Photography, Photographic Arts and the Visual Research Process in Qualitative Inquiry

Photography, Photographic Arts and the Visual Research Process in Qualitative Inquiry is a book that introduces doctoral students and early career researchers to photography as a significant dimension of visual qualitative methods.

It examines the potential of photographic arts in qualitative research by highlighting theory and practice. Theories of photographic research and the types of photography within the genre are presented along with tips and exercises on how to conduct visual research through the use of photography. The central features of this book include learning to incorporate photography and photographic thinking through the arc of the research process. Question posing, data gathering, data analysis, and presentation and dissemination of photographic research ae discussed. Ethics for photographic qualitative research is discussed. Learning to consider all senses for visual analysis and to consider issues of power and equity in photographic research is explained. Readers of this book can practice different ways to think about photographic research through the exercises and tips offered at the end of each chapter.

Graduate students and early career researchers who are interested in qualitative research will find this book valuable to learn and experiment with photography and photographic arts in visual qualitative research.

Raji Swaminathan, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies in the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has served as Director of Doctoral Studies and Chair of the Department and is a recipient of the university’s Faculty Teaching and Faculty Research Awards. She is interested and works in the areas of qualitative research, youth resilience, urban and alternative schools, creative pedagogies, and school leadership.

Thalia M. Mulvihill, Ph.D., is Professor of Higher Education and Social Foundations and Provost Faculty Fellow at Ball State University. She has served as Director of two doctoral programs, the Director of the Certificate Program in Qualitative Research and Education, and the Director of the Certificate Program in College and University Teaching. A recipient of numerous outstanding teaching, research, and mentoring awards, she is engaged in the study of historical and sociological issues in the fields of higher education, qualitative inquiry, innovative pedagogies, and educational leadership.