creative research methods

When contemplating applying for a PhD I was pretty set on the fact that my research would have to be quantitive in terms of data-heavy, or qualitative where I only considered interviews as a source of data. Without being either of these, how could my research possibly contribute to existing knowledge and be of any value to both the academic and wider societies? Having been on my EdD course for almost two years I have been exposed to a wide range of methods for data collection and this has really inspired my thinking as I develop my own plans for my research.

I am also in a lucky position to be working at a university where I interact with academics on a regular basis and I hear a lot about their research and the methods that they use in data collection and this, combined with my studies has really opened my eyes to vast opportunities available in conducting research.

My most recent study-block on the EdD course introduced a number of methods for data collection and all of these methods really sparked my interest and made me think about more creative ways that I could potentially uncover really rich data that could allow my research to have real impact. During the study blocks when I am doing the pre-session reading and preparing for classes, I try to remain as open-minded as possible to different concepts and ideas and I am always trying to think of ways that the topic/ subject area could be relevant to my own research rather than simply fob something off that could be seen as quite leftfield. 

I'm also quite a creative person and the thought of using some more creative data collection methods really lifted my mood in relation to my research. One academic that I work with specialises in visual methods and after a discussion about my research ideas, I now thinking about capturing data through both story-telling through journaling and images. 

At the moment my thoughts are to set some key areas of focus that my research participants will have to consider when providing me with either photos or journal entries or perhaps both. I am still reading about both methods to better understand the strengths and weaknesses pertaining to these methods as I have an underlying niggling feeling that both journals and images may be too open to interpretation making my research less powerful in the outputs that it delivers. 

But also, because I am interested in identities, it could be that this openness to interpretation could work in my favour as a part of an identity is how others perceive and react to it that makes it effective or not. So having the option of interpreting the images and journal entries through various perceptions could provide me with a holistic view of my research participants. 

I am still working out the ins and outs of my exact research project and I will have to submit my full proposal by September. I will be attempting to engage with a group of people who, for various reasons may not have the time to give me, who may be cautious of providing accurate details relating to my research via interview, who may feel more comfortable providing me with data that could be interpretive and provide varying results depending on how the data is used or viewed. They may also view the creative methods I am contemplating as a bit of an outlet for the frustrations that I perceive my research will uncover.

Initial discussions with academics who specialise in both visual methods and story-telling methods have revealed that using these techniques could deliver some really rich insight into subject matters lives unearthing some really surprising outputs. 

What do you know about visual methods? Have you used them in any research you have conducted? I would be really interested in hearing more about your experiences so please do share them in the comments.