Evaluation of the project

Evaluation:
When contemplating what went well and what did not go so well within the implementation of this research project, several issues arise.

The problems that occurred while conducting this research were:
1) I found the balance between ethics and ecological validity difficult to manage, examples of this are; the photographs involving employment such as the police officers, the soldier, the delivery man and the big issue seller. I felt that I had to ask the individuals permission (specifically in the cases of the police officers and the soldier), so as not to offend anyone or break the law. As my partner is a policeman I know that some of the officers have to take part in undercover work and as such cannot have their picture downloaded onto the internet. At the time that the photograph of the police officers was taken, the Labour Party Conference was taking place in Dundee and therefore the level of security was especially high (I did not want to be charged with terrorism etc). As this lead to the photographs being ‘staged’ I did not feel that they had a great deal of ecological validity.

2) I found it difficult to approach individuals to ask if it was possible to take their photograph, as several times the individual declined (even after I explained the reason behind taking the photographs). This was especially prevalent in photographs containing tattoos (I suspect that many of the tattoos are extremely personal to the individual and therefore considered to be private) or piercings.

3) I also found out that I need a great deal more practice, in order to take a photograph that was not blurred, out of focus or framed improperly. Out of 173 photographs taken in total, only 148 of these were usable. It was difficult to sort out and cut the number of photographs down to 49.

4) I also found that the factors of time and place (as suggested within my proposal form) did have an influence on the type of photographs that I was able to obtain, however due to the restrictions of work, college and children I did find it difficult to go out at other times of the day to obtain photographs within a different context.

What went well within the project:
1) I decided to research the topic of identity among my friends so that I could gain a clearer idea of how they identified themselves and projected that identity on a daily basis. This gave me a clearer indication of the way that people chose to participate within social groups and how they associate their identity with the rest of society. By asking how people chose to identify themselves I gained an insight into the way that individuals believe their identity filters through every aspect of their lifestyle. Foe example two of my friends strongly identified themselves through their employment (one is a lecturer and the other a policeman), three individuals identified themselves as students (as at the moment they are completing their PHD), one identified himself as a traveller, two through their nationality, one through his religious belief, one through her child (family orientated) and two through their Chinese culture and heritage. All of these identities are projected through they way that their daily lives are constructed either publically or privately.

2) I did find that categorising and examining the context of each photograph interesting. I have learnt that by taking as many photographs as possible greater patterns or correlations can be observed and therefore relationships can be made between the data that may otherwise have been overlooked.

3) I have found that the use of visual imagery and the photographic research conducted shows a more detailed side of sociology that is disregarded within the written material. I have established that this is particularly important when examining the role of identity within contemporary society. When the young adults in society want to imitate the next big actor/ actress, identity has somehow become slightly lost, however through the images of daily life certain roles and identities still exist, such as; family and friends, culture, employment, status, hobbies/ interests and appearance. The identification of these identities within everyday situations is the desired outcome of this project.

4) This project could be assisted through further research into a specific area of identity. The sphere of tattoos and body art would be an interesting topic to take forward due to the individualistic nature of the perceived identity. Examining the different types of tattoos (such as; prison, military, family, cultural, social and racial tattoos etc) and the meanings attached to these forms of body art by both the individual and the wider public would provide a greater insight into the reasons for individuals to get or not get a tattoo and how they are perceived within wider society.

Overall, I found the project to be stimulating and fun. I enjoyed the variety of different practices and preparation employed in order to find subjects and capture the photograph. Through the research conducted within this project, I have found that the way that I perceive objects and people has changed slightly and that I examine individuals and scenes in more detail (rather than pass by in a daze!). I would anticipate that the more time spent taking photographs, the inhibitions and self consciousness would lessen when asking subjects or taking photographs in social settings.

Validity, Reliability and The Journalistic Image as Visual Sociology

Validity:
It is important to be able to rely on the conclusions deducted from a piece of research therefore the validity of the research must be examined in order to assess the integrity of these findings. The question; does this study really measure the concept/ idea, what it sets out to measure?; Should be asked at the start of a study. There are several measures of validity that can affect the integrity of the findings, such as; face validity; is the concept being measured directly reflected within the pictures, concurrent validity; is the concept being measured, the right concept, Predictive validity; would look at the future of the concept being measured, construct validity; the hypothesis or deduction made from a measure or concept (before the research is conducted) and lastly the convergent validity; the comparison of data through different methods of the same study. Although not all of these measures of validity (predictive validity) can be applied to the method of visual sociology, they are important considerations when conducting any form of research (Prosser; 2006; pp 151-158 & Bryman; 2004; pp 28-30 & pp 62-74).

Reliability:
This refers to the findings of a research study and is used to assess whether the findings of the study can be repeated (if the study was replicated: would the results be the same?). There are three main factors in the consideration of reliability; stability, internal reliability and inter-observer consistency. Stability refers to the concept that the results would be the same if the research was conducted a second time. Internal reliability is concerned with the concept being investigated and whether this concept is the same in each group or observation, and lastly Inter-observer reliability is concerned with the relationship between the researcher and the material gathered. The way in which the material is sorted or categorised and the subjective analysis of the material (Prosser; 2006; pp 151-158 & Bryman; 2004; pp 28-30 & pp 62-74).

Within Visual sociology, both reliability and validity are an important considerations when choosing a topic to study; questions about the research topic and the concept to be investigated, using samples to see if the method is adequate in measuring the concept, how this is to be measured (through observation by researcher or designated representatives), the method chosen to observe the subject; i.e. camera photography, video, the use of pictures already available (pictures taken by other, family photos, CCTV video/ pictures, “you tube” clips etc), and the way in which the observation is conducted; by random photography, constant surveillance (video or camera), the relationship between the subject and the researcher (either through direct or indirect observation), the contextual dimensions, the shutter speed, ‘set-up’ of the pictures (natural or forced), the analysis of what pictures are taken (how, where, when and of what), which pictures are used for the research project, how they are displayed and the text (if any) to accompany the data. Howard S. Becker argues that reliability and validity can be assessed in the range of images and the amount of access the researcher is allowed to a particular event, in order to assess the concept that is being measured. This is so that the researcher has the capacity to recount the findings of an event or ritual as the truth (Prosser; 2006; pp 29 & pp 151-158 & Bryman; 2004; pp 28-30 & pp 62-74).

The Journalistic Image as Visual Sociology:
Images within the mass media are taken as supporting evidence of a news commentary or are the reason behind the news article. The pictures are viewed within a specific context, however out of context they may appear meaningless or could be interpreted in other ways. The photographic evidence is usually accompanied with a large piece of written text outlining the background to the story or the context in which the picture was taken. The visual images, when part of a series of supporting documentation in the form of images or other sources, could be made into a documentary. This documentary would outline certain aspects of the same ritual and use journalistic images as the core evidence to support a particular time frame or event. The use of the journalistic image within sociology could be an integral part of research conducted over a period of time. News images of important events are particularly significant when investigating trends or actions within the history of society. When analysing the social aspects of a particular culture, journalistic images can be extremely useful not only in providing visual images of the specific concept, but also in the investigation of societies attitude at a particular time, as the images captured will show what was considered relevant or newsworthy by both the media and public opinion. The journalistic image captures the rituals that are culturally, nationally and internationally relevant, as well as being a good source of material both historically and contemporary, when investigating a concept over time. The journalistic image therefore, rather than being limited to the mass media, can be used within the field of images within documentaries or within the field of sociology as an important source of information (Prosser; 2006; pp 93).

References:

Bryman, A (2004) “Social Research Methods: second edition”; Oxford University Press; Oxford.
Prosser, J (2006) “Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers”; RoutledgeFalmer; New York.