kassan, 2019;Hardy et al, 2012;Levell, 2019;Lyon & Carabelli, 2016). Moreover, it should be noted that the research methods centered on participants' creative outputs were born out of psychological therapy and counseling, which makes them powerful tools in sensitive research, as they help participants feel safe to face and work through negative emotions, unpleasant memories, and even trauma (Coholic et al, 2009;Houghton, 2015;Kara, 2015;Levell, 2019;Mak, 2011;Reilly et al, 2018).…”