From photographs to findings: visual meaning-making and interpretive engagement in the analysis of participant-generated images

Abstract

Although the use of visual research is gaining increased acceptance, there remains a lack of attention directed to how to rigorously analyse visual images. A framework of ‘interpretive engagement’ is proposed to describe analytic processes for meaning-making of participant-generated visual images. The ‘interpretive engagement’ framework comprises three stages of meaning-making; these are meaning-making through participant engagement (Stage 1), through researcher-driven engagement (Stage 2), and through re-contextualising (Stage 3). These three stages on their own are limited, but in combination provide rich and comprehensive visual analysis. The ‘interpretive engagement’ framework involves five key elements, namely, the researcher, the participant, the image and the context of its production and the audience/s. Each plays a significant role, contributing to the overall analysis. To illustrate the framework, a research example using participant-generated photographs from young people with chronic illness is used. This enables the visual analytic work we advocate to be evident and tangible for the reader, illustrating how interpretive engagement can support the development of substantive findings. Although multifaceted, we argue this analytic framework is predominantly researcher-driven with an emphasis on close inspection and engaging with the details of each image to determine overarching elements of the images as a collection. It involves systematically and deliberately interpreting the material followed by articulation of an analytic story which accommodates participant intentions, researcher interpretations, theoretical underpinnings and emerging knowledge claims. Implementation of this interpretive framework offers the potential for rich and thorough visual analysis and interpretations.