Using Walking / Go Along Interviews With People in Vulnerable Situations: A Synthesized Review of the Research Literature

Abstract

Walking/go along interviews are increasingly used in qualitative research studies to explore various phenomena, including the experience of disability. The method involves a researcher walking or travelling alongside a participant in their local neighborhood and asking questions along the way. It enables researchers to generate data about a person’s relationship with themselves and others, as well as the place in which they live. Scholars acknowledge that this method may pose risks and challenges for both participant and researcher, and so the rationale for using walking/go along interviews must be clarified. Further, qualitative researchers need to keep abreast of how the method is used with different participant groups, so methodological lessons can be shared within the research community. Therefore, the aim of this synthesized review was to identify, collate and analyse current evidence related to the use of walking/go along interviews with adults in a vulnerable situation, defined as those ‘at risk’ of discrimination, harm, or abuse due to disability and/or age. As such, the article combines, for the first time, the collective methodological knowledge of scholars working across disability, ageing, and dementia studies. The 23 articles included in the review were analyzed using the thematic synthesis method. Five themes were identified; (1) shifts in power dynamics (2) making things known and knowable (3) revealing barriers in the environment (4) embodied knowledge (of place), and (5) being one. An overall synthesis of these themes culminated in the methodological insight that walking interviews are broadly aligned with applied phenomenological research. Having studied how and why researchers deploy walking/go along interviews with people in a vulnerable situation, we conclude that it is a tool favored by scholars who wish to advance knowledge of the connection between micro-experiences, meso-movements, and macro-change.

Experiencing accessibility of historical heritage places with individuals living with visible and invisible disabilities

“…Most of the studies about public building accessibility do not included participants in the accessibility evaluation ( 39 ). The use of go along interviews for data collection represents a suitable method in the field of accessibility and has enabled us to obtain the perspective of the main people concerned by accessibility problems ( 25 ). Furthermore, working in this way with the people directly concerned in a real-life context encourages the creation of realistic solutions in the future ( 40 , 41 ).…”

“…However, in view of the differences in the mobility abilities of the study participants, the term “go along interview”, will be used throughout this article. This term, already used in some studies ( 25 ), is less ableist and focuses on the characteristics of the interview rather than on the individual characteristics and functioning. Research team members come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, such as occupational therapy, architecture, design, sociology, and engineering, including accessibility and heritage experts.…”

“Follow the Dog”: Using the Go-Along Method in Research on Training and Working with Guide Dogs for People with Visual Impairment

“…For the purposes of this article, it is particularly relevant that the go-along method was used for research that involved people with specific motor, bodily, and perceptual capacities and limitations, stemming from their health or (dis)ability and affecting their ways of moving, traveling, and navigating space (Bartlett et al, 2023). In this context, it is worthwhile to consider research on the disabling environment and strategies used by people with disabilities to deal with the inaccessibility of public space (Blewett, Hanlon, 2016;Wästerfors, 2021), on mobile and spatial practices of wheelchair users (Parent, 2016), on factors that increase the independence of autistic people at home (Marcotte et al, 2022), or on ways in which older adults with dementia move, navigate, and interact with others in care homes providing long-term care (Adekoya, Guse, 2020).…”

Adaptive interviewing for the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in qualitative research

“…Walking interviews, or more broadly walking research methods, allow exploration of social or spatial phenomena through movement afforded by walking practice (Kowalewski & Bartłomiejski, 2020). They are often incorporated in research that prioritises participation and place‐based approaches to understanding socio‐spatial phenomenon (Bartlett et al, 2023). The walking interview combines the qualities of an in‐depth qualitative interview and movement allowing spatial cues and multi‐sensory stimuli to inform the discussion and prompt subjective experience relating to the space (Evans & Jones, 2011; Kowalewski & Bartłomiejski, 2020).…”

“…A multitude of walking research methods have been used in a range of applied areas and with a range of participant populations, including those whose experience is shaped by social vulnerability to exclusion such as older people, people with mental health difficulties and people with disabilities (Bartlett et al, 2023; Kinney, 2021). There are walking method research studies that include people who are experiencing dementia, but we were unable to locate studies utilising this method with people who have an intellectual disability.…”