Using Photographs to Engage with Participants: A Practical Guide for Photo-Elicitation Interviews to Study Crime and Deviance

Abstract

Photo elicitation interviews (PEIs) are a means to solicit responses, reactions, and insights from participants by using photographs or other images as stimuli during interviews. Such styles of interviewing are consistent with feminist and critical methodologies that promote empowering participants by providing a means to direct the research and shape how they are portrayed. Although it is an impactful method, PEIs are still relatively uncommon within criminology and criminal justice. Our aim here is to promote the use of PEIs in crime and justice research. To do so, we provide a practical guide to carrying out this type of research. Specifically, we use illustrations from research relating to people who use psychedelics (e.g. peyote) in religious ceremonies to detail the steps in designing a project that relies on PEIs, including how to solicit photographs from participants, develop photo kits, conduct interviews, and present final products. We conclude with a discussion of ethics of using this approach.