The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Researching sensitive issues: a critical appraisal of ‘draw and write’ as a data collection technique in eliciting children’s perceptions

Researching sensitive issues: a critical appraisal of ‘draw and write’ as a data collection technique in eliciting children’s perceptions
Researching sensitive issues: a critical appraisal of ‘draw and write’ as a data collection technique in eliciting children’s perceptions
The draw-and-write technique for collecting data relating to both adult and children’s perceptions of their world is receiving increasing attention as one which has status within the field of visual methods. Whilst used largely within health and social sciences research, recent studies have demonstrated its value in eliciting views around organisations and organisational change. This paper appraises the draw-and-write method and reflects on the methodological lessons learned by using the technique in two studies conducted in England which aimed to elicit children’s perceptions of sensitive issues: transition from primary to secondary school and the management of bully/victim problems. The paper concludes that this method can be valuable in eliciting children’s perceptions and emotions, in building rapport and in promoting inclusive and participatory research. However, it also argues that using this method presents a number of challenges, namely analysis of data and ethical approaches, particularly with regard to the participants’ right to withdraw. It concludes that it is difficult for this method to stand in isolation and that the role of drawings as both process and product means that the construction and interpretation of images may result in a within-study shift between poststructuralist and semiotic paradigms which requires researchers to adopt accompanying methods, such as interviews, which will acknowledge this shift and enable participant voice to be fully captured.
1743-727X
Sewell, Keira
0484fde0-fd50-4f43-9208-bce92012cf1e
Sewell, Keira
0484fde0-fd50-4f43-9208-bce92012cf1e

Sewell, Keira (2011) Researching sensitive issues: a critical appraisal of ‘draw and write’ as a data collection technique in eliciting children’s perceptions. International Journal of Research and Method in Education. (In Press)

Record type: Article

Abstract

The draw-and-write technique for collecting data relating to both adult and children’s perceptions of their world is receiving increasing attention as one which has status within the field of visual methods. Whilst used largely within health and social sciences research, recent studies have demonstrated its value in eliciting views around organisations and organisational change. This paper appraises the draw-and-write method and reflects on the methodological lessons learned by using the technique in two studies conducted in England which aimed to elicit children’s perceptions of sensitive issues: transition from primary to secondary school and the management of bully/victim problems. The paper concludes that this method can be valuable in eliciting children’s perceptions and emotions, in building rapport and in promoting inclusive and participatory research. However, it also argues that using this method presents a number of challenges, namely analysis of data and ethical approaches, particularly with regard to the participants’ right to withdraw. It concludes that it is difficult for this method to stand in isolation and that the role of drawings as both process and product means that the construction and interpretation of images may result in a within-study shift between poststructuralist and semiotic paradigms which requires researchers to adopt accompanying methods, such as interviews, which will acknowledge this shift and enable participant voice to be fully captured.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 2011

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 168097
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/168097
ISSN: 1743-727X
PURE UUID: 86204ba7-91d8-4bf4-8d13-eb1c3dd09860

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 May 2011 14:05
Last modified: 10 Dec 2021 18:37

Export record

Contributors

Author: Keira Sewell

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×