International Visual Research Conference
Open University | Milton Keynes, UK | September 13-15, 2011
In September I participated in the second International Visual Research Methods Conference at Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. I presented "Understanding Information Technology in the Home via Photographs: A Detailed Analysis of Swan and Taylor." Materials from my presentation and an abstract are below.
In September I participated in the second International Visual Research Methods Conference at Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. I presented "Understanding Information Technology in the Home via Photographs: A Detailed Analysis of Swan and Taylor." Materials from my presentation and an abstract are below.
--> Presentation slides [Powerpoint PDF]
--> Worksheet (analyzing excerpt-commentary units in Swan & Taylor)
--> Worksheet (template for excerpt-commentary units and other resources)
--> Related paper recently published in JASIS&T [PDF]
--> Introduction to my course The Information Experience in Context in Faculty of Information Quarterly [PDF]
--> Links to published student papers in Faculty of Information Quarterly
--> Course webpage on The Information Experience in Context
--> Personal webpage on my research into ethnography and visual methods
Abstract
This paper analyzes the use of visual data within the field of information science, through a case study of work by Laurel Swan (Brunel University) and Alex Taylor (Microsoft Research). For several years, these researchers have utilized visual methods to conduct highly original, ethnographic investigations of information technology in home environments (Taylor & Swan, 2004, 2005; Swan & Taylor, 2005, 2008; Swan, Taylor & Harper, 2008). Drawing upon these papers, the author reveals how Swan and Taylor employ an approach to ethnographic analysis and writing from the handbook Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Emerson, Fretz & Shaw, 1995); but as an innovation, they replace textual with visual data. To explain, Swan and Taylor use photographs variously as “themes” and/or “excerpts” that link their field observations to concepts of relevance in the academic literature. Further, they marshal photographs into “excerpt-commentary units” which are the building blocks for evocative “tales of the field” (Van Maanen, 1988). Stepping back to view Swan and Taylor’s analytical technique holistically, the paper shows how photographs are employed in parallel with descriptive fieldnotes and interview transcripts. The conclusion casts Swan and Taylor’s project as a fruitful example of a flexible, mixed-method epistemological stance involving both positivist empirical and interpretive elements (Prosser & Loxley, 2008).
References
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Prosser, J. & Loxley, A. (2008). Introducing visual methods. ESRC National Centre for research methods review paper. NCRM/10.
Swan, L.,& Taylor, A. S. (2005). Notes on fridge doors. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems, CHI '05, Portland, OR, ACM Press, pp. 1813-1816.
Swan, L.& Taylor, A. S. (2008). Photo displays in the home. Designing Interactive Systems Conference, DIS '08, pp. 261-270.
Swan, L., Taylor, A. S. & Harper, R. (2008). Making place for clutter and other ideas of home. ACM Trans. Compututer-Human Interaction, TOCHI. 15(2).
Taylor, A. S., & Swan, L. (2004). List making in the home. Paper presented at the Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work, CSCW '04. Chicago, IL, ACM Press, pp. 542-545.
Taylor, A. S. and Swan, L. (2005). Artful systems in the home. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems, CHI '05, Portland, OR, ACM Press, pp. 641-650.
Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago.
References
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Prosser, J. & Loxley, A. (2008). Introducing visual methods. ESRC National Centre for research methods review paper. NCRM/10.
Swan, L.,& Taylor, A. S. (2005). Notes on fridge doors. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems, CHI '05, Portland, OR, ACM Press, pp. 1813-1816.
Swan, L.& Taylor, A. S. (2008). Photo displays in the home. Designing Interactive Systems Conference, DIS '08, pp. 261-270.
Swan, L., Taylor, A. S. & Harper, R. (2008). Making place for clutter and other ideas of home. ACM Trans. Compututer-Human Interaction, TOCHI. 15(2).
Taylor, A. S., & Swan, L. (2004). List making in the home. Paper presented at the Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work, CSCW '04. Chicago, IL, ACM Press, pp. 542-545.
Taylor, A. S. and Swan, L. (2005). Artful systems in the home. Paper presented at the Conference on Human Factors and Computing Systems, CHI '05, Portland, OR, ACM Press, pp. 641-650.
Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. Chicago: University of Chicago.
