Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials / Edition 4

by Gillian Rose

Overview

Have you found some exciting images that you want to explore but don’t know how to start your research or what methods to choose? Do you have a question about an aspect of visual culture that you want to answer?

Whatever level of experience you have, this classic text will provide you with the key skills you need to complete a visual methods research project, understand the rationale behind each step, and engage with the contexts and power relations that shape our interpretation of visual images.

With a clear step-by-step approach that is easy to dip in and out of, the book features:

•Key examples in every methods chapter to demonstrate how the methods work in practice and with different visual materials
•‘Focus’ and ‘Discussion’ features that help you practice your skills at specific parts of the methods and understand some of the method’s complexities
•Guidance on researching using digital visual media, such as Instagram and Tik Tok, integrated throughout the book

This bestselling critical guide is the perfect companion to visual methods projects for undergraduates, graduates, researchers and academics across the social sciences and humanities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473948907
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/18/2016
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

My research interests lie broadly within the field of visual culture. I'm interested in visuality as a kind of practice, done by human subjects in collaboration with different kinds of objects and technologies.

One long-term project, which resulted in a book from Ashgate Press in 2010, looked at family photos. I approached family snaps by thinking of them as objects embedded in a wide range of practices. I interviewed women with young children about their photos, and also looked at the politics and ethics of family snaps moving into more public arenas of display when the people they picture are the victims of violence. The book explores the different 'politics of sentiment' in which family snaps participate in both their domestic spaces in the public space of the contemporary mass media.

Other work is extending my interest in subjectivities, space and visual practices by exploring experiences of designed urban spaces. I completed an ESRC-funded project on this theme with Dr Monica Degen at Brunel University in 2009, in which we compared how people experienced two rather different town centres: Milton Keynes and Bedford. Monica Degen, Clare Melhuish and I started a new ESRC-funded project in the autumn of 2011. 'Architectural atmospheres, branding and the social: the role of digital visualizing technologies in contemporary architectural practice' was a two-year ethnographic study of how digital visualizing technologies are being used by architects in a number of architects' studio in London.

I'm also interested in more innovative ways to produce social science research, especially using visual materials. I was involved in organising the ESRC Seminar Series 'Visual Dialogues: New Agendas in Inequalities Research' (2010-2012). Please visit the 'Visual Dialogues: New Agendas in Inequalities Research' for more details. I'm also a member of the Open Space Research Centre.

Table of Contents

List of Figures xi

About the Author xv

Acknowledgements xvi

Preface: introducing the third edition of this book xvii

About the companion website xxi

Chapter 1 Researching with Visual Materials: A Brief Survey 1

1.1 An introductory survey of 'the visual' 1

1.2 Understanding the social effects of visual materials 11

1.3 Three criteria for a critical visual methodology 16

Summary 17

Further reading 18

Chapter 2 Towards a Critical Visual Methodology 19

2.1 The three sites of production, the image itself and its audiencing 19

2.2 The site of production 20

2.3 The site of the image 27

2.4 The site of audiencing 30

Summary 40

Further reading 40

Chapter 3 How to Use this Book 41

3.1 Reading this book selectively on the basis of sites and modalities 42

3.2 Reading this book selectively on the basis of having found some images 43

3.3 Why you should also read books other than this one 45

3.4 How each chapter works 46

3.5 A quick word on finding your images 47

3.6 Another quick word, on referencing and reproducing your images 48

On the companion website 50

Chapter 4 The Good Eye': Looking at Pictures Using Compositional Interpretation 51

4.1 Compositional interpretation: an introduction 51

4.2 Doing compositional interpretation: technologies and the production of the image 56

4.3 Doing compositional interpretation: the compositionality of the image itself 58

4.4 Compositional interpretation: an assessment Summary 79

Further reading 79

On the companion website 80

Chapter 5 Content Analysis: Counting what you (Think You) See 81

5.1 Content analysis: an introduction 81

5.2 Four steps to content analysis 87

5.3 Content analysis: an assessment 101

Summary 103

Further reading 104

On the companion website 104

Chapter 6 Semiology: Laying Bare the Prejudices Beneath the Smooth Surface of the Beautiful 105

6.1 Semiology: an introduction 105

6.2 Choosing images for a semiological study 109

6.3 The sign and its meaning-making processes in mainstream semiology 112

6.4 Making meaning socially: social semiotics 135

6.5 Semiology: an assessment 143

Summary 147

Further reading 147

On the companion website 148

Chapter 7 Psychoanalysis: Visual Culture, Visual Pleasure, Visual Disruption 149

7.1 Psychoanalysis and visuality: an introduction 149

7.2 A longer introduction to psychoanalysis and visuality: subjectivity, sexuality and the unconscious 152

7.3 How is sexual difference visual 1: watching movies with Laura Mulvey 157

7.4 How is sexual difference visual 2: from the fetish to masquerade 168

7.5 From the voyeuristic gaze to the Lacanian Gaze: other ways of seeing 172

7.6 From the disciplines of subjection to the possibilities of fantasy 177

7.7 Queer looks 181

7.8 Reflexivity 183

7.9 Psychoanalysis and visuality: an assessment 185

Summary 188

Further reading 188

On the companion website 188

Chapter 8 Discourse Analysis I: Text, Intfrtextuality and Context 189

8.1 Discourse and visual culture: an introduction 189

8.2 An introduction to discourse analysis I and discourse analysis II 192

8.3 Finding your sources for a discourse analysis I 197

8.4 Discourse analysis I: the production and rhetorical organisation of discourse 209

8.5 Discourse analysis I and reflexivity 221

8.6 Discourse analysis I: an assessment 224

Summary 225

Further reading 225

On the companion website 226

Chapter 9 Discourse Analysis II: Institutions and Ways of Seeing 227

9.1 Another introduction to discourse and visual culture 227

9.2 Finding your sources for discourse analysis II 236

9.3 The apparatus of the gallery and the museum 237

9.4 The technologies of the gallery and museum 242

9.5 The visitor 251

9.6 Discourse analysis II: an assessment 257

Summary 259

Further reading 259

On the companion website 260

Chapter 10 To Audience Studies and Beyond: Ethnographies of Television Audiences, Fans and Users 261

10.1 Audience studies: an introduction 261

10.2 Audiences, fans and users 267

10.3 Audience studies researching audiences and fans 274

10.4 Ethnographies of visual objects 283

10.5 Ethnographic studies of audiencing; an assessment 291

Summary 295

Further reading 296

On the companion website 296

Chapter 11 Making Photographs as Part of a Research Project: Photo-Documentation, Photo-Elicitation and Photo-Essays 297

11.1 Making photographs as part of a research project: an introduction 297

11.2 Photo-documentation 301

11.3 Photo-elicitation 304

11.4 Photo-essays 317

11.5 Making photographs as part of a research project: an assessment 325

Summary 326

Further reading 327

On the companion website 327

Chapter 12 Ethics and Visual Research Methodologies 328

12.1 An introduction to research ethics and visual materials 328

12.2 Consent, anonymity, copyright 331

12.3 Consent 332

12.4 Anonymity 337

12.5 Copyright 339

12.6 Conclusions: ethics, visual research and contemporary visual culture 340

Summary 343

Further reading 344

On the companion website 344

Chapter 13 Visual Methodologies: A Review 345

13.1 Introduction 345

13.2 Sites, modalities and methods 345

13.3 Mixing methods 349

Useful reading on various visual materials 351

References 354

List of key terms 376

Name Index 378

Subject Index 380

Editorial Reviews

For the last 15 years, Rose’s Visual Methodologies has been an exceptionally influential and invaluable text for those wishing to engage with visual research methods, with each new edition evolving and building upon the strengths of the previous. This fourth edition is no exception. With an expanded coverage of new media, Rose’s revised work encompasses a comprehensive and detailed overview of imaginative approaches and engagements with visual materials that are readily accessible for undergraduate and postgraduate researchers. Moreover, this new edition effectively addresses many of those pressing questions often asked by student researchers, not only in terms of the practical aspects of using critical visual methods, but also in relation to the dissemination of research through visual techniques. In short, this fourth edition represents a welcome expansion of an already definitive introductory text on critical visual methods.

James Robinson

Gillian Rose has done it again. This indispensable guide to visual methodologies improves with each edition. Extensively updated and revised, there is a new emphasis here on the circulation of images through varied technologies and the potential for digital methods to reveal patterns in the movements, translations and social value of such images. The reader comes away not only with practical knowledge for designing research questions and methods, but crucially with an enhanced understanding of the theoretical foundations and ethical considerations which underpin the most valuable and insightful visual analyses. This is not simply a ‘how to’ methods book.

Dr Katy Parry

There is now increasing use of visual methods in empirically-grounded research. This increased use may be attributable to new and accessible technologies for visualisation. It may also, Rose and others have argued, reflect increased awareness of the appropriateness of visual methods as a means of documenting and representing the social world.

The methodological insights provided by researchers’ experiences of applying visual methods are brought together in Rose’s compendium. This book is aimed at a wide readership: from new undergraduates, to postgraduate researchers and academics across both humanities and social science. It can be used as an introduction, a refresher, or for more in-depth debate.

Written in an accessible style, following a theoretical introduction and useful navigation section, each of the following eight chapters follows a common format. Different methodologies used to interpret visual culture are set out with examples, theoretical underpinnings, elaboration of the method, issues for discussion, critique, and finally a summary and further reading.

SRA Research Matters - Rosemary Lamport

Visual Methodologies is an indispensable resource for anyone working with visual materials. It offers practical guidance and expert theoretical orientation on how to approach, think about, and interpret visual culture, ranging from archival photography and documentary film to websites and social media. An important aspect of this book is the attention paid to audiences and viewing publics, as well as to the ethical demands of visual research. In this new edition, Gillian Rose brings the book fully up to date with contemporary developments in media arts and digital culture, and explores the new possibilities for visual research made possible by developments in software and data analytics. Whether you are new to studying visual culture or a seasoned expert seeking to refine your approach, Visual Methodologies has you covered.

Christoph Lindner

There is simply no better resource or inspiration for conducting, analyzing, and disseminating visual research than Gillian Rose’s Visual Methodologies. Her theoretical clarity about visual culture and power relations is seamlessly woven into her discussion and evaluation of a wide range of research methods. The breadth, depth, and detail of the exemplary research upon which she draws to elucidate the different approaches increases with each revised volume, and the 4 Edition is no exception. Rose has given us a comprehensive, wise, and rigorous guide for doing visual research that will invigorate the field and its practitioners.

Professor Wendy Luttrell

One and half decade after its first edition, Visual Methodologies continues to position itself as a key reading for anyone who is looking for a solid, accessible and systematic introduction to the increasingly popular but complex domain of image analysis and visual culture research. Gillian Rose deserves much praise for her sustained and highly successful efforts to keep this core text in critical visual analysis as fresh and relevant as ever. This fourth edition includes discussions about the newest visual and digital technologies and their interrelated practices. But the author also thoroughly revisited and refined the book’s overall structure to better guide the uninitiated reader through this kaleidoscopic and somewhat confused area of study.

Luc Pauwels

Gillian Rose has provided a welcome overview of the state of the field. Visual Methodologies succeeds both as an introductory text, certain to be widely adopted in the classroom, and as a sophisticated refresher course for those who have followed the rapid maturation of this remarkable interdisciplinary discourse. Added material on the latest advances in digital technology brings this latest edition to the cutting edge of visual culture studies.

Martin Jay

Clear, comprehensive, theoretically informed, and now fully updated and revised, Visual Methodologies is an excellent guide to the rapidly growing field of visual research.

Theo van Leeuwen

Gillian Rose has yet again produced the must-read book for any student of visual methodologies, whether new to the subject or well versed. Maintaining the critical approach of previous editions, Rose has continued to develop and build up upon the evolving nature of visual research.

Katy Thornton

There can have been few moments when the question of how we see the world has been so important. Exercising an expert eye, Gillian Rose guides the reader through the methods, techniques and approaches that allow us to make sense of all these images and visions. With vibrancy, lucidity and energy, this stone-cold classic reaches its fifth and refreshed edition at just the right time.

David Beer

Visual Methodologies is the essential guide to visual research and a must-have kit for students and academics. With a further insightful and illuminating refresh, Gillian Rose offers a range of vital and practical advice on how to design a research project using visual materials. In addition, the discussion of visual and digital technologies and their associated practices have been updated. Visual Methodologies offers a key to unlocking ideas for thesis or dissertation writing.

Ziye Zang

The field of visual research continues to grow and diversify, with Gillian Rose’s Visual Methodologies remaining the authority on how to design a critical visual methods research project. This is now the fifth edition and the book has evolved alongside emergent media technologies and an increasing interdisciplinary openness towards visuals. Rose provides comprehensive guidance to studying visual materials across a broad range of research purposes, whether for participatory photography projects or media content analysis. Digital methods, data visualizations and circulation practices might be the ‘new kids on the block’, but this cutting-edge focus is balanced with attention to the continued relevance of semiology, composition, discourse analysis and audience studies. This updated edition is an essential resource for teaching and researching visual communication, and I look forward to sharing its many riches with students.

Katy Parry

Visual Methodologies remains enormously relevant as the most comprehensive and accessible teaching book on the methodologies of visual culture studies. The book is superbly structured to be a valuable resource for students across undergraduate and graduate study – a book to be kept on the shelf nearby at all times!

Marita Sturken

Gillian Rose’s fifth edition of Visual Methodologies remains the authoritative introductory text on visual research. Updated to include a chapter on designing visual methods research projects, this text continues to be the best at explaining the why and how of visual research.

Julie Doyle

Gillian Rose has yet again produced the must-read book for any student of visual methodologies, whether new to the subject or well versed. Maintaining the critical approach of previous editions, Rose has continued to develop and build up upon the evolving nature of visual research.--Katy Thornton (9/9/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Gillian Rose's fifth edition of Visual Methodologies remains the authoritative introductory text on visual research. Updated to include a chapter on designing visual methods research projects, this text continues to be the best at explaining the why and how of visual research.--Julie Doyle (9/16/2022 12:00:00 AM)

The field of visual research continues to grow and diversify, with Gillian Rose's Visual Methodologies remaining the authority on how to design a critical visual methods research project. This is now the fifth edition and the book has evolved alongside emergent media technologies and an increasing interdisciplinary openness towards visuals. Rose provides comprehensive guidance to studying visual materials across a broad range of research purposes, whether for participatory photography projects or media content analysis. Digital methods, data visualizations and circulation practices might be the 'new kids on the block', but this cutting-edge focus is balanced with attention to the continued relevance of semiology, composition, discourse analysis and audience studies. This updated edition is an essential resource for teaching and researching visual communication, and I look forward to sharing its many riches with students.--Katy Parry (9/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

There can have been few moments when the question of how we see the world has been so important. Exercising an expert eye, Gillian Rose guides the reader through the methods, techniques and approaches that allow us to make sense of all these images and visions. With vibrancy, lucidity and energy, this stone-cold classic reaches its fifth and refreshed edition at just the right time.--David Beer (8/15/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Visual Methodologies is the essential guide to visual research and a must-have kit for students and academics. With a further insightful and illuminating refresh, Gillian Rose offers a range of vital and practical advice on how to design a research project using visual materials. In addition, the discussion of visual and digital technologies and their associated practices have been updated. Visual Methodologies offers a key to unlocking ideas for thesis or dissertation writing.--Ziye Zang (9/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Visual Methodologies remains enormously relevant as the most comprehensive and accessible teaching book on the methodologies of visual culture studies. The book is superbly structured to be a valuable resource for students across undergraduate and graduate study - a book to be kept on the shelf nearby at all times!--Marita Sturken (8/24/2022 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

Through its previous editions Visual Methodologies has undoubtedly become a profoundly influential text. Through a series of telling and careful revisions it has been significantly updated in response to changing visual cultures. This edition refreshes and reinvigorates what was already a lively, revealing and vital text. Not least, this updated edition responds directly to changes in digital cultures and the new possibilities of visual engagement and communication. It is the ideal guide to teaching and researching with visual methods.

Dr David Beer

An essential book for all students, researchers and academics interested in visual culture. The book has always had an interdisciplinary research, making it an adaptable, meaningful text. With this new edition, the application of visual methodologies is made even more vital given its coverage of digital technologies and our expanded engagement with the image through complex and nuanced visualization of everything online. This extends not only our daily perception of the visual, but creates new ground through which to understand ourselves and our relationship to others. Visual Methodologies treats the emergence of this with passion, providing a theoretical and methodological framework that is accessible, engaging and exciting.

Dr Adrienne Evans