Together, We Can Show You: Using Participant-Generated Visual Data in Collaborative Research

Abstract

Researchers interested in collaborative anthropology seek active ways to involve participants throughout the research process (Fluehr- Lobban 2008). Collaborative anthropology aspires to go “beyond participant- observation” by co- theorizing with participants, thus involving local viewpoints in the construction of anthropological theory (Rappaport 2008). This article focuses on how participant- generated data is ef- fective in enhancing communication between researchers and partici- pants, thus fostering collaboration throughout the research endeavor. In the research settings discussed here, collaborative opportunities were created through multimodal communicative practice between re- searchers and participants. For the purpose of this paper, multimodal communicative practice is defi ned as a dialogic process involving di- verse modes of communication to co- construct knowledge. We dis- cuss the co- construction of knowledge between researchers and par- ticipants at different stages of the research process: in the exploration of research themes, during participatory analysis of visual data, and in preparing the dissemination of fi ndings. The research methods discussed here took place in distinct research contexts and involved the creation of visual works that were utilized as ethnographic data. Anne E. Pfi ster’s research in Mexico City, Mexico,developed personal history timelines that served as a starting point for interviews to explore research themes with deaf youth participants. Ginger A. Johnson’s research in Cairo, Egypt, with Sudanese refugee women utilized images created through photovoice methodology for participatory analysis of their photos. Cecilia Vindrola- Padros prepared images created by child participants undergoing cancer treatment for use in the dissemination of research fi ndings among this population. This article highlights current trends in the use of visual methodolo- gies in collaborative research and discusses potential limitations as they emerged within particular research contexts. The authors illus- trate how each of their respective methods produced original visual data that served as a departure from, and complement to, verbally de- rived knowledge, and they suggest that these data generated collabora- tive results through multimodal communication.