Photographic visions and narrative inquiry
Abstract
This paper examines the ways in which photographic images can be used in narrative inquiry. After introducing the renewed interest in visual methodology the first section examines the ways in which researchers have utilised the camera or photographic images in research studies that are broadly similar to forms of narrative inquiry such as auto/biography, photographic journals, video diaries and photo-voice. It then draws on the published literature in relation to the author’s own empirical research into everyday photography. Here the extent to which the practices which are part of everyday photography can be seen as forms of story-telling and provide access to both narratives and counter-narratives, are explored. Ideas about memory and identity construction are considered. A critical area of argument centres on the relationship of images to other texts, and asks whether it is possible for photographs to narrate independent of written or oral word. It concludes with some remarks about how photographs can be used in research and as a resource for narrative inquiry. This necessitates a understanding of what it is people do with photographs in everyday life.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
There is a significant shift from personal photography being bound up with memory and commemoration towards pictures as a form of identity formation; cameras are used less for remembrance of family life and more towards affirmation of personhood and personal bonds.
“Harrison's field study acquiesces a significant shift from personal photography being bound up with memory and commemoration towards pictures as a form of identity formation; cameras are used less for the remembrance of family life and more towards the affirmation of personhood and personal bonds.”
From Digital photography: communication, identity, memory (2008) · cites this paper as Harrison, 2002
The increased deployment of digital cameras, including cameras integrated in other communication devices, favors the functions of communication and identity formation at the expense of photography's use as a tool for remembering.
“Recent research by anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists seems to suggest that the increased deployment of digital cameras-including cameras integrated in other communication devices-favors the functions of communication and identity formation at the expense of photography's use as a tool for remembering.(Harrison, 2002;Schiano, Chen and Isaacs, 2002;Gary and Gerrie, 2005).”
From Digital photography: communication, identity, memory (2008) · cites this paper as Harrison, 2002
Self-presentation rather than family re-presentation is now a major function of photographs.
“anthropologist Barbara Harrison (2002: 107) observes that selfpresentation-rather than family re-presentation-is now a major function of photographs.”
From Digital photography: communication, identity, memory (2008) · cites this paper as Harrison, 2002
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Digital photography: communication, identity, memory
van Dijck, J. (2008) · Visual Communication · doi:10.1177/1470357207084865 · Cited by 508 · see citing works
Point-and-Shoot Memories: The Influence of Taking Photos on Memory for a Museum Tour
Henkel, L. A. (2014) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797613504438 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Tanhan, A., & Strack, R. W. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-00692-6 · Cited by 230 · see citing works
‘Can I do it in my pyjamas?’ Negotiating a physical education curriculum with teenage girls
Enright, E., & O'Sullivan, M. (2010) · European Physical Education Review · doi:10.1177/1356336x10382967 · Cited by 221 · see citing works
The framing safety project: Photographs and narratives by battered women
Frohmann, L. (2005) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801205280271 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Driving with Parkinson's Disease: Exploring Lived Experience
Holmes, J. D., Alvarez, L., Johnson, A. M., Robinson, A. E., Gilhuly, K., Horst, E., Kowalchuk, A., Rathwell, K., Reklitis, Y., & Wheildon, N. (2019) · Parkinson's Disease · doi:10.1155/2019/3169679 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
- Authors
- Harrison, B.
- Affiliations
- University of East London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Harrison, Barbara
- Venue
- Narrative Inquiry
- Publisher
- John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Published
- 2002-09-26
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 87-111
- ISSN
- 1387-6740 (ISSN-L)
- 1569-9935
- OpenAlex
- W2128476226
- Cited by
- 172
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 8.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Narrative Inquiry (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Participatory Visual Research Methods
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Photography and Visual Culture
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Museology › Photographic and Visual Arts
- Keywords
- photography as research method, visual methods, everyday photography, storytelling, counter-narratives, memory, identity construction, photovoice, video diaries, auto/biography, text and image
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
