Reflections on the Use of Visual Methods in a Qualitative Study of Domestic Kitchen Practices

Wendy J Wills,Angela Meah,Angela M Dickinson,Frances Short

doi:10.1177/0038038515587651

Wendy J Wills, Angela Meah + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038515587651

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Journal: Sociology	Publication Date: Jun 25, 2015
Citations: 36	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Hertfordshire, University of Sheffield

Abstract

Understanding everyday social practices is challenging as many are mundane and taken for granted and therefore difficult to articulate or recall. This paper reflects on the challenges encountered in a qualitative study underpinned by current theories of practice that incorporated visual methods. Using this approach meant everyone in a sample of 20 household cases, from children through to adults in their 80s, could show and tell their own stories about domestic kitchen practices. Households co-produced visual data with the research team through kitchen tours, photography, diaries/scrapbooks, informal interviews and recording video footage. The visual data complemented and elaborated on the non-visual data and contradictions could be thoroughly interrogated. A significant challenge was handling the substantial insight revealed about a household through visual methods, in terms of household anonymity. The paper reflects on the challenges of a visual approach and the contribution it can make in an applied sociological study.

Highlights

This paper reflects on the use of visual and non-visual research methods and their incorporation within a study of everyday social practices that focused on the domestic kitchen
Following a discussion of the research design we examine what is gained from the use of visual research methods and from integrating their use with non-visual methods
We found that in a multiresearcher participant - method project, video and photography provided a useful record of phenomena that could be shared within the research team and with the participants during fieldwork

Summary

Introduction

This paper reflects on the use of visual and non-visual research methods and their incorporation within a study of everyday social practices that focused on the domestic kitchen. Video recording practices overcame the potential loss of finer level detail that can occur when relying on researchers to write their fieldnotes after a period of observation has taken place (Creswell, 2007) Such retrospective writing can overlook the multi-modal and synchronised action that takes place in kitchens, such as the sights and sounds associated with concurrently supervising a young child whilst preparing an evening meal and, at the same time, feeding a pet. The lessons learnt during this study have led some of the authors to approach consent differently in other projects involving visual research methods, asking participants at the end of data collection to more fully consider the consent they wish to give regarding the dissemination of data that identifies a household; only when a researcher or a participant knows what data have been gathered can consent be fully discussed. Ethics committees seem content with this development, if different modes of potential dissemination (e.g. online journals and social media) are fully discussed with each participant during and at the end of fieldwork

Conclusion

Methods