Abstract
Temporality is fundamental to qualitative longitudinal (QLL) research, inherent in the design of returning to participants over time, often to explore moments of change. Previous research has indicated that talking about the future can be difficult, yet there has been insufficient discussion of methodological developments to address these challenges. This paper presents insights from the Energy Biographies project, which has taken a QLL and multimodal approach to investigating how everyday energy use can be understood in relation to biographical pasts and imagined futures. In particular, we detail innovative techniques developed within the project (e.g. SMS photograph activities) to elicit data on anticipated futures, in ways that engender thinking about participants’ own biographical futures and wider societal changes. We conclude by considering some of the significant benefits and challenges such techniques present. These methodological insights have a wider relevance beyond the substantive topic for those interested in eliciting data about futures in qualitative research.
Highlights
The importance of considering imagined futures has been highlighted in several areas of social research, such as youth transitions (e.g. Gordon et al, 2005), whilst the wider relevance of anticipated futures for everyday life is strongly emphasised within temporal theory
Qualitative longitudinal studies often involve scheduling data collection at particular intervals to capture and explore changes that occur over time and the processes involved with these changes (Farrell, 2006) and particular life events or transitions are frequently the focus of QLL research (Saldaña, 2003)
This paper has presented a detailed account of methodological techniques used as part of the Energy Biographies project in order to elucidate innovative ways for researching futures
Summary
The importance of considering imagined futures has been highlighted in several areas of social research, such as youth transitions (e.g. Gordon et al, 2005), whilst the wider relevance of anticipated futures for everyday life is strongly emphasised within temporal theory. Other methodological techniques may elicit temporal data, the need to take account of people’s dynamic lives has led to the development of longitudinal methodologies, which embody the notion of time (Neale & Flowerdew, 2003). Such approaches are informed by a recognition that participants’ thoughts, actions, emotions, attitudes and beliefs are all dynamic through time (Saldaña, 2003). Qualitative longitudinal (hereafter QLL) studies often involve scheduling data collection at particular intervals to capture and explore changes that occur over time and the processes involved with these changes (Farrell, 2006) and particular life events or transitions are frequently the focus of QLL research (Saldaña, 2003). In QLL studies such as Energy Biographies, which foreground issues of time and change, it is possible to map the social world temporally (Elliott et al., 2008) to consider these issues in detail
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