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Using walking / go along interviews with people in vulnerable situations: a synthesized review of the research literature

Using walking / go along interviews with people in vulnerable situations: a synthesized review of the research literature
Using walking / go along interviews with people in vulnerable situations: a synthesized review of the research literature

Walking/go along interviews are increasingly used in qualitative research studies to explore various phenomena, including the experience of disability. The method involves a researcher walking or travelling alongside a participant in their local neighborhood and asking questions along the way. It enables researchers to generate data about a person’s relationship with themselves and others, as well as the place in which they live. Scholars acknowledge that this method may pose risks and challenges for both participant and researcher, and so the rationale for using walking/go along interviews must be clarified. Further, qualitative researchers need to keep abreast of how the method is used with different participant groups, so methodological lessons can be shared within the research community. Therefore, the aim of this synthesized review was to identify, collate and analyse current evidence related to the use of walking/go along interviews with adults in a vulnerable situation, defined as those ‘at risk’ of discrimination, harm, or abuse due to disability and/or age. As such, the article combines, for the first time, the collective methodological knowledge of scholars working across disability, ageing, and dementia studies. The 23 articles included in the review were analyzed using the thematic synthesis method. Five themes were identified; (1) shifts in power dynamics (2) making things known and knowable (3) revealing barriers in the environment (4) embodied knowledge (of place), and (5) being one. An overall synthesis of these themes culminated in the methodological insight that walking interviews are broadly aligned with applied phenomenological research. Having studied how and why researchers deploy walking/go along interviews with people in a vulnerable situation, we conclude that it is a tool favored by scholars who wish to advance knowledge of the connection between micro-experiences, meso-movements, and macro-change.

interpretive phenomenology, methods in qualitative inquiry, phenomenology, qualitative meta-analysis/synthesis, social justice
1609-4069
Bartlett, Ruth
b059d54d-9431-43a8-9d1d-19d35ab57ac3
Koncul, Ana
b74ab36f-9cbd-49e1-b88e-51b8b1486e39
Lid, Inger Marie
3c21390a-46ad-4aea-9828-762d50034008
George, Elizabeth Onyedikachi
f65046e3-a8e9-4d0a-8842-a5f72e64df75
Haugen, Ingebjørg
032d295a-83c1-4d39-a4fd-2598f40192d6
Bartlett, Ruth
b059d54d-9431-43a8-9d1d-19d35ab57ac3
Koncul, Ana
b74ab36f-9cbd-49e1-b88e-51b8b1486e39
Lid, Inger Marie
3c21390a-46ad-4aea-9828-762d50034008
George, Elizabeth Onyedikachi
f65046e3-a8e9-4d0a-8842-a5f72e64df75
Haugen, Ingebjørg
032d295a-83c1-4d39-a4fd-2598f40192d6

Bartlett, Ruth, Koncul, Ana, Lid, Inger Marie, George, Elizabeth Onyedikachi and Haugen, Ingebjørg (2023) Using walking / go along interviews with people in vulnerable situations: a synthesized review of the research literature. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. (doi:10.1177/16094069231164606).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Walking/go along interviews are increasingly used in qualitative research studies to explore various phenomena, including the experience of disability. The method involves a researcher walking or travelling alongside a participant in their local neighborhood and asking questions along the way. It enables researchers to generate data about a person’s relationship with themselves and others, as well as the place in which they live. Scholars acknowledge that this method may pose risks and challenges for both participant and researcher, and so the rationale for using walking/go along interviews must be clarified. Further, qualitative researchers need to keep abreast of how the method is used with different participant groups, so methodological lessons can be shared within the research community. Therefore, the aim of this synthesized review was to identify, collate and analyse current evidence related to the use of walking/go along interviews with adults in a vulnerable situation, defined as those ‘at risk’ of discrimination, harm, or abuse due to disability and/or age. As such, the article combines, for the first time, the collective methodological knowledge of scholars working across disability, ageing, and dementia studies. The 23 articles included in the review were analyzed using the thematic synthesis method. Five themes were identified; (1) shifts in power dynamics (2) making things known and knowable (3) revealing barriers in the environment (4) embodied knowledge (of place), and (5) being one. An overall synthesis of these themes culminated in the methodological insight that walking interviews are broadly aligned with applied phenomenological research. Having studied how and why researchers deploy walking/go along interviews with people in a vulnerable situation, we conclude that it is a tool favored by scholars who wish to advance knowledge of the connection between micro-experiences, meso-movements, and macro-change.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 26 April 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was funded by VID Specialized University, Norway, as part of The Citizens Project (CitPro): Everyday Citizenship for Persons in Vulnerable Situations.
Keywords: interpretive phenomenology, methods in qualitative inquiry, phenomenology, qualitative meta-analysis/synthesis, social justice

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 477183
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/477183
ISSN: 1609-4069
PURE UUID: 2ec40ab2-c99f-48b5-b217-9ae9b03691f1
ORCID for Ruth Bartlett: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3412-2300

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Date deposited: 31 May 2023 17:10
Last modified: 04 Jun 2024 01:43

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Contributors

Author: Ruth Bartlett ORCID iD
Author: Ana Koncul
Author: Inger Marie Lid
Author: Elizabeth Onyedikachi George
Author: Ingebjørg Haugen

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