Analyzing Visual and Video Data

One more post on creative methods!

The "When the Field is Online" newsletter focus for October will be on archival methods and archives. Whether we're studying history or the present, archives offer great original source materials. I will share lots of resources, links to open archives, plus two interviews with archivists. In November the focus will be on originality. In addition to the free newsletter, paid subscribers will access additional materials and participate in Academic Writing Month activities. Learn more and sign up here.

But first, one more post on September's focus on Creative Methods - because once we collect visual data we need a way to analyze and interpret it! If you missed the September posts, here they are:

• Creative Methods in Qualitative Research

• More Creative Research Methods: Ideas and resources about visual elicitation and photovoice

You collect pictorial data, then what?

Anyone who owns a smartphone has a camera in their pocket. We can easily share digital pictures or media with friends, family, or the whole world on social media. We've seen dramatic examples where video footage captured on the scene of a crime, natural disaster, or event has reverberated through the news and public discourse. With visual documentation becoming the norm, researchers have many opportunities to collect data in various media forms. Then what?

Here are a few considerations for analyzing images or videos. Scroll down for a curated collection of open-access articles and resources!

First, think about how you will organize the data in preparation for the analysis process?

• Will you transcribe audio or video data and analyze the written version? Or will the full range of sound and multimedia be analyzed, so you can add in your observations? If so, what will you observe? Nonverbal cues, voice tonality, details in the setting, or?

• Will you describe images such as drawings, graphics, or photographs be described, and analyze the written descriptions? Or will you analyze the images directly?

What kind of reasoning will you use to make sense of and interpret the visual or video materials?

• Inductive reasoning draws from observed cases more general statements or general claims about most cases of the same kind (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2008). Inductive reasoning seeks to find order in chaos, to find the whole from the pieces.
  
  Questions could include:

  • What themes or points of interest do I observe in this set of images or videos?

  • What themes or points can I establish as codes to use across the corpus of the whole study?

  • How do these themes or points of interest relate to the research questions central to the study?
    

• Deductive reasoning is used for research in which a specific explanation is deduced from a general premise and is then tested (Schutt, 2006). In qualitative research deductive reasoning can be used to see how the initial premises of the study, as articulated in the research problem and questions, are exemplified in the data.
  
  Questions could include:

  • What questions, factors, theoretical concepts, did you spell out in the study design?

  • Can you use these keywords and concepts to construct a coding frame to use across the corpus of creative data?

  • What specific details, features, or representations are you looking for within each image or across the set of images that fit within the codes derived from the research question?

• Abductive reasoning is used when the researcher has an insight or makes a guess or an assumption that a connection exists in an incomplete or seemingly unrelated set of observations. It is associated with sense-making and pragmatic thinking.
  
  Questions could include:

  • Given the problem and purpose guiding the study, and given your experiences and observations while collecting data, what relationships or connections do you see across the set of images?

  • How can you explain these relationships or connections?

  • How do these preliminary explanations make sense of what you see in this set of images?

  • How do these explanations relate to the research questions central to the study?

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Learn more!

This collection of blog posts and open-access articles includes examples, strategies, and approaches for analyzing visual data. Also see the new hot-off-the-press The Handbook of Creative Data Analysis from Helen Kara, Dawn Mannay, and Alastair Roy. Read Helen's blog post about it here.

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Analyzing Video

Blog Posts

Seeing and Hearing the Problem: Using Video in Qualitative Research by yours truly

Video Data Analysis: How 21st century video data reshapes social science research
blog post by Nicolas M. Legewie and Anne Nassauer, co-authors of Video Data Analysis: How to Use 21st Century Video in the Social Sciences.

Articles: Analyzing Video Data

Borish, D., Cunsolo, A., Mauro, I., Dewey, C., & Harper, S. L. (2021). Moving images, Moving Methods: Advancing Documentary Film for Qualitative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211013646
Abstract. With the widespread use of digital media as a tool for documentation, creation, preservation, and sharing of audio-visual content, new strategies are required to deal with this type of “data” for research and analysis purposes. This article describes and advances the methodological process of using documentary film as a strategy for qualitative inquiry. Insights are drawn from a multimedia study that explored Inuit-caribou relationships in Labrador, Canada, through the co-production of community-based, research-oriented, participatory documentary film work. Specifically, we outline: 1) the influence of documentary film on supporting the project conceptualization and collaboration with diverse groups of people; 2) the strength of conducting filmed interviews for in-depth data collection, while recognizing how place and activities are intimately connected to participant perspectives; and 3) a new and innovative analytical approach that uses video software to examine qualitative data, keep participants connected to their knowledge, and simultaneously work toward creating high impact storytelling outputs. The flexibility and capacity of documentary film to mobilize knowledge and intentionally create research outputs for specific target audiences is also discussed. Continued and future integration of documentary film into qualitative research is recommended for creatively enhancing our abilities to not only produce strong, rich, and dynamic research outputs, but also simultaneously to explore and communicate diverse knowledges, experiences, and stories.

Craig, S. L., McInroy, L. B., Goulden, A., & Eaton, A. D. (2021). Engaging the Senses in Qualitative Research via Multimodal Coding: Triangulating Transcript, Audio, and Video Data in a Study With Sexual and Gender Minority Youth. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211013659
Abstract. The variety of formats in which qualitative data may be collected have been explored within the methodological literature. Yet, the multiple options for coding these data formats have not been comprehensively detailed. While transcript analysis is widely used across disciplines, it may have limitations—particularly for research involving marginalized populations. This paper presents a multimodal coding approach as a methodological innovation for triangulating three data formats (transcript, audio, and video), detailed through the application of this analytic approach during a qualitative study exploring media engagement with sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY). Nineteen semi-structured interviews with SGMY were filmed and transcribed. Nine independent coders then utilized the innovative multimodal approach to code the three data formats using a constructivist grounded theory framework. Some codes were similar across modalities, such as those related to safety issues and finding identity and community through media. Others differed between modalities, such as those related to participant affect, perceived contradictions, discrepancies between verbal statements and body language, level of comfort and engagement, and distress when discussing traumatic experiences. Video coding captured the broadest range of emotions and experiences from marginalized youth, while transcripts provided the most straightforward form of data for coding. Multimodal coding may be applicable across qualitative approaches to enrich analyses and account for potential biases, thereby enhancing analytical lenses in qualitative inquiry. Methodological strategies for coding and integrating data types are discussed.

Fazeli, S., Sabetti, J., & Ferrari, M. (2023). Performing Qualitative Content Analysis of Video Data in Social Sciences and Medicine: The Visual-Verbal Video Analysis Method. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231185452
Abstract. Videos are ubiquitous and have significantly impacted our communication and information consumption. The video, as data, has helped researchers understand how human interactions and relationships develop and change, and how patterns emerge in various circumstances and interpretations. Given the expanding relevance of video data in social science and medical research and the constant introduction of new formats and sources, it is critical to be able to conduct a thorough analysis of this multimodal data. However, the few methodologies (e.g., Actor Network Theory, Picture Theory) appropriate to video data analysis lack detailed guidelines on how to select, organize, and examine the multimodality of video data. This article aims to overcome this practice or methodological gap by proposing and demonstrating the Visual-Verbal Video Analysis (VVVA) method, a six-step framework adapted from Multimodal Theory and Visual Grounded Theory for organizing and evaluating video material according to the following dimensions: general characteristics of the video; multimodal characteristics; visual characteristics; characteristics of primary and secondary characters; and content and compositional characteristics including the transmission of messages, emotions, and discourses.

Hopper, M. J., & Quiñones, S. (2012). A Hunch without a Sound: Co-Constructing Meanings of Nonverbal and Verbal Interactions in Video Data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 547–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691201100503

Abstract. This narrative account describes a collaborative qualitative video data analysis process between a bilingual Deaf female researcher and a bilingual Puerto Rican female researcher. Via three processing points, we examine our journeys to co-construct meanings from a single video data source which was part of a larger ethnographic study of an urban community change initiative. We highlight how our respective epistemologies informed the process of watching, analyzing, and interpreting nonverbal and verbal interactions from a video segment. The video watching process included a hunch and discovery of a critical incident. While engaging independently and collaboratively in analysis, we confirmed how the critical incident revealed concepts of access and participation. This article is distinctive in that it highlights Deaf epistemology and qualitative inquiry processes through video data analysis of nonverbal interactions. Our work contributes to the growing body of methodology literature emphasizing collaborative social practices for video data analysis.

Legewie, N., & Nassauer, A. (2018). YouTube, Google, Facebook: 21st Century Online Video Research and Research Ethics. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3130
Abstract. Since the early 2000s, the proliferation of cameras in devices such as mobile phones, closed-circuit television (CCTV), or body cameras has led to a sharp increase in video recordings of human interaction and behavior. Through websites that employ user-generated content (e.g., YouTube) and live streaming sites (e.g., GeoCam), access to such videos virtually is at the fingertips of social science researchers. Online video data offer great potential for social science research to study an array of human interaction and behavior, but they also raise ethical questions to which existing guidelines and publications only provide partial answers. In our article we address this gap, drawing on existing ethical discussions and applying them to the use of online video data. We examine five areas in which online video research raises specific questions or promises unique potentials: informed consent, analytic opportunities, privacy, transparency, and minimizing harm to participants. We discuss their interplay and how these areas can inform practitioners, reviewers, and interested readers of online video studies when evaluating the ethical standing of a study. With this study, we contribute to an informed and transparent discussion about ethics in online video research.

Meier zu Verl, C., & Tuma, R. (2021). Video Analysis and Ethnographic Knowledge: An Empirical Study of Video Analysis Practices. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 50(1), 120–144. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241620973716
Abstract. This paper discusses the practical foundations of ethnographically informed video analysis by investigating empirically one of the core activities of video research in sociology: the video data session. Most discussions are shaped by methodological considerations, little is known however about actual video analysis practices. By making these practices itself an object of analysis, we do show how interpretation is a social and communicative activity. In doing so, we highlight different forms of knowledge that are a resource for and topic of ethnography and video analysis. To frame our argument, we discuss the current methodological discourse on videography. Subsequently, we focus on empirical video data from video data sessions of a research network in order to discover the details of video analysis practices. We conclude this paper by highlighting our empirical findings: Video analysis is carried out communicatively by labelling knowledge, creating quotable objects through bodily reenactments, translating professional knowledge, and reassessing irritations.

Paganopoulos, M. (2022). Imagined Cities of the World: From Expanded Cinema to Expanded Ethnography. Media Watch, 13(1), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/09760911221085836
Abstract. By looking at ethnography as a multi-sited and evolving field in the tradition of George Marcus and Michael Fischer, the article returns to the cinematic concept of ‘expanded cinema’, focusing on current forms of expansion in audiovisual ethnographic representation (i.e., ‘expanded ethnography’). In doing so, it analyses the live cinematic performances of Supereverything* (The Light Surgeons, 2011–2017) and Invisible Cities (59 Productions, 2019) in terms of convergences, correspondences and intermedial staging, all of which dialectically synthesise the expanded field as it emerges from within the world system. The article deconstructs the aesthetical dialectics that produce the collective feeling of enlargement of the ethnographic field from a singular stage to a multiplicity of actors and stages (fields) via staged live interconnections made between intermedia technologies and social/bodily intersubjective relations, as they emerged via exploratory practices on and beyond the limits of the stage. By using sources deriving from cinematic theatre and philosophy, the article argues that the illusion of enlargement of the effigy of the world picture is techno/socially manufactured as part of the marketed media turn to imagination and subjectivity, with political consequences for ethnographic representation and its ‘expanded’ claim to a reality beyond the material history of the cosmopolis.

Serafinelli, E., & O’Hagan, L. A. (2022). Drone views: a multimodal ethnographic perspective. Visual Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14703572211065093
Abstract. Drone visuals are rapidly becoming part of our sociocultural imaginaries, generating distinct images that differ from traditional visual conventions and producing unexpected perspectives of the world that reveal hidden aspects of our surroundings. Despite the growing use of camera-laden drones in a range of commercial and non-commercial activities, to date, little scholarly attention has been paid to the semiotics of drone visuals. This article is the first to draw specific attention to the compositional structure of drone visuals, combining social semiotic analysis with ethnographic insights to assess how they are changing the way we think about the world. Exploring drone hobbyists’ and developers’ perspectives on drone usage and the visuals they generate, the authors identify and examine three frequently occurring characteristics of drone visuals: top-down views, 360-degree panoramic views and ‘classic’ landscape perspectives. The critical analysis of these peculiarities leads them to argue for the potential of these innovative visions to reshape our visual culture. In their conclusion, the authors aim to open a conversation about the way technological advancements mark important sociocultural changes in sense-making processes, geographical imaginations and everyday life experiences.

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Analyzing video data from YouTube or TikTok

Dekavalla, M. (2022). Facework in Confessional Videos by YouTube Content Creators. Convergence, 28(3), 854-866. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565221085812
Abstract. This article analyses the role of facework in the discourse of confessional YouTube videos by female fashion and beauty content creators, where they disclose personal problems, and offer viewers advice. It uses thematic analysis to identify discursive tactics that protect viewers’ face. The article argues that the parasocial nature of the connection that these videos attempt to establish with an audience that content creators know little about makes it important for them to reflexively adapt to these viewers’ needs for fellowship and autonomy. Their disclosures may be intended to create closeness, but at the same time they need to cater for distance and prepare the ground for this content to be received as well as possible. However, just like the connection that the videos seek to establish, the facework they contain is also parasocially situated: the videos speak to an imagined viewer’s need for inclusion and this viewer’s possible objections, as these are perceived by the content creator. The article contributes to a better understanding of the construction of closeness in this genre of mediated discourse.

Rieder, B., Borra, E., Coromina, Ò., & Matamoros-Fernández, A. (2023). Making a Living in the Creator Economy: A Large-Scale Study of Linking on YouTube. Social Media + Society, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231180628
Abstract. This article explores monetization and networking strategies within the consolidating creator economy. Through a large-scale study of linking practices on YouTube, we investigate how creators seek to build their online presence across multiple platforms and widen their income streams. In particular, we build on a near-complete sample of 153,000 “elite” YouTube channels with at least 100,000 subscribers, retrieved at the end of 2019, and investigate the URLs found in 137 million video descriptions to analyze traces of these strategies. We first situate our study within relevant literature around the creator economy, the role of platforms, and issues such as social capital building and economic precarity. We then outline our data and analytical approach, followed by a presentation of our findings. The article finishes with a discussion on how monetization and networking strategies via placing URLs in video descriptions have become more important over time, but also differ substantially between channel sizes, content categories, and geographic locations. Our empirical analysis shows that YouTube, as a highly unequal platformed media system, thrives on the economic pressures it exerts on its creators.

Sued, G. E., & Rodríguez Rodríguez, A. (2023). Partners or workers? Mexican app deliverers on YouTube and TikTok. Convergence, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565231179963
Abstract. This article seeks to understand how app delivery workers construct their collective identity through the digital platforms of YouTube and TikTok. Said identity construction occurs in the context of the social controversy surrounding their status as workers without labor rights or as independent partners of digital platforms. To this end, we collected 977 videos and their metadata and analyzed them via cross-platform digital methods. The findings reveal that app delivery workers construct their collective identity through the interplay of two factors. The first is the identity narratives created by delivery workers as video bloggers. The second is the recognition narratives created by different associated actors, such as accountants, media, universities and research centers, and content creators. Through these interactions, the narrative of delivery workers as independent partners acquires more algorithmic strength and visibility than those that discuss their status as employees and their lack of labor rights. Audiovisual technology also works as an instrument to reach individual agency and face the precariousness of daily life.

Sui W, Sui A, Rhodes RE. What to watch: Practical considerations and strategies for using YouTube for research. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2022;8. doi:10.1177/20552076221123707
Abstract. YouTube is the second-most visited webpage in the world and boasts over 2 billion users and 500 h of videos uploaded every hour. Despite this popularity, relatively few articles have discussed the practical use of searching and YouTube as a research tool and source of data. The purpose of our paper is to propose a step-by-step schematic for utilizing the YouTube platform. Our discussions include (a) when/whether to use YouTube for research; (b) selecting an appropriate research design; (c) how to search for YouTube data; (d) what data can be pulled from YouTube; and (e) the contextual limitations for interpreting YouTube data. Further, we provide practical strategies and considerations when searching, collecting, or interpreting YouTube data. These discussions are informed by our own work using the YouTube platform. Effective methods used to search for YouTube data are likely to extend beyond simply searching the platform itself; the search strategy and search results themselves should also be documented. While not exhaustive, we feel these considerations and strategies present themselves as a conceptual foothold for future research using the YouTube platform.

Analyzing Images

Blog posts

Image Use and Reuse with links to recorded webinars

This week I’m reading about photovoice by yours truly

This week I’m reading about photos in online research by yours truly

Articles

Ayala, R. A., & Koch, T. F. (2019). The Image of Ethnography—Making Sense of the Social Through Images: A Structured Method. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919843014
Abstract. Although systematic observation and interviews are the most common techniques in ethnography, a deep understanding requires research tools adapted to exploring beyond the observational scope. Nonconventional methods can support ethnography and complement observations and thus refine the construction of meaning. Qualitative research literature deals disproportionately more with some forms of data, typically text, lacking a structured method for visuals. This article arises from a case study using nonconventional methods, such as sociograms and participant-made drawings, and presents a structured method to attain enriched ethnographic analysis. Using this structured method, the research then draws on representation, visualization, and interaction as ports of entry into group dynamics. The aim being to open a way to discovery when visual and interactional representations do not easily translate into words. Spoken language presupposes an ability to capture and convey thought with precision and clarity and to know how the interlocutor may interpret words. A structured method to analyze images can fruitfully assist in the process. Since every research participant has a view on or a way of making sense of the research subject, the method is universal in application.

Gerstenblatt, P. (2013). Collage Portraits as a Method of Analysis in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12(1), 294–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691301200114
Abstract. This article explores the use of collage portraits in qualitative research and analysis. Collage portraiture, an area of arts-based research (ABR), is gaining stature as a method of analysis and documentation in many disciplines. This article presents a method of creating collage portraits to support a narrative thematic analysis that explored the impact of participation in an art installation construction. Collage portraits provide the opportunity to include marginalized voices and encourage a range of linguistic and non-linguistic representations to articulate authentic lived experiences. Other potential benefits to qualitative research are cross-disciplinary study and collaboration, innovative ways to engage and facilitate dialogue, and the building and dissemination of knowledge.

Lobinger, K., Venema, R., & Kaufhold, A. (2022). Hybrid repertoires of photo sharing: exploring the complexities of young adults’ photo-sharing practices. Visual Communication, 21(1), 73–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357219894038
Abstract. Photo sharing has become a routine everyday practice and an object of increasing scholarly interest in visual communication research. Previous studies focused on single photo-sharing practices and on how particular photo-sharing services or devices are used. This article, in contrast, highlights the merits of a repertoire-oriented approach to better understand the complexity and entanglement of photo-sharing practices across various channels in diversified media environments. Based on semi-structured qualitative interviews that are combined with creative visual methods, the present study explores the everyday photo-sharing practices of eight young adults. It examines how they decide and reflect on which pictures are shared with whom and via which communication channel.

Witzer S, Flicker S. Visualizing DEPICT: A Multistep Model for Participatory Analysis in Photovoice Research for Social Change. Health Promotion Practice. 2021;22(2_suppl):50S-65S. doi:10.1177/15248399211045017
Abstract. As a critical narrative intervention, photovoice invites community members to use photography to identify, document, and discuss issues in their communities. The method is often employed with projects that have a social change mandate. Photovoice may help participants express issues that are difficult to articulate, create tangible and meaningful research products for communities, and increase feelings of ownership. Despite being hailed as a promising participatory method, models for how to integrate diverse stakeholders feasibly, collaboratively, and rigorously into the analytic process are rare. The DEPICT model, originally developed to collaboratively analyze textual data, enhances rigor by including multiple stakeholders in the analysis process.

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Image by Willfried Wende from Pixabay.

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