RECOUP/Using photography/Checklist for researchers/handout

Using auto-photography in research

A checklist for researchers

1. What is the question that you would like research participants to answer? Are you able to state it clearly and simply so that it is unambiguous?
2. How will you analyse the data that is generated? Are you interested in the content of photographs, the quantities of specific artefacts (such as, number of pieces of furniture in a room or types of paintings etc) captured or the proportion of researchers who produce photographs about various themes?
3. Will you use digital cameras, or conventional film cameras? Will you use disposable cameras or more expensive pieces of equipment? What are the implications of each of these choices?
4. Once photographs are produced will you conduct an interview to invite participants to interpret their own photographs? Could you ask them perhaps to prioritise and rank order photographs according to your research interests? Might your analysis include a study of what does not appear in photographs?
5. What categories will you use to analyse photographs i.e. individuals, groups of people, artefacts, activities, places, events, state of being e.g. happiness, sadness, thoughtfulness.
6. Will you use software to assist your analysis? Photographs can be analysed using a range of commercially available software. This is especially helpful if photographs are being analysed individually for their content rather than their subject. Any photograph organising software is useful to archive photographs and if possible label them for later sorting. Picasa (photograph organising software from Google is especially helpful and is free).
7. How will you ensure that research participants understand the assignment and are comfortable with using photographic equipment?
8. Have you discussed ownership, confidentiality and the potential uses of photographs with research participants? And obtained their permission for the uses you envisage, keeping in mind your ethical obligations to protect them from harm?
9. How to deal with requests for copies of photographs - and how providing copies might influence the activity (participants might take photos of people for their own benefit rather than in response to the research question)?

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Singal, N., and Jeffery, R. (2008). Qualitative Research Skills Workshop: A Facilitator's Reference Manual, http://oer.educ.cam.ac.uk/wiki/RECOUP, Cambridge: RECOUP (Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty, http://recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk/). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. (original page)