Using Photographs in Social and Historical Research

Tinkler (sociology, U. of Manchester, UK) shows researchers and students how to use photographs in social and historical research and the conceptual and theoretical issues involved. She draws on developments and examples from history and the social sciences and approaches photos as images that can be interpreted as texts and evaluated as evidence of the social and material world they depict, as well as looking at photos as three-dimensional objects. Focusing on using photos to research the past, memory, biography, and change, she discusses methods for working with them, taking photos or asking research participants to take them, and listening to people talk about them, and examines how to research photographic practices. She describes questions that need to be considered before using photos in research; five lines of inquiry, including identification of basic details, careful study of the image's form and presentation, consideration of material evidence, contextual research, and reflection on meaning; methods for working with found photos in five areas of research; autobiographical methods; working with archives and digital photographic resources; and ethical and legal issues. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)