On the theme: « Renewing Interview Methods to Free Up the Respondent’s Voice – II »
Editors: Amélie Robert and Félix Lefebvre
Amélie Robert and Félix Lefebvre
Foreword (p. 15-39)
Jan Kašník
«Methodological Triangulation to Liberate the Voice of People with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Family and Professional Entourage in France and Mexico» (p. 41-69)
Abstract: The goal of this article is to reflect on the construction of a methodological strategy that permits to liberate the speech of people with intellectual disabilities and of the people in their surroundings, on a multi-situated field split between France and Mexico. To do so, I put into question the very foundations and pertinence of the four employed research techniques, some of which are more classical, such as interviews and participant observation, and others are more innovative, such as focus groups and sex education classes. I demonstrate how each technique gave me specific insights into the research object, thus underlying their complementarity but also certain limitations. The reflection is articulated around the dynamic and changing character of the methodological strategy in qualitative research, that depends on the positions of the researcher and their (im)possibilities to access some fields. Thus, the field of disability is a suitable research object to revisit the different research techniques.
Keywords: Mental Disability, Semi-structured Interview, Focus Group, Participant Observation, Sex Education.
Valentin Aubois-Liogier
«Project-Grounded Research Sparks Discussion: Investigation Methodology with Stakeholders of the Urocyclus Project for Urine Recycling» (p. 71-109)
Abstract: The methodological challenge of engaging project stakeholders intersects with the application of the project-grounded research approach, which leverages design tools to create projects that integrate research objectives. The Urocyclus research project, focused on agricultural recycling of human urine, employs this approach to investigate its stakeholders. Drawing on this project-grounded research, the paper demonstrates how different categories of stakeholders are motivated to speak through the project and examines the conditions under which this occurs. The design project creates a novel in situ context that encourages participants to express themselves during the inquiry process. The elements designed and produced within the project are analysed in the research’s methodological framework to uncover the connections and interactions that enable the collection of diverse forms of discourse. The conceptual framework of Urocyclus is also presented, clarifying the socio-ecological issues underpinning the project and its stance regarding social acceptability. Finally, the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations encountered during the project-grounded research experimentation are critically examined. While the situated nature of this method constitutes a strength, its grounding in the field and the active participation it requires can also pose challenges to its implementation. Moreover, the dissemination of this approach presents a pedagogical challenge. As project-grounded research remains in its early stages, the analysis developed in this article contributes to strengthening empirical knowledge on the subject and outlines potential directions for advancing design research.
Keywords: Project-Grounded Research, Methodology, Fieldwork, Urine Recycling, Design, Epistemology.
Delphine Vanrechem
« A Creative Data Collection Method in Clinical Research Interviews: Ephemeral Bricolage and Dialogue around a Work of Art» (p. 111-160)
Abstract: This article presents ongoing doctoral research on the phenomena of derealization in the fields of psychology and comparative literature. The author outlines the choices that guided her research focus and the reasons that led her to adopt the clinical research interview method. Three types of interviews were conducted: the first focused on speech, the second on a tinkering process involving movable elements, and the third on a dialogue around a work of art whose derealizing atmosphere resonates with the research question. The article explores the gradual shift from a classical method to the use of creative devices aimed at liberating participants’ speech and encouraging the expression of their emotions. The mobility of the elements symbolizes the fluidity of emotional processes, while immersion in the imaginary world of the artwork stimulates reflexivity. Creativity is encouraged through play rather than actual creation, and resistance from both the researcher and the participants gradually fades. The author highlights the contributions of these devices while emphasizing their limitations, in an effort to preserve the uniqueness of each testimony and the emotional richness specific to each experience.
Keywords: Interview Methods, Clinical Research Interviews, Data Collection, Derealization, Ephemeral Bricolage, Mediations, Creativity.
Amélie Soubie, Laurent Couderchet et Manon Alban
«What the Illustrator Brings to the Researcher in a Scientific Interview» (p. 161-200)
Abstract: This article relates a methodological experiment which took place prior to the fieldwork for a geography thesis. The interdisciplinary research team, made up of two geographers and an illustrator, conceived and tested several ways of mobilizing comics during life-trajectory interviews. The team has established the conditions in which the drawing tool can be of proven added value, exploring the concept of the “gutter”, the space between comic strip squares filled with implicits that the researcher must interrogate. Reflexive feedback is also provided on the limitations that led to the modification of the method, and the processing of the finished object at the end of the interviews.
Keywords: Drawing-Elicitation, Comic Strip, Life Trajectory, Interdisciplinarity, School Guidance.
Hassina Khusrawy
« Words into Drawings: The Dwelling of Afghan Exiles through Discursive and Visual Techniques» (p. 201-249)
Abstract: This article introduces a methodological approach that critically examines a survey conducted as part of a thesis focused on the housing and dwelling of Afghan exiles in rural areas in France. It underscores the imperative to reconsider traditional interview methods, such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The article advocates for the integration of visual methods, like the inhabited survey, mental map, and annotated drawing, to amplify the voices of interviewees, enhance data quality, and deepen the phenomenological comprehension of the experiences of exiles. The article delves into the complementarity between discursive, observational and visual techniques, exploring the challenges and opportunities arising from their combined use. Organized into four sections, the article explores the uniqueness of creative and visual methods concerning research subjects, the application framework for these methods, and the reflexive analysis of collected data. This structure aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges linked to qualitative analysis and the results of the survey.
Keywords: Inhabited Survey, Mental Map, Annotated Drawing, Housing, Dwelling, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees.
Justine Grosperrin, Simon Calla, Hélène Trimaille, Yoshimasa Sagawa et Aline Chassagne
« Visual Exploration of the Relationships Between Elderly People and Their Homes Through Photographic Images. A Methodological Reflection» (p. 251-277)
Abstract: How can photography and discourse light on the relationship maintained by the elderly to their living spaces, and the way in which they grow old in them? This article is based on data collected as part of a socio-anthropological study. Eleven people living at home and in alternative housing have agreed to photograph and describe their living spaces by taking their own photographic images and by photo-elicitation interviews.
This article shows that the relationship between discourse and images oscillates between the fact that they can express the same thing and their power to shed light on ambivalences in the perception that respondents have of the apparent ordinariness of their lifestyles. We then discuss the limits of this exploratory research: we highlight the possibility of staging offered by the chosen methodology; then, we discuss the choice of disposable cameras as a research tool, questioning our representations of aging.
Keywords: Habitat, Housing, Older People, Visual Methods, Socio-Anthropology.
Felipe Barrientos
« Beyond the Image: Reflections on the Construction of a Photography-Based Methodology for the Study of Spatial Practices of Haitian Migrant Children and Youth in Santiago, Chile» (p. 279-314)
Abstract: This article offers a reflection on the implementation of a research protocol aimed at studying the spatial practices of Haitian migrant children and youth in Santiago, Chile. The study draws on Childhood Studies and concepts of mobility within migratory contexts, emphasizing the need to enable the expression of a vulnerable group. The research was conducted in two stages between September 2021 and May 2023. The first, detailed here, consisted of analog photography workshops offered in six schools in the western sector of Santiago to students aged 10 to 20. The second stage, offered to Haitian students on a voluntary basis, uses photo-elicitation to initiate dialogue about their experiences and perceptions of urban space. A phenomenological approach and the use of photography as a tool for reflection are prioritized. Analysis of the results will allow for an examination of the researcher’s positionality and the importance of building relationships with participants prior to data collection.
Keywords: Geography of childhood, Photo-Elicitation, Photovoice, Visual Research Ethics, Haitian Migration.
Florence Huguenin-Richard, Laure Turcati, Laurence Eymard et Gilles Plattner
« From Emotions to Representations: Gathering Information on Experiences and Feelings from a Serious Game» (p. 315-351)
Abstract: This paper presents a serious game carried out as part of a participatory science research project (Expo’ped, 2019-2023), including elderly people living in a suburban city near Paris (Ivry-sur-Seine, population around 60,000). The aim of the project is to study daily pedestrian practices in relation to exposure to air pollution, both as measured and as experienced by the elderly themselves. In the research protocol implemented, several data collection techniques were combined, including a GPS tracker to monitor displacements and micro-sensors for the objective measurement of air pollutants (gas and particulates matters). As for feelings, a serious game was designed to encourage participants to express their experiences. The game is based on the mapping of emotions felt in the urban spaces used on a daily basis by pedestrians. The strengths of this tool, the presentation of the results obtained, and the limitations encountered are presented and discussed.
Keywords: Emotional Mapping, Field survey, Game with a Purpose, perceptions, Urban Environment.
Open Topic
Gildas Igor Noumbou Tetam
«Feeding the Fighters During the Maquis. Supplies and Combat Rations Within the Nationalist Guerrillas in Cameroon (1956-1971)»
Abstract: This article studies the survival and combat provisions within the maquis of Cameroon. It first describes the solidarity networks and supply chains of the resistance fighters. It then analyzes the management of shortages and the organization of kitchens within the combat units. Based on archives and oral testimonies that serve as materials for this work, it emerges that the maquis in Cameroon derived most of their subsistence from popular contributions, requisitions, and food harvested from the forests of South Cameroon. Unlike the Viêt Minh in Indochina and the FLN in Algeria, the latter did not benefit from any significant support abroad.
Keywords: Supplies, Combat Ration, Maquis, UPC, Cameroon.
Simon Laflamme
«Populisms of the Right and the Left: A Comparative Study of Political Programs»
Abstract: Using textometry, a 2023 paper showed that between the programs of populist and non-populist political parties, there was little difference other than an emphasis on the economy in populist programs and a valuation of social equity and ecological intervention in non-populist programs. As an extension of these analyses, this article compares populist programs according to whether they are from the left or the right. In the right-wing programs, it discovers a strong nationalism and grievances against foreigners and immigration. In the programs of the left, it notes an opposition between “workers” and “people”, on the one hand, and “multinationals” and “banks” on the other; it also observes a denunciation of the role of the business community, which is held responsible for problems related to the cost of living and the environment. In the programs of both orientations, it also notes similarities on themes such as education, health, and agriculture.
Keywords: Textometry, Populism, Left-Wing Populism, Right-Wing Populism, National Democratic Party, People’s Party of Canada, Debout la France, Rassemblement national, Reconquête, Parti du travail de Belgique, La France insoumise, Déi Lénk.