EDST 508G (086) – REVIEW of RESEARCH in Educational Studies

See below information about an interesting research methods course to be offered by EDST in Winter 2 term.

EDST 508G (086)  Review of Research in Educational Studies: Qualitative Inquiry Using Photo-Elicitation.

Wednesdays, 4:30-7:30pm Term 2, Ponderosa F 203

Instructor: Genevieve Creighton

In recent decades the use of photo methods in research has gained popularity. The benefits to researchers are many: it allows for the creation of data that goes beyond words; it contextualizes voices in the social spaces that participants occupy; it can facilitate rapport between the researcher and participant; it provides structure to the interview and reduces the strangeness of the interview context. Photo methods can allow research participants to externalize their experiences while, at the same time, engage in a more profound reflection about the research topic at hand.

Photo methods have been used to enhance and deepen study findings for the researcher but they have also been employed as a strategy for community base participatory research (CBPR). Photo research has been used, for example, by community activists as a way of defining and intervening in public health concerns from “the ground up”. They have been used with great success in bringing the voices and experiences of children and youth, the elderly, those with chronic illness and the homeless  to policy makers to effect political change.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the various ways in which photography can enrich the research process in the stages of data collection, analysis and dissemination. Students will be exposed to the different theoretical underpinnings of the approaches to photo research and how to discern an appropriate strategy. Students will gain a practical understanding of, and have the opportunity to try out, methods such as photovoice, participatory photo mapping, photo elicitation, digital storytelling and photo novellas. The course will cover strategies of photo analysis and interpretation and the accompanying ethical issues involved in doing photo research.

Instructor Bio: Gen Creighton received her PhD from UBC in 2011 and is a currently a researcher in the Department of Pediatrics at BC Childrens Hospital. She used photo elicitation in her doctoral studies, research with young men who had experienced the accidental death of a friend. Currently Gen is using photo methods to investigate the way that fathers consider risk taking and injury  prevention as they parent their young children.