Abstract
In this chapter we discuss how utilizing the participatory visual methodology, photovoice, in an aged care context with its unique communal setting, raised several ‘fuzzy boundary’ ethical dilemmas. To illustrate these challenges, we draw on immersive field notes from an ongoing qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) exploring the lived experience of aged care from the perspective of older residents and focus on interactions with one participant, 81-year-old Cassie. We explore how the camera, which is integral to the photovoice method, altered the researcher/participant ethical dynamics by becoming a continual ‘connector’ to the researcher. The camera took on a distinct agency, acting as a non-threatening ‘portal’ that lengthened contact, provided informal opportunities to alter the relationship dynamics and enabled unplanned participant revelation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Annear, Michael J., Grant Cushman, Bob Gidlow, Sally Keeling, Tim Wilkinson, and Heather Hopkins. 2014. A place for visual research methods in the field of leisure studies? Evidence from two studies of older adults’ active leisure. Leisure Studies 33(6): 618–643.
Bellas, Marcia L. 1999. Emotional labor in academia: The case of professors. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 561: 91–110.
Bowtell, Evelyn, Susan Sawyer, Rosalie Aroni, Julie B. Green, and Rony E. Duncan. 2013. Should I send a condolence card? Promoting emotional safety in qualitative health research through reflexivity and ethical mindfulness. Qualitative Inquiry 19(9): 652–663.
Charmaz, Kathy. 2002. Stories and silences: Disclosures and self in chronic illness. Qualitative Inquiry 8(3): 302–328.
———. 2004. Keynote address: Fifth International Advances in Qualitative Methods Conference: Premises, principles, and practices in qualitative research: Revisiting the foundations. Qualitative Health Research 14(7): 976–993.
Cox, Susan, Sarah Drew, Marilys Guillemin, Catherine Howell, Deborah Warr, and Jenny Waycott. 2014. Guidelines for ethical visual research methods. Melbourne: University of Melbourne. http://vrc.org.au/guidelines-for-ethical-visual-research-methods
Dickson-Swift, Virginia, Erica L. James, Sandra Kippen, and Pranee Liamputtong. 2006. Blurring boundaries in qualitative health research on sensitive topics. Qualitative Health Research 16(6): 853–871.
———. 2007. Doing sensitive research: What challenges do qualitative researchers face?. Qualitative Research 7(3): 327–353.
Duncan, Rony E., Sarah E. Drew, Jan Hodgson, and Susan M. Sawyer. 2009. Is my mum going to hear this? Methodological and ethical challenges in qualitative health research with young people. Social Science & Medicine (1982) 69(11): 1691–1699. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.001.
Foster, Kim, Margaret McAllister, and Louise O’Brien. 2005. Coming to autoethnography: A mental health nurse’s experience. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 4(4): 1–15.
Genoe, M. Rebecca, and Sherry L. Dupuis. 2013. Picturing leisure: Using photovoice to understand the experience of leisure and dementia. The Qualitative Report 18: 1–21.
Gilbert, Kathleen R. 2001. Introduction: Why are we interested in emotions? In The emotional nature of qualitative research, ed. Kathleen R. Gilbert, 3–15. London: CRC.
Gubrium, Aline C., Amy L. Hill, and Sarah Flicker. 2014. Situated practice of ethics for participatory visual and digital methods in public health research and practice: A focus on digital storytelling. American Journal of Public Health Ą(9): 1606–1614.
Guillemin, Marilys. 2004. Understanding illness: Using drawings as a research method. Qualitative Health Research 14(2): 272–289.
Guillemin, Marilys, and Lynn Gillam. 2006. Telling moments: Everyday ethics in health care. East Hawthorn: IP Communications.
Lewinson, Terri, Kathryn Grant, and Vanessa Robinson-Dooley. 2012. Exploring “home” through residents’ lenses: Assisted living facility residents identify homelike characteristics using photovoice. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 55(8): 745–756.
Miller, Greg, and Brenda Happell. 2006. Talking about hope: The use of participant photography. Issues in Mental Health Nursing 27(10): 1051–1065.
Miller, Evonne, Geraldine Donoghue, and Sarah Holland-Batt. 2015. You could scream the place down: Five Poems on the experience of aged care. Qualitative Inquiry 21(5): 410–417.
Mitchell, Claudia. 2011. Doing visual research. London: Sage.
Nash, Meredith. 2014. Picturing mothers: A photovoice study of body image in pregnancy. Health Sociology Review 23(3): 242–253.
Novek, Sheila, Toni Morris-Oswald, and Verena Menec. 2012. Using photovoice with older adults: Some methodological strengths and issues. Ageing & Society 32(3): 447–451.
Rush, Kathy L., Mary A. Murphy, and Jean F. Kozak. 2012. A photovoice study of older adult’s conceptualizations of risk. Journal of Aging Studies 26(4): 448–458.
Shaw, Ian. 2008. Ethics and the practice of qualitative research. Qualitative Social Work 7(4): 400–414.
Wang, Caroline, and Mary Ann Burris. 1997. Photovoice: Concept, methodology and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education and Behavior 24(3): 369–387.
Acknowledgments
Aspects of this work were supported by our industry partner and the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme, under Grant LP130100036. We acknowledge and thank our industry partner and all the participants who graciously contributed to this research. We also thank Associate Professor Barbara Adkins for her thoughtful suggestions about the notion of the ‘portal’, and the anonymous reviewers and editors for their thoughtful suggestions on our earlier drafts.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Donoghue, G., Miller, E. (2016). ‘I Understand. I Am a Participant’: Navigating the ‘Fuzzy’ Boundaries of Visual Methods in Qualitative Longitudinal Research. In: Warr, D., Guillemin, M., Cox, S., Waycott, J. (eds) Ethics and Visual Research Methods. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54305-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54305-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54854-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54305-9
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)