Using the example of a picture showing Nixon’s resignation as president, Becker (in Prosser) argues that at the time of taking, instantly told the outcome of the story surrounding the Watergate events and Nixon’s downfall. Everybody looking at this image of the president leaving the White House, was familiar with the context it was taken and therefore the picture carried significant power (specifically as it was cover news on most papers). Some time later however, the picture was part of an archive and merely used by historians, however, its significance and context can no longer be assessed by the image alone to people that have not been following the events taking place at the time. Using this example Becker generalises that images used for journalistic purposes have their impact only in context of the contemporary; events that arouse the attention of people at the very moment, thus providing them with the information needed for interpretation. He suggests that sociological analysis can be used to preserve the context it was taking in by including it in range of images depicting the Watergate events, Nixon’s presidency in general or the way in which the presentation of this picture happened. Such a series of images can well be using relevant texts or other records in order to capture information about the events described as a whole. By this, the context is recreated and made available also for those that have not been present when the single image was part of the ‘news’. It is therefore possible to for single photographs to retain their relevance, even though they are part of the past.
References:
- Prosser, J (2000), Image Based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers. Routledge/Falmer.
A comment on Validity and Reliability in Visual Methods
Reliability and Validity are two concepts used in social research to assess in how far the data can make a claim to accurately reflecting truth. While the further corresponds to data consistency (i.e. repetitions should produce similar results), the latter refers to the ability of the method to measure what it is supposed to measure. Both concepts are important in traditional text based as well as visual research to arrive at a coherent theory of social life. In particular the visual method has however been questioned in producing both reliable and valid data on the basis of being too subjective. Winston (in Prosser, 2000, cited p64ff) for example concludes that the image has to interpreted in the context it was taken in, which critically depends on the surrounding information that is available to the interpreter. In using the Ax Fight as an example he describes some images as being incoherent with the interpretation; not contradictory but not supported by the series of images. Adelman agrees with this notion but embeds the visual method in the field of qualitative research, even comparing it to a case study, in which as much information as possible is collected from a single event. Photographs do offer a lot of information about the scene; however, their validity and reliability can be questioned when taken out of context. Adelman (in Prosser, 2000, cited p155f) proposed a range of criteria, such as not taking a spontaneous snapshot, but rather planning the picture taking process based on background information gathered from the scene. If an image depicts a person or an event in an unusual state that more or less only occurred at the moment of taking the picture (e.g. a person smiling that generally does not, or a sky showing some clouds on a day that is generally described as sunny and cloudless), then such information is not reliable. Furthermore Adelman suggest that a series of images should be taken, in order to determine what is or was more likely to be a general state of events afterwards (e.g. if it is cloudy on one picture but sunny on all others, the researcher can conclude that the day was indeed sunny). In the same way ethnographic research includes interviews, focus groups or observations and recorded data will be used to identify common practises to arrive at a conclusion, not of one specific incident, but rather by looking at the available data as a whole. By applying such methodological procedures to the visual method of social research, both validity and reliability can be enhanced to a point where it can compete with other forms of qualitative research.
References:
Prosser, J (2000), Image Based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers. Routledge/Falmer, London.
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