Using Photographs in Mixed Methods Research: An Illustration Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses from Consumer Research

Abstract

Photograph analysis poses a novel methodological challenge for mixed methods researchers. In this paper, we argue that photographs are a valid data source that are not outside of the quantitative–qualitative binary and, hence, can be analyzed and used for integration, applying mixed methods principles. We summarize photograph analysis methods from different scientific fields and contribute to the field of mixed methods by proposing a mixed methods framework for analyzing visual data that allows the flexible application and integration of different quantitative and qualitative photograph analysis methods by focusing on data transformation. We use an illustrative example from consumer research.

Developing a mixed-methods digital Multiple Sorting Task procedure using Zoom and Miro

“…The digital aspect of the MST tested in this study essentially adds “hands-on” and interactive online possibilities to the MST. The convergent study design, careful procedures, and the MSA analytic technique used in this study integrate the advances in mixed methods such as visual methodology (Fetters et al, 2013; Peroff et al, 2022), photo elicitation (Fearon, 2019; Kleih et al, 2022; Philip et al, 2021) and sorting (Yeh et al, 2014) for enriching the overall “understanding of the phenomena under analysis” (Onwuegbuzie and Dickinson, 2008 in Alexander et al, 2021). The MST procedure, including its digital version tested, distinguishes from those integrating qualitative and quantitative analyses that are carried out consecutively (Kleih et al, 2022).…”

“…For pictures, 20 colored pictures of public spaces in Stockholm, consistent with a previous study using non-digital MST (authors’ published study), were used in the present study. The use of pictures is not only validated for architectural and landscape studies (e.g., Andersson, 2011) but also established in exploring complex and sensitive issues in broader social sciences, known as “photo elicitation,” within visual and mixed methods research (Kleih et al, 2022; Peroff et al, 2020). The picture representations of public spaces, which refers to physical places and spaces that are publicly accessible (Madanipour, 2013), feature three facet elements—physical, action, and cognitive (Scott and Canter, 1997) in the present study.…”

“…This builds upon traditions in environmental psychology studies to incorporate visual material (i.e., colored pictures) within the general sorting method (Budhwar, 2000; Fiore et al, 2003; Groat, 1982; Wilson, 1996; Wilson and Mackenzie, 2000). The use of pictures is similar to photo elicitation and other visual methods and techniques (Fearon, 2019; Kleih et al, 2022; Philip et al, 2021), which helps to obviate possible language or culture barriers in studying ambiguous and/or stigmatized subjects. In the MST procedure, the participants are asked to sort pictures into groups in such a way that all pictures in one group are similar in some significant ways and different from those in other groups.…”

A Comprehensive Taxonomy of Research Designs, a Scaffolded Design Figure for Depicting Essential Dimensions, and Recommendations for Achieving Design Naming Conventions in the Field of Mixed Methods Research

“…A brief overview of select papers published in JMMR illustrates the innovative ways methodologists have combined various methodologies in mixed methods research studies. Methodologists publishing in JMMR have integrated with mixed methods grounded theory (Howell Smith et al, 2020; Shim et al, 2021), case study (Sharp et al, 2012; Walton et al, 2020), ethnography (Crede & Borrego, 2013), phenomenology (Mayoh & Onwuegbuzie, 2015), narrative research (Doran et al, 2022), community-based participatory research (CBPR) (Dejonckheere et al, 2019), visual media (Kleih et al, 2022), randomized controlled trial (Edmunds et al, 2022), quasi-experimental intervention (Nielsen et al, 2017), and there are many other examples. Fetters and Tajima (in press) suggest the language of combined mixed methodology research designs for this rapidly growing category of designs.…”

In This Issue: Narrative Mixed Methods Research, Visual Methods and Photographs, Joint Display Coding, and Randomized Controlled Trials in Mixed Methods Research

“…In the second article, Kleih et al (2022), with affiliations in horticultural economics, focused their study on the use of photographs in mixed methods research as important visual data. The authors integrated quantitative and qualitative photograph analysis, using an example from consumer research, specifically, consumer behavior regarding fresh fruits and vegetables.…”