Abstract
This chapter describes the methodology of body mapping, a visual technique that is used to collect qualitative data from participants about their subjective experiences pertaining mainly to bodily experiences. We begin with a definition of body mapping and provide an account of its history. We describe the process of conducting a body mapping study and offer some examples of when this approach is used most appropriately in its various forms. In preparing to use a body mapping approach, researchers should be mindful of whether body mapping is the best approach to answer the research question; whether the purpose of the body map been made clear in the study; whether it is an appropriate technique to use with participants; what other qualitative methods will be used in conjunction with body mapping; how many contact sessions will be required with participants; how structured the body mapping sessions will be; and how the data will be analyzed. We provide a detailed example of how to conduct a body mapping study and call attention to important considerations such as ensuring methodological rigor and the ethical aspects of using this approach. Body mapping is an innovative methodological technique that is often able to capture the imagination of research participants. Our aim in this chapter is to convince readers that body mapping has its place as a methodological approach alongside a range of other approaches in social and behavioral research.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Apiyo, N. Ododo wa: our stories, Voices magazine, 2, October 24, 2012, 2012. http://justiceandreconciliation.com/2012/10/ododo-wa-our-stories/. Accessed 18 Dec 2012.
Attride-Stirling J. Thematic networks: an analytic tool for qualitative research. Qual Res. 2001;1(3):385–405.
Braque G. The moon, the stars and a scar: body mapping stories of women living with HIV/AIDS. Border Cross Mag Arts. 2008;27(1):58–65.
Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77–101.
Brett-Maclean P. Body mapping: embodying the self living with HIV/AIDS. CMAJ. 2009;180(7):740–1.
Cornwall A. Body mapping: bridging the gap between biomedical messages, popular knowledge and lived experience. In: Cornwall A, Welbourne A, editors. Realizing rights: transforming approaches to sexual and reproductive well-being. London: Zed Books; 2002. p. 219–34.
Crawford A. If ‘the body keeps the score’: mapping the dissociated body in trauma narrative, intervention, and theory. UTQ Univ Tor Q. 2010;79(2):702–19.
Cresswell J. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 2014.
Crivello G, Camfield L, Woodhead M. How can children tell us about their wellbeing? Exploring the potential of participatory research approaches within young lives. Soc Indic Res. 2009;90(1):51–72.
Gastaldo D, Magalhaes L, Carrasco C, Davy C. Body-map story telling as research: Methodological considerations for telling the stories of undocumented workers through body mapping. Toronto. 2012. Available at: http://www.migrationhealth.ca/sites/default/files/Body-map_storytelling_as_reseach_HQ.pdf. Accessed 12 July 2015.
Greenhalgh T. Storytelling should be targeted where it is known to have greatest added value. Med Educ. 2001;35(9):818–9.
Griffin SM. Meeting musical experience in the eye: resonant work by teacher candidates through body mapping. Visions of Research in Music Education, 24. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.rider.edu/~vrme
Jackson H, Willis N, Dziwa C, Mawodzeke M, Pascoe M, Sherman J. Zvandiri: Supporting children and adolescents with HIV through the HIV care continuum. Harare, Zimbawe: Africaid; 2015.
Joarder T, Cooper A, Zaman S. Meaning of death: an exploration of perception of elderly in a bangladeshi village. J Cross Cult Gerontol. 2014;29(3):299–314.
Liamputtong P. Qualitative research methods. 4th ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press; 2013.
Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills: Sage; 1985.
MacGregor HN. Mapping the body: tracing the personal and the political dimensions of HIV/AIDS in khayelitsha, south africa. Anthropol Med. 2009;16(1):85–95.
Maina G, Sutankayo L, Chorney R, Caine V. Living with and teaching about HIV: engaging nursing students through body mapping. YNEDT Nurse Educ Today. 2014;34(4):643–7.
Mellins C, Malee K. Understanding the mental health of youth living with perinatal HIV infection: lessons learned and current challenges. J Int AIDS Soc. 2013;16(00):18593. https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.1.18593.
Morgan A. What is narrative therapy. An easy-to-read introduction. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications; 2000. p. 11–32.
Morgan J, the Bambanani women’s group. Long life: positive HIV stories. Cape Twon: Double Storey Books; 2003.
Patel V, Flisher AJ, Hetrick S, McGorry P. Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge. Lancet. 2007;369(9569):1302–13.
Santen B. Into the fear-factory: connecting with the traumatic core. Person-Centered Exp Psychother. 2014;13(2):75–93.
Sawyer SM, Afifi RM, Bearinger LH, Blakemore S-J, Dick B, Ezeh AC, Patton GC. Adolescence: a foundation for future health. Lancet. 2012;379(9826):1630–40.
Scientific Software Development. ATLAS.ti. Berlin. 2003. Retrieved from www.atlasti.com
Senior K, Helmer J, Chenhall R, Burbank V. ‘Young clean and safe?’ young people’s perceptions of risk from sexually transmitted infections in regional, rural and remote Australia. Cult Health Sex. 2014;16(4):453–66.
Silva-Segovia J. The face of a mother deprived of liberty: imprisonment, guilt, and stigma in the norte grande, chile. Affilia J Women Soc Work. 2016;31(1):98–111.
Solomon J. A body mapping journey in the time of HIV and AIDS. A facilitation guide – psychosocial wellbeing series. Johannesburg: REPSSI; 2002.
Sweet EL, Ortiz Escalante S. Bringing bodies into planning: visceral methods, fear and gender violence. Urban Stud. 2015;52(10):1826–45.
Tarr J, Thomas H. Mapping embodiment: methodologies for representing pain and injury. Qual Res. 2011;11(2):141–57.
White M, Epston D. Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York: WW Norton & Company; 1990.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Coetzee, B., Roomaney, R., Willis, N., Kagee, A. (2019). Body Mapping in Research. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5250-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5251-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences