Visual Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Awakening Visions

Visual Research Methods is a guide for students, researchers and teachers in the social sciences who wish to explore and actively use a visual dimension in their research. This book offers an integrated approach to doing visual research, showing the potential for building convincing case studies using a mix of visual forms including: archive images, media, maps, objects, video and still images. The book offers a critical review of some of the key theoretical ideas which underpin visual research and in particular the critical analysis of urban landscapes and visual identities.

Examples of the visual construction of `place', social identity and trends of analysis are given in the first section of the book, whilst the essays in the second section highlight the astonishing creativity and innovation of four visual researchers. Each detailed example serves as a touchstone of quality and analysis in research. with themes ranging from the ethnography of a Venezuelan cult goddess to the forensic photography of the skeleton of a fourteenth-century nobleman. They give a keen sense of the motives, philosophies and benefits of using visual research methods.

This volume will be of practical interest to those embarking on visual research as well as more experienced researchers. Key concerns include the power of images and their changing significance in a world of cross-mediation, techniques of analysis and ethical issues, and how to unlock the potential of visual data for research.

Stephen Spencer is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Sheffield Hallam University. He has worked in both Further and Higher Education in Australia, with a background in anthropology and cultural and media studies. His previous works include Social Identities: Multidisciplinary Approaches with Gary Taylor (Routledge, 2004); Race and Ethnicity: Culture, Identity and Representation (Routledge, 2006); and A Dream Deferred: Guyanese Identity Under the Colonial Shadow (Hansib Press, 2006).