‘I understand. i am a participant’: Navigating the ‘fuzzy’ boundaries of visual methods in qualitative longitudinal research

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss how utilizing the participatory visual methodology, photovoice, in an aged care context with its unique communal setting, raised several ‘fuzzy boundary’ ethical dilemmas. To illustrate these challenges, we draw on immersive field notes from an ongoing qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) exploring the lived experience of aged care from the perspective of older residents and focus on interactions with one participant, 81-year-old Cassie. We explore how the camera, which is integral to the photovoice method, altered the researcher/participant ethical dynamics by becoming a continual ‘connector’ to the researcher. The camera took on a distinct agency, acting as a non-threatening ‘portal’ that lengthened contact, provided informal opportunities to alter the relationship dynamics and enabled unplanned participant revelation.