Photo+and+Video+Elicitation


 * Photo and Video Elicitationtoc**

**Definition**
Photo and video elicitation are qualitative methods for investigation in which an image or a video is used to facilitate meaningful responses, prompt memory, or evoke an emotional reaction during an interview. Photographs, digital images, or videos are used to help the anthropologist elicit, record, and generate ethnographic data.

**Relevant Characteristics**
During an ethnographic interview, study participants are presented a still image or video to elicited responses. This method is used to encourage memory retrieval or emotional responses from the participants, as well as assist in the generation of dialogue between researchers and participants.



Photo or video elicitation has been used to explore expert knowledge, to elicit an emotional reaction , to examine empathic accuracy , confirm an interpretation of events with a population of interest to ethnographers , and to illuminate client/clinician interactions.

For **ethnography**, still images or video can be taken by the researcher, pulled from a third party source, or generated by the research participants. These data are then used by the researcher and participant during interviews to facilitate the retrieval of relevant information or emotional content. This method is commonly used in the field when the participant is more familiar with the site than the researcher.
 * “Method Made Easy” **

For **emotional elicitation**, still images or videos, which the participant may or may not have helped generate, are shown to the participant, who is asked for an emotional response. This is most often used in an interview setting.

For **empathic accuracy tests**, video of an interaction, which may or may not involve the participant, is shown to the participant with specific stop points. During those stops, he or she is asked to speculate about what one of the video subjects thinks, believes, or feels. Those answers can be compared to answers that the video subject has already provided, compared to the responses of other participants, or both. This is the foundation of the current revival in the study of empathy in the social sciences.

Photo and video elicitation is similar to Photo Voice, in that they both use recording technologies to actively engage participants and elicit different types of responses.

**Advantages**
Photo elicitation can be an inexpensive method that adds “thick” data to a study. It empowers participants and gives researchers a chance to see through the subjects' eyes. It can be used by ethnographers to prompt recall from multiple subjects concerning life events that the ethnographer cannot join as a participant observer. Used this way, it has a wide range of applications. For instance, researchers can ask participants to photograph meals for nutritional studies or to capture images of illness and well-being for health studies.

Video elicitation is advantageous because it can prompt recall of the details of speciﬁc events, emotions, or thoughts that participants often either forget or mis-remember. “Participants often notice new or unexpected aspects of the interaction during video elicitation interviews”. Video elicitation is especially valuable when attempting to generate “thick” data on the subject’s emotional life, taboos, or the strength of social bonds. Another advantage is that the stimulus in video elicitation can be a natural interaction as opposed to being acted. This has particular importance when eliciting emotion or studying empathy.

**Limitations**
Successful elicitation is a trained skill. In order for the method to be effective, interviewers must practice using elicitation to develop his/her skills. “Interviewer skill is arguably the most important component of video elicitation interviews and can make the difference between high-quality and mediocre data. In addition to standard interviewing skills, interviewers must be able to keep participants focused on the speciﬁc moments or events they observe on the video recording”. Video elicitation is time consuming and expensive in regard to data production and storage, compared to photo elicitation. The interviewer should consider these limitations when deciding if the data retrieved during the interview will be worth the cost. There is also a debate among researchers regarding the use of video recording during interviews. Some investigators argue that taping interviews negatively affects data collection; however, there is not sufficient evidence to support this claim.

**Analysis**
The data from elicitation interviews is generally coded and then categorized either by hand or with one of several programs specifically designed to handle qualitative data.

**Method in Context**
Henry and Fetters organize the types of data brought out through photo or video elicitation into three basic types: thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. This method can be used by ethnographers to prompt recall from multiple subjects concerning life events that the ethnographer cannot join as a participant observer. Another advantage of video elicitation used in this fashion is that “video elicitation interviews can facilitate more accurate recall of speciﬁc events that participants are likely to forget or misremember during standard interviews. Participants often notice new or unexpected aspects of the interaction during video elicitation interviews”. media type="youtube" key="9c8SGeYAYPo" height="346" width="462"

Video elicitation can also help participants re-experience or relive the interaction while watching themselves on video, which is valuable when attempting to generate “thick” data on the subject’s emotional life, taboos, or the strength of social bonds. This method can also be used as a stimulus to generate specific thoughts or beliefs and can be used in the study of social perception or empathy. Photo and video elicitation is currently at the foundation of the revival in the study of empathy within the social sciences.

**Online Resources**
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**Further Reading**
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