Seen and unseen: using video data in ethnographic fieldwork

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on video making in two different contexts within the Community Arts Zone research project, an international research project concerned with the connections between arts, literacy and the community. Design/methodology/approach – At one project site, researchers and parents from the community filmed their children making dens with an artist. At another site, a professional film crew filmed young people engaged in arts practice in school settings. Findings – In both cases, researchers, artists and community participants collaborated to do research and make video. This paper discusses the ways that this work was differently positioned at the two sites. These different positionings had implications for the meaning ascribed to video making from the point of view of the participants, researchers and artists involved. Originality/value – By drawing on perspectives of researchers and artists, the paper explores implications for video making processes within ethnographic research. These include a need for awareness of the diversity and fragmentation of the fields of both visual research and visual arts practice. In addition, the relationship between research and the visual is unfolding in a context in which the digital is increasingly ubiquitous in everyday life. Therefore the authors argue for the need for researchers and artists to explore their epistemological assumptions with regards to video and film, and to consider the role of the digital in the lives of their participants. The coming together of these positions and experiences is what constructs the meaning of the digital and visual in the field.

Image and word on the street: a reflexive, phased approach to combining participatory visual methods and qualitative interviews to explore resilience with street connected young people in Guatemala City

“…It is commonplace for image elicitation and participatory photography to be combined in a strategy known as 'auto-driven photo elicitation' (Pauwels, 2015), wherein participant-generated images are used to elicit interview responses. Such combinations (Burton et al, 2017;Minthorn & Marsh, 2016;Mizen & Ofosu-Kusi, 2013) reveal a methodological palette for use together or alongside more traditional methods, according to the demands of a project (Chalfen, 2011), or participants' skills and sensory preferences (Hackett et al, 2015;Stevenson, 2014). Rather than regarding visual methods as off-the-peg tools, we propose a fluid, phased, reflexive approach to their use, reflecting a need to engage participants in activities that are meaningful and enjoyable (Hackett et al, 2015).…”

“…Such combinations (Burton et al, 2017;Minthorn & Marsh, 2016;Mizen & Ofosu-Kusi, 2013) reveal a methodological palette for use together or alongside more traditional methods, according to the demands of a project (Chalfen, 2011), or participants' skills and sensory preferences (Hackett et al, 2015;Stevenson, 2014). Rather than regarding visual methods as off-the-peg tools, we propose a fluid, phased, reflexive approach to their use, reflecting a need to engage participants in activities that are meaningful and enjoyable (Hackett et al, 2015). This acknowledges that qualitative research projects are characterised by distinct requirements at different stages (Chalfen, 2011;Pauwels, 2015).…”

“…This form of embodied cognition (Clark, 2010) enables linguistic processes to be suspended for the unearthing of unconscious affect (Rattine-Flaherty & Singhal, 2007). Arguably, drawing is ideal for investigating phenomena that are experienced in embodied, sensory and spatial ways (Hackett et al;Pink, 2015), such as environments and interpersonal networks. Drawing houses, families or bedrooms enables the expression of aspects of embodiment and spatiality (Mills et al, 2014) that are less accessible though words.…”

“…There is a deepening acceptance of photography or drawing for exploring psychological concepts, and for eroding boundaries between art (Willis, 2000), craft (James, 2013) and scientific enquiry (Hackett et al, 2015). In the next section we explore ways in which these methods can be used in combination, with each other and alongside traditional qualitative methods, to investigate diverse topics.…”

“…Following preliminary interviewing, SCYP were asked to draw places where they live, work and learn (Literat, 2013). This activity enabled researchers to elicit imaginative responses (Hackett et al, 2015). To complement the use of novel photographic technologies, drawing tapped into a familiar, skilled practice that SCYP felt confident with and expert in (Kagan et al, 2011;Gonzales & Rincones, 2013).…”