Video in Qualitative Research: Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life

185 Pages·2010·4.093 MB·English

by  Christian Heath, Jon Hindmarsh, Paul Luff

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IT CHRISTIAN HEATH | JON HINDMARSH | PAUL LUFF
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Video provides unprecedented opportunities for social science research,
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enabling fine-grained analysis of social organisation, culture and
R VIDEO IN
communication. Video in Qualitative Research provides practical guidance E
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for students and academics on how to use video in qualitative research, E
how to address the problems and issues that arise in undertaking video- A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
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based field studies and how to subject video recordings to detailed scrutiny C
and analysis. H
Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life

Heath, Hindmarsh and Luff consider the ethical and practical issues that

arise in recording and gathering data as well as how video enables new

and distinctive ways of presenting insights, observations and findings to H
E
both academic and practitioner audiences. The book discusses a range of A
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video-based projects including studies of control centres, operating theatres,
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medical consultations, auction houses and museums and galleries. |
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Video in Qualitative Research is a valuable guide for students and researchers N
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across the social sciences thinking of using video as part of their research. M
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Christian Heath is Professor of Work and Organisation, Kings College London. S
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Jon Hindmarsh is Reader in Work Practice and Technology, Kings College |
London. Paul Luff is Professor in Organisations and Technology, Kings L
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College London. F
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ISBN: 978-1-4129-2943-1
Cover image © Gary Dyson/Alamy | Cover design by Wendy Scott 9 781412 929431
heath_using_aw.indd 1 26/1/10 10:21:41
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Video in Qualitative Research
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INTRODUCING QUALITATIVE METHODS provides a series of volumes which introduce qualitative
research to the student and beginning researcher. The approach is interdisciplinary and interna-
tional.Adistinctivefeatureofthesevolumesisthehelpfulstudentexercises.
Onestreamoftheseriesprovidestextsonthekeymethodologiesusedinqualitativeresearch.
The other stream contains books on qualitative research for different disciplines or occupations.
Bothstreamscoverthebasicliteratureinaclearandaccessiblestyle,butalsocoverthe‘cutting
edge’issuesinthearea.
SERIESEDITOR
DavidSilverman(GoldsmithsCollege)
EDITORIALBOARD
MichaelBloor(CardiffUniversityandUniversityofGlasgow)
BarbaraCzarniawska(GöteborgUniversity)
NormanDenzin(UniversityofIllinois,Urbana-Champaign)
UweFlick(AliceSalomonUniversityofAppliedSciences,Berlin)
BarryGlassner(UniversityofSouthernCalifornia)
JaberGubrium(UniversityofMissouri)
AnneMurcott(UniversityofNottingham)
JonathanPotter(LoughboroughUniversity)
Foralistofalltitlesintheseries,visitwww.sagepub.co.uk/iqm
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Video in Qualitative Research
Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life
Christian Heath
Jon Hindmarsh
Paul Luff
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©ChristianHeath,JonHindmarshandPaulLuff2010
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Contents
Preface
vi
1 Video,AnalysisandtheSocialSciences 1
2 Access,EthicsandProjectPlanning 14
3 CollectingAudio-VisualData 37
4 AnalysingVideo:DevelopingPreliminaryObservations 61
5 MattersofContext:Objects,Participationand
InstitutionalPractice 86
6 PreparingPresentationsandPublications 109
7 Implications,ApplicationsandNewDevelopments 133
Appendix1: TranscriptionNotations 150
Appendix2: ExampleofanIntroductoryLetterSeeking
AccesstoRecord 155
Appendix3: TipsforDataSessions 156
Appendix4: SelectedReferencestoourResearchStudies 158
References 160
Index 170
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Preface
Videoprovidesunprecedentedopportunitiesforresearchinthesocialsciences.It
offers new and highly distinctive ways of collecting data and building records of
human culture and activities and enables new forms of analysis,presentation and
publication.It is increasingly used in research in a range of disciplines including
sociology,socialanthropology,education,communicationsandlinguistics.Itforms
the basis to more applied studies and interventions, including communication
skills training, the design of new technology, and methods for evaluation and
assessment.However,despite the growing importance of video,there remain few
introductory texts that address the ways in which this cheap and accessible tech-
nology can be used in social science research.
Video raises a series of questions and problems that may not necessarily arise
usingmoretraditionalmaterialsandmethodsinthesocialsciences.Theseinclude
howtogainaccesstoundertakevideorecordingandhowtodealwiththemoral
and ethical issues that occur when collecting permanent records of what people
say and do.They also include issues concerning the character and quality of the
data and how they resonate with more conventional materials used in qualitative
research,such as field notes or responses to questions in interviews.Perhaps most
fundamentally,video raises important questions concerning analysis and the ways
inwhichrecordingscanbesubjecttodetailedandsystematicinspection.Inturn,
using video for research inevitably transforms the possibilities that arise in pre-
senting and publishing findings,and sets new demands on the ways in which to
enable the reader,or audience,to gain insights into the material and its analysis.
The aim of this textbook is to address these and the other issues and to provide
practical guidance for using video in qualitative research.
Thisbookisbasedonresearchthatwehaveundertakenoverthepastfewdecades.
Our work has involved video-based studies of a wide range of organisational envi-
ronments both in the UK and abroad,including general practice consultations and
operating theatres,the control rooms of London Underground,the news rooms of
theBBCandReuters,operationcentresforinternationaltelecommunicationscom-
panies, design and architectural practices,and national and international auctions of
fine art and antiques. It also includes studies of less formal, more public settings
including street markets,museums,galleries and science centres.All of these studies
areprimarilyqualitative,drawingonethnomethodologyandconversationanalysis.
We have also undertaken more‘experimental’and applied research concerned
with analysing communication through advanced media spaces,developing inter-
activeexhibitsformuseumsandgalleries,andcontributingtothedesignofarange
of new technologies from virtual reality through to interactive paper.Throughout
thebookweuseourexperiencesinundertakingthesestudiestoanimateourdis-
cussions of the practical and methodological issues and problems that arise in
undertaking video-based research in the social sciences. Rather than repeatedly
cite these studies,we have collated key references inAppendix 4.
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PREFACE vii
The range of these studies points to the remarkable support and cooperation
thatwehavereceivedfrompeoplethroughouttheorganisationswehavestudied;
people who have willingly and kindly enabled us to record and examine their
everydayactivities.Despitethepopularassumptionthatitisdifficult,ifnotimpos-
sible,tousevideotoexaminecertainsettings,wehaverarelyhadsignificantprob-
lemsgainingaccess.Thispointstotheextraordinaryopennessofpeopleandtheir
organisations.Wearealsogratefultothefundingbodiesandresearchcouncilsthat
have provided support for our studies.These projects include Mixed Media Grid
(ESRC, RES-149-25-0033), Communicating Science Through Novel Exhibits
andExhibitions(ESRC,RES-151-25-0047),Utiforo(EPSRC,EP/D07696X/1),
Prismatica (EU,G2RD-CT-2000-10601) and PaperWorks (EU,IST-516895).
Wehavegreatlybenefitedfromtheenthusiasmandcommitmentofthestudents
and the research staff who have worked on the projects we have undertaken over
the years.These include numerous undergraduates who have demonstrated a will-
ingness and energy to throw themselves wholeheartedly into fieldwork and video
analysis, undertaking studies of activities and organisations that one would have
thought inaccessible to social science research.We have learnt much from their
experienceandinsights.Weshouldalsomentionanumberofoutstandingdoctoral
students and research assistants who have brought pleasure and interest to projects
intheWork,InteractionandTechnologyResearchGroup,andwhohavealsohelped
us to recognise and address many of the issues that arise when undertaking video-
based research.In this regard,Katie Best,David Lin,Simon Love,Robin Meisner,
Anthony Morris, Menisha Patel, Karola Pitsch, Marcus Sanchez Svensson, Ella
Tallyn and DylanTutt deserve particular mention.One particular colleague,Dirk
vomLehn,hasremainedastalwartoftheresearchgroupandhashelpedustowork
through many of the ideas and materials discussed in this book.
Without the encouragement and support of David Silverman and Hubert
Knoblauchwewouldhavenotwrittenthistextbook.Intheirverydifferentways
theybothpersuadedusthatabookontheuseofvideoforsocialscienceresearch
wasnecessary.TheyreadthedraftmanuscriptandwithTimDantprovidedhighly
insightfulandcriticalcomments.Wehopethatwehavebeenabletogosomeway
to justify the commitment that all three had for a textbook on video analysis.
Patrick Brindle has proved remarkably patient and provided strong support
throughouttheprojectanditisnotunfairtosaythatwithouthisenthusiasmand
commitment it is unlikely that the book would have been written.We are also
verygratefulforIanAntcliff’shardwork,careandpatienceinsupportingthepro-
duction process.We have also benefited from a number of colleagues in the field
who have kindly given us permission to use images and transcripts from their
published work.This has undoubtedly enriched the text and we thank them.
Finally,weshouldmentionourcolleagueswithinthewideracademiccommunity
and with whom we have worked on numerous projects;without their support
and encouragement it would have proved a far more difficult and less enjoyable
task to have prepared and written this book.
Christian Heath
Jon Hindmarsh
Paul Luff
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1
VIDEO, ANALYSIS AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Contents
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background:revealingelusivephenomena 2
1.3 Qualitiesofvideo 5
1.4 Emergingfieldsofvideo-basedresearch 7
1.5 Thechallengesofusingvideoforsocialresearch 10
Collectingdata 10
Analysingaudio-visualrecordings 11
Presentinganddisseminatingfindings 12
1.6 Appreciatingeverydaylife 12
Keypoints 13
Recommendedreading 13
Exercise 13
1.1Introduction
Theaimofthistextbookisquitesimple;thesubjectmatterisrathermorecomplex.
Wewishtoprovideanintroductiontousingvideoforsocialresearch,particularly
theuseofaudio-visualrecordings,tosupporttheanalysisofeverydaysocialactiv-
ities.Thebookaddressesandprovidesguidanceontherangeofpractical,method-
ological and conceptual issues that arise in using video at different stages of
undertaking a study, from preliminary planning through data collection to the
presentation of findings. Unlike many introductory monographs to qualitative
research,weplaceparticularemphasisontheanalysisofdata,includingmattersof
transcription,observation,conceptionandthelike.Analysisofaudio-visualmate-
rialsisparticularlydifficultgiventheextraordinarydetailfoundevenwithinafew
moments of a video of everyday action.Like many other forms of data analysis,
our own approach draws on a specific methodological framework,a framework
that prioritises the situated and interactional accomplishment of practical action.
Throughout the book however,we provide guidance,advice and recommenda-
tions that are of relevance to various types of video-based research drawing from
other methodological and theoretical standpoints.
While audio-visual recordings provide unique access to the details of social
action,theyarerelativelyunder-utilisedinthesocialsciencesdespitetheirsignificant