Visible materials, visualised theory and images of social research

Abstract

Reciprocal relationships between visualising and seeing undergird all empirical investigations, but they are frequently neglected. That neglect leads to distortions in how social researchers think about the visual dimensions of their data, the visual challenge of communicating their research to others, and the images and visualisations that guide their theorising. Paying more attention to these elements can enrich our understanding of culture and social life, and of social research itself.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

An early version of this article was first presented in April 2001 at the University of Leeds as part of the Visible Evidence seminar series sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom. Revisions to earlier drafts benefited greatly from suggestions by the Visual Studies editor and reviewers and from comments by Kathryn Bruna, Stacey Caillier, Richard Chalfen, Whitney Donnelly, Doug Harper, Bruce McVicker, Nina Moore, Jon Prosser and Melissa Salazar.