Letting a Picture Speak a Thousand Words: Arts-based Research in a Study of the Careers of Female Academics. (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sharafizad, Fleur; Brown, Kerry; Jogulu, Uma; Omari, Maryam
• Is Part Of: Sociological methods & research. Volume 52:Number 1(2023)
• Page Start: 438
• Page End: 479
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: qualitative research methods -- arts-based research -- tertiary education -- careers -- gender; Sociology -- Research -- Periodicals; Sociology -- Methodology -- Periodicals; 301.072
• DOI: 10.1177/0049124120926206
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0049-1241

Abstract

This article presents an adaptation of an arts-based research method usually reserved for child-focused research to examine organizational processes. We developed Draw, Write, Reflect (DWR), advancing a known method, Draw and Write, for investigating phenomena relating to child participants, to explore a new context: adults engaging in academic careers. This article reports on the rationale behind the novel use of this research method, outlines a DWR procedure for future research, and contains reflections of both the researchers and the respondents regarding their experiences participating in DWR. Offering participants a combination of visual and oral methods allowed the researchers to obtain data in a more individualized approach steered by participants' preferences. The multidimensional insights obtained through DWR would not have been attainable through each method on its own. Furthermore, we argue arts-based research can serve as a vehicle for disseminating academic work beyond conventional academe to a growing, nonacademic audience.