Dear Critics: Addressing Concerns and Justifying the Benefits of Photography as a Research Method

Authors

  • Kyle Elizabeth Miller Illinois State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-16.3.2434

Keywords:

visual methods, photo elicitation interviews, ethics in research, peer review

Abstract

Photography serves as an important tool for researchers to learn about the contextualized lives of individuals. This article explores the process of integrating photo elicitation interviews (PEI) into research involving children and families. Much literature is dedicated to the general debate surrounding the ethics of visual methods in research, with little attention directed at the actual process of gaining study approval and publishing one's findings. There are two main critiques that researchers must face in order to conduct and disseminate studies involving visual images—ethics committees and peer reviewers. In this article, I identify and discuss some of the challenges that emerged across gaining protocol approval from an ethics committee in the United States. Ethical concerns and restrictions related to the use of photography can delay data collection and create barriers to research designs. Similarly, I describe the process of responding to reviewers' concerns as part of the publication process. Peer reviewers' lack of familiarity with the use of photography as a research tool may lead to misunderstandings and inappropriate requests for manuscript changes. While many concerns are sound, the range of benefits stemming from the use of visual data help to justify the time and energy required to defend this type of research. Implications are discussed for researchers using visual methods in their work.

URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1503274

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Kyle Elizabeth Miller, Illinois State University

Dr. Kyle MILLER is an assistant professor of child development in the College of Education at Illinois State University in the United States. Her research focuses on qualitative research with families from lower-income backgrounds and the use of visual images as a research tool. Dr. MILLER is a former urban teacher and now serves as an instructor for courses in child development, issues of diversity in education, foundations of elementary education and graduate courses in research methods.

Downloads

Published

2015-08-13

How to Cite

Miller, K. E. (2015). Dear Critics: Addressing Concerns and Justifying the Benefits of Photography as a Research Method. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-16.3.2434

Issue

Section

FQS Debate: Qualitative Research and Ethics