Photovoice and Interpretation of Pictures in a Group Discussion: A Community Psychology Approach

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to contribute to the literature on the Photovoice method through analysis of its characteristics. The Photovoice visual methodology often employed in qualitative research in the frame of community psychology because it enables participants to express their ideas using pictures. This study aims to demonstrate the utility of Photovoice through presentation of evidence gathered during our study on immigration to exemplify some issues surrounding group interaction, picture interpretation and symbolic meaning. This qualitative method has some defining features: first, Photovoice offers participants the opportunity to discuss and interpret their photographs in a group where each participant can share his/her perspective, based on his/her experiences and values. Second, the method allows participants to represent an idea by capturing images of inanimate objects that may symbolise the personal meaning attributed to the research topics. Third, it is well suited to communicating a general understanding of the research topics with the benefit that it may integrate influences from the participants’ lives.