JS-71.1
Methodological Complexities Involved When Using Visual Methods in Dementia Research
Sarah Kate Smith & Gail Ann Mountain, School of Health & Related Research (ScHaRR), University of Sheffield
In our study of the subjective experiences of older people with dementia when interacting with others and with technology, we have used video recording as a key method. Dementia impairs verbal communication, and this can have significant impact on how researchers may explore individual’s subjective experiences. Non-verbal communication such as gestures, body language, facial expression and posture therefore has greater significance when creating this understanding. The benefits of using video based methods in dementia research are two-fold. First, these methods are key to the faithful representation of non-verbal behaviour. Second, these methods can overcome some of the communication issues that can be encountered when interacting with people with a dementia diagnosis.
We report how our use of video recordings has provided us with important data to make sense of people with dementia’s interactions with technology, the challenges of visual data analysis, and how the project has led to new understandings of how such data can be analysed and represented. Data will be presented and discussed, providing an arena for methodological discussion and debate. Some of the methodological issues to be discussed include: the need for greater focus on the processes of visual data analysis (Schnettler and Raab, 2008); whether more rigorous approaches to visual data analysis will lead to objectification, generalisation and loss of quality and expressivity (cf. Pink, 2011); and ethical issues in the use of visual data.
KEYWORDS: dementia, visual methods, qualitative, touch-screen technology.