Reflective Drawing as a Tool for Reflection in Design Research

Abstract

This article explores the role of drawing as a tool for reflection. It reports on a PhD research project that aims to identify and analyse the value that co‐design processes can bring to participants and their communities. The research is associated with Leapfrog, a three‐year project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). It aims to transform public engagement through activating participation using co‐design practices. The article reports on the analysis of initial research findings arising from a series of workshops with members of non‐profit organisations on the Isle of Mull, in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, in which co‐design practices were used. The article reflects on the use of drawing used as a tool to capture the author's reflections and her own personal development as a researcher. In this study the term ‘reflective drawing’ refers to the use of drawing as a tool to support the research reflection process within an ethnographic approach to the fieldwork. Reflective drawing is used in two different stages of the reflection process: (1) to record data during fieldwork enabling reflection‐in‐action, complementing field notes and disclosing visual and kinaesthetic learning; and (2) to recall lived experience during the reflection sessions conducted after the observed activity, which helps to establish a bridge between theory and practice. Reflection is defined as an intuitive process that enables the understanding of oneself within a context of practice. Hence, understanding reflective drawing requires exploration of the reflection process.

Creating Spaces for Collaboration in Community Co‐design

“…According to Smith (2013, 130), it fits well with CHAT ‘as it provides an understanding of the activity from the perspective of those involved in the activity’. This technique is usually conducted with fragments of video recorded during fieldwork, but in this study, we used ‘reflective drawings’ (Calvo 2019; 2017) made by the research team as prompts for interviewees to recall their experiences and to invite them to reflect on their learning processes, using the drawings to spark the interviewees’ dialogic imagination (Bakhtin 1981).…”

Disaster Management During Tropical Storm Karen: The Story of Trinidad Extension

“…The lead researcher issued a request for participant-rendered concept maps as part of the data collection strategy. Concept maps can be defined as a schematic device outlining the interconnectedness between concepts within a given context (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2009;Daley & Milwaukee, 2004;Kinchin et al, 2010;Novak & Cañas, 2006). Concept mapping has been used in both qualitative and quantitative data collection (Atkinson et al, 2019).…”

“…Concept mapping has been used in both qualitative and quantitative data collection (Atkinson et al, 2019). Additionally, qualitative researchers employed concept maps in qualitative research to supplement interviews since the 1970s (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2009;Wheeldon & Faubert, 2009). Visual modes of inquiry in qualitative approaches suggests that multiple realities and methods of understanding exists in the constructivist epistemology (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2009).…”

“…Additionally, qualitative researchers employed concept maps in qualitative research to supplement interviews since the 1970s (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2009;Wheeldon & Faubert, 2009). Visual modes of inquiry in qualitative approaches suggests that multiple realities and methods of understanding exists in the constructivist epistemology (Butler-Kisber & Poldma, 2009). For this study, respondents were asked to draw a concept map to review what was covered in the interview.…”

Collaborative drawing: A creative tool for examination of infant–toddler pedagogical practices

“…Drawing is a learning tool that creates higher levels of group collaboration, and is an undervalued tool in education (Madsen, 2013). The act of drawing as a reflective learning tool to inquire is a source of intellectual engagement (Calvo, 2017; Lyon, Letschka, Ainsworth & Haq, 2018).…”