here is the first part of part B, second! It relates to validity and reliability. I know we had 250 words to do it in and I'm assuming that like the rest of the work on this course, it is with a leeway of + or - 10%, so the word count is 225 - 275 words. I have done 265 words, excluding title, references, quotes and bibliography. By the way, in the second part of part B (which I did first) my word count was 274 words and the bibliography was the same i.e. from Prosser "Image-based Research; A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers". Best wishes, Kim
A Comment on Validity and Reliability in Visual Methods
Whilst photographs may represent truth - assuming they have not been manipulated physically or electronically – they are socially and technically constructed (Harper cited in Prosser, 1998, p29). The more that is known about how the photograph came to exist the more its validity can be judged. Whether the photograph represents the only truth of a particular situation lies in;
“distinguishing between the statement that X is true about something and the statement that X is all that is true about something”
(Becker, 1986, cited in Prosser, 1998, p29).
Context is important in order for the viewer to understand the time, place, people and objects in the picture; the photocontext (Adelman, cited in Prosser, 1998, p155). However, the nature of the photograph may be affected by the photographers prior knowledge and beliefs as well as its’ interpretation being affected by the viewers own knowledge and beliefs.
The problem of reliability and validity is related to access: whether the photographer is able to photograph a spectrum of related actions; whether the camera itself is an obstruction to access, or whether the active nature of photography influences how the fieldworker is received in the field (Harper, cited in Prosser, 1998, pp29-30). When a person knows they are being photographed it may change their behaviour consciously or subconsciously. A good photographer will know to keep out of eye contact and attention seeking of the subject being photographed (Adelman, cited in Prosser, 1998, p157). Validity and reliability can be enhanced by taking photographs of the same subject in the same position from a different angle, simultaneously.
Given the intrusive and revealing nature of photographs compared to other methods, ethical concerns are paramount and the sociologist must always be conscious of the cultural perspectives of the subjects (Harper, cited in Prosser, 1998, p30). Harper quotes Gold in this context, citing:
“...For visual sociology, the concepts of sensitivity and covenantal ethics are clearly related. A researcher ...[must make]... efforts to understand his or her hosts’ beliefs, values and views of the world”,
(Gold, cited in Prosser, 1998, p30).
It has been argued that photographs are problematical and indefinite statements rather than reflections of truth. However, the camera is a representation of modernism, progressing the purposes of empirical science (Harper, cited in Prosser, 1998, p30).
Bibliography
Prosser J (1998) Image-based Research; A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers, Routledge, Oxon.
Word Count excluding title, references, quotes and bibliography =265
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