Participatory Arts-Based Research Methods – Value, Impact & Processes

Participatory Arts-Based Research Methods
– Value, Impact & Processes
Professor Evonne Miller @evonnephd
Director QUT Design Lab - Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology
I have always, as renowned sociologist Norman K. Denzin
notes, wanted to, ‘trigger a discourse that troubles and
positively changes the world’ (2010, p.10) – and I try to
do that through Arts-Based Research

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) acknowledges the Turrbal and Yugara, as
the First Nations owners of the lands where QUT now stands. We pay respect to their
Elders, lores, customs and creation spirits. We recognise that these lands have always
been places of teaching, research and learning.
QUT acknowledges the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play
within the QUT community.

ABR – Arts-Based Research
“ABR… combines the tenets of the creative arts
in research contexts…. methodological tools
used by researchers across the disciplines during
any or all phases of research, including problem
generation, data or content generation,
analysis, interpretation, and representation”
p. 4, Patricia Leavy - Handbook of Arts-Based Research (2017)

1. Photovoice – joining of
photography with voice
2. Research poetry –
form of found poetry,
creating poems (or
poem-like prose) from
interview transcripts
3. Art – drawing &
cartoons (participants &
research team)
Three Arts-Based Research Approaches

powerful combination of photovoice & research poetry
WHY PARTICIPATORY CREATIVE ARTS-BASED RESEARCH METHODS?
THEIR POWER, IMPACT, COMMUNATIVE & PARTICIPATORY PROCESSES

In her 2007 book Agamemnon’s Kiss, Australian anthropologist Inga
Clendinnen describes how she works to ‘seduce an intelligent, non-specialist
audience... into thinking about the issues that I cared most about’ (p.36). ).
Arts-Based Research should be
“emotional, evocative, provocative,
illuminating , educational, and
transformative”
(Leavy, 2017, p. 213).

PROJECT 1. Inside Aged Care 2013-17
Australian Research Council Linkage
Project (LP130100036) & Ballycara
Chief Investigators: Prof Evonne Miller,
Prof Laurie Buys & Nicole Devlin.
Research Fellow: Geraldine Donoghue
Photographer/PhD Student: Tricia King
Research Team: Dr Lorraine Bell; Dr
Deborah Oxlade; Dr Kirralie Houghton
insideagedcareproject.wordpress.com
Thank you to all the older people, aged care residents,
their families, and caregivers who participated,
giving up their precious time to help.

limited knowledge about experience
of daily life in aged care
Inside Aged Care. Credit: Tricia King
Shocking revelations in the media about abuse and neglect of
vulnerable older people living in aged care triggered a 2019 Royal
Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Their Interim
Report Neglect identifies multiple challenges, stating:
“As a nation, Australia has drifted into an ageist mindset that
undervalues older people…. Left out of sight and out of mind,
these important services (aged care) are floundering. … All too
often, they are unsafe and seemingly uncaring. This must change”

PROJECT 2. Our Care Journey - 2018
Industry Partner: The Ageing Revolution
Chief Investigators: Prof Evonne Miller, Dr
Oksana Zelenko, Geraldine Donoghue &
Aleksandra Staneva
Artist: Stephanie Bonson
Cartoonist: Simon Kneebone
Photographer: Tricia King
https://ourcarejourney.wordpress.com/
Thank you to all the families &
caregivers who participated, giving
up their precious time to help.quicker, smaller cost, but impactful

• Participatory Co-Design Process – Co-design an APP
• Photovoice and In-Depth Interviews
• Documentary Photography
• Research Poetry
• Cartoonist
• Drawing - in response to transcripts
• Interactive Digital Exhibition (for Carers Week 2018)
CO-DESIGNING CARE –
DESIGN & ARTS-BASED METHODS
www.ourcarejourney.wordpress.com
https://ms-
my.facebook.com/Thrivingcom
munitiesqld/videos/176891376
3230769/

.
– Photovoice is a participatory qualitative
research methodology (Wang & Burris, 1997);
– Research participants take photographs to
communicate & advocate on a specific topic;
– Involves research participants producing
their own photographs as a form of data
collection;
– Longer history within anthropological/
ethnographic field work.
– Building critical consciousness &
empowerment education (Paulo Freire), and
feminism (centered on issues of oppression,
marginalization & political action)
Recommended Book:
Amanda Latz (2017). Photovoice
research in education and
beyond: A practical guide from
theory to exhibition
What is Photovoice? JOINING OF PHOTOGRAPHY WITH VOICE

Research process generally
includes three main stages:
– Firstly, ask participants to
take photographs of
things, places, processes
or people that relate to
topic under investigation;
– Secondly, ask participants
to talk about and share
why they took each
photograph;
– Thirdly, hold a public
exhibition to communicate
the findings
Three Main Stages of PhotoVoice

Amanda Latz’s Eight Steps
Step 1 Identification Of issue/ problem, form an
advisory committee, with
policy-makers
Step 2 Invitation Invite prospective participant;
think about recruitment
Step 3 Education Explain ethics & intricacies of
photovoice process
Step 4 Documentation Photographic task & prompts
– day in life, highlights etc
Step 5 Narration Photographic narrative;
groups/individual; questions
eg SHOWED
Step 6 Ideation Participatory data/ thematic
coding
Step 7 Presentation Sharing images in public-
facing way
Step 8 Confirmation/
Evaluation
Feedback/Lessons Learnt
Latz, A. O. (2017). Photovoice
research in education and beyond: A
practical guide from theory to
exhibition. Routledge.
“Remember, part of the allure of
photovoice is its flexibility. Steps
may be taken out of order. Some steps
may need to be repeated. And some
steps will be redundant. Wang and
Burris (1997) noted that photovoice is
malleable and ready for adaptation
for specific goals, diverse
communities, and various contexts.
Without having a project actively in
motion, it is difficult to know exactly
how to enact the steps. But knowing
the steps typically used will be a
comfort along the way” (p.61).

PROJECT 1 – PILOT PROJECT 2012-2013
My Life: Frangipanis, Friendship & Football
PILOT -
ITERATION 1:
Communal
Camera, staff-
facilitated,
photographs
that represent
daily life
over a year
Miller, E., Buys, L, & Donoghue G. (2019). Photovoice in aged care: What do residents value?
Australasian Journal of Ageing, 38(3), 93-97.
ten participants:
two males and
eight females,
66 to 92 years
(average 80 years)
FRANGIPANI’S,
FRIENDSHIP & FOOTBALL

Exhibition on-Site & GOMA
Sticky Dot Image
Selection Process

FRANGIPANI’S, FRIENDSHIP & FOOTBALL
Friendship. We have found
great mates.
Photograph taken by Beryl
The Golden Panda tree
brightens my day to day life.
Nature is beautiful.
Photograph taken by Betty
We love football! We watched the
game and the team made the finals.
Photograph taken by Carol
Miller, E., Buys, L, & Donoghue G. (2019). Photovoice in aged care: What do residents value?
Australasian Journal of Ageing, 38(3), 93-97.

My Life - Frangipanis, Friendship and Football
THE MISSING / ABSENT
IMAGES
Few negative images - this is
how they wished to portray
their life in aged care to
others. Photovoice images
reflect “identity construction
and how they want
themselves and their lives to
be seen by the researcher
and represented in the
images” (Pilcher et al., 2016,
p.685).
Miller, E., Buys, L, & Donoghue G.
(2019). Photovoice in aged care:
What do residents value?
Australasian Journal of Ageing,
38(3), 93-97.
Exhibition on-Site & GOMA

PROJECT 2 – INSIDE AGED CARE 2013-2017
Australian Research Council Linkage Project
Research Questions
1. What is life like in aged care?
2. How can we improve it, using an active ageing /happiness lens?

intimate and everyday moments inside aged care: personal grooming (hair), personal activity (knitting etc),
social activity (dining room) and moments between activities…waiting
• Sole use of camera for two
weeks - highlights and
lowlights of daily life
• Day in the Life Task: Take
photograph every hour from
waking until going to bed
• Professional Photographer –
arranged as a Thank You, many
of these in exhibition
Photovoice Tasks & Documentary Photographer

“Creating aesthetically pleasing, artful, or precise photographs is not
the point of photovoice. The point is to make space for participants to
express themselves on their own terms, and what that looks like is up
to the participants. This should be made clear” (p.63, Latz, 2017).
A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER…?
“who we are and where we stand when we watch the world determines how
we see and what we record” (Ewald & Lightfoot, 2001, p. 29).

• Not familiar with cameras… rare
• Stiff, arthritic fingers
• Tendency towards positive (most
photographs)
• Vulnerable / Power / Not Critical
• Wanting to be IN pictures
PHOTOGRAPHIC LITERACY IN PARTICIPANTS

Mum’s Clock - Valued Personal Possessions & Memories

THE IMPORTANCE OF NARRATION – HAPPIER IN AGED CARE

NICE PHOTOGRAPH FOR HER FUNERAL

Daily Life – Bingo

Celebrating Seniors Week – Researcher-Initiated Arts Day

Life in Aged Care – Tricia King, Documentary Photographer
King, T., Miller, E., & Donoghue, G. (2019). Spaces, sauce and schedules: A photographic journey
of aged care. Social Alternatives

Jeff: Trying Not to Shut Down in One Room in Aged Care

The Exhibition – Planning, Process & Impact

A Collaborative Process
Choosing the Exhibition Images

ETHICS & REPEATED, LAYERED CONSENT

Quality Exhibitions Take Time,
Organization & Energy

THE EXHIBITION OPENING – FEB 2017, STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND
Media: Radio & TV Interviews - with Residents, Poetry Reading

Two Private Viewings for Frailer Residents

OVERALL: Resident’s, their Families & Staff Delighted

Challenge - Photographs Chosen to be Exhibited..
Inter-Personal Jealousy / Identification
Remove my Poem

CAPTURING IMPACT – SURVEY
• Evaluate exhibition: guest book, physical survey & interactive cardboard wall to write on
• Net promoter score was 10 (meaning all would recommend to others)
• Praised as: “respectful and moving”, “revealing”, the exhibition “shone an important light”
on an often “forgotten population”, and “knocked a few clichés out of me, like aged care
homes are boring and soul destroying”.
“I have always had a vision of what I would like to see in the perfect world for ageing...it
(the exhibit) has motivated me to work hard for that to happen in our organization”
“the exhibition is like a friendly reminder that these residents aren’t defined by their
charts and vital signs. They are people with feelings”

Lessons Learned
• Feasibility – time-consuming (ethics)
• Competing interests – industry partner, participants, your research,
ethics committee, media, exhibition attendees
• Expectations - powerful method, but not everyone is a ‘good’
photographer, so narrative remains key
• Add a budget for graphic design and exhibition installation
• Be organized
Donoghue, G & Miller, E. (2016). “I understand. I am a participant”: Navigating the ‘fuzzy’ boundaries of visual methods in
qualitative longitudinal research (pp129-140). In Deborah Warr, Marilys Guillemin, Susan Cox & Jenny Waycott (Eds). Ethics
for Visual Research: Theory, Methodology and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan /9781526419613

The Power of a Photograph – Pearl’s Room

Before the accident: Pearl’s room full of autonomous spatial identity
Inside Aged Care (image credit: Tricia King)
Risk & Regulation in Aged Care – Pearl

“Oh it’s a mess, but I know
where everything is. I’ve got all
my secrets in here” Pearl

After the accident: Pearl’s room stripped of her previous spatial identity
“Oh I’m not sure who I am”
GD: field notes

Before and after
Inside Aged Care (image credit: Tricia King)
“Oh I’m not sure who I am”
GD: field notes

Before we turn to research poetry –
questions & a quick stretch break

2. Research Poetry (Form of FOUND POETRY)
transcript poems
found poetry
poetic inquiry
poetic transcription
data poetry or data poems
poetic narrative
narrative poetry
interview poems
poetic texts
performance poem
poetic reflection/resistance
poetic analysis
ethnopoetry
Prendergast, M. (2009). "Poem is what?" Poetic inquiry in qualitative social science research. International Review of Qualitative Research, 1(4), 541-568.

In contrast to the
blank page, found
poetry is poetry
selected and
created out of texts
that already exist in
the world – texts
that you ‘find’.
The ‘text’ can be
anything – a TV
show, an online
article, a page from
a novel, another
poem, conversations
you overhear or
interview
transcripts.
WHAT IS FOUND POETRY?

What is Research Poetry?
novel creative analysis where poems (or
poem-like prose)
are constructed from research data
a novel creative analysis where poems
(or poem-like prose)
are constructed from research data
What is Research Poetry
*Miller, E. (2019). Creating research poetry: A nursing home example. In Áine Humble and Elise Radina (Eds.),
Going behind ‘themes emerged’: Real stories of how qualitative data analysis happens. USA: Palgrave Macmillan.

"you don't start from scratch. All you
have to do is find some good language
and ‘improve' it”…. "poems hide in
things you and others say and
write….”…. just keep “your ears and
eyes alert to the possibilities in
ordinary language”
Stephen Dunning & William Stafford (1992)
Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
The advantage of found poems

1.Non-linear deep dive into interview transcripts searching for key
words, phrases, & sentences (analogous to qual. data reduction)
2. Participants’ words arranged and rearranged to craft a poem
How? Two deceptively simple steps
Inside Aged Care. Credit: Tricia King & Staff
A Note on Quality - different standards for research poems (artistic & scientific merit)

1.Immersion
2.Creation
3.Critical Reflection
4.Ethics
5.Engagement
*Miller, E. (2019). Creating research poetry: A nursing home example. In Áine Humble and Elise Radina (Eds.),
My ICCEE* approach to Creating Research Poetry
“although at first the path may seem challenging, full of slips and
icy terrain, it becomes a more obtainable undertaking with the
help of a guide (and a little grit)” Miller, 2019

Research Poetry Surprises & Engages
Poem creation is a search for the most
engaging, telling, and provocative phrases that
enable the reader to viscerally see, hear, taste,
smell, and/or feel the experience. I cut and
past the phrases that spoke to and emotionally
engaged me—any words that made me smile,
frown, feel empathy, sadness, or anger
Miller, E. , Donoghue, G & Holland-Batt, S. (2015). “You could scream the place down”:
Five poems on the experience of aged care. Qualitative Inquiry.

POEM Excerpt from interview transcript
You’re taken care of – Ethel,
aged 80
You’re taken care of.
I’m very satisfied
with my room.
I got me own furniture,
so why wouldn’t I be?
It’s just like my own home,
only I don’t do no work.
I got me friends here,
I go to bingo,
I join in exercises,
I go for any walks,
I have a good family,
they take me places.
though I haven’t been able
to find a nice man yet.
So we’re just talking about your experience living here. You said, that you love it,
so tell me more about why.
If anything happened to me I’d be in the right place.
Right. Ok, so it’s a sort of safety?
Yes, safer here in your own mind. Yeah, safety in your own home. So that no
matter what happens--you’re taken care of.
Yeah, yeah, well that’s what I believe.
That’s good. So now we’re going to talk about different things, ok? So the first
thing we want to talk about is actually your room.
I’m very satisfied with my room, I got me own furniture so why wouldn’t I be?
(laughs)
Is there anything you’d change about the design to make it better?
Not in my opinion. So nothing? Ok...
It’s just like my own home, really - only I don’t have to do no work! (laughs)
Now thinking about how you spend your time here, is there enough for you to
do?
Yeah, yeah, I go to bingo, and I join in exercises, and I go for any walks......
are you able to do things you like to do?
Yes. (quietly). Though I haven’t been able to find a nice man yet (laughs)...
So your social life, is that pretty good? With people? Yes, I got me friends here
Yeah it’s good, I’ve got a good family and they take me to places. You know, we
can go and have a meal together, you know, things like that. And I go to, if
they’ve got a party on for somebody’s birthday, I’m always invited.

Evaluating the
Quality
The poem is a surprisingly engaging and
detailed account of daily life in aged care. The
speaker’s unique voice - her vernacular syntax
and colloquialisms (e.g., “I don’t do no work;”
“I got me own furniture”) evoke a memorable
sense of personality. Her sense of humour is
conveyed in the last two lines, as she jokes: “I
haven’t been able/to find a nice man yet.” The
end contrasts against the rhythm and body of
the poem, surprising with humour and subtly
challenging socio-cultural stereotypes by
reminding us that older people in aged care
remain interested in relationships

FIRST FIVE MINUTES: What made you come here? Well
my family decided that I was too old to be on my own and I
needed organising (laughs). How did you feel about that
(laughs)? Not at all. Not at all, ok...(laughs). Because
everything had to go by the board. You lose practically
everything to come in here. This is all we have got left now.
Right..so, in terms of your furniture and your items ----- Yeah,
you lose everything. You only have the barest minimum. As
you can see, there's not much here. It is not nice.. at all.
LAST TEN MINUTES Do you feel sad, ever? Sad? Like
tears/sad? Yeah. Strongly? You get so frustrated at times, you
could scream the place down. Is there anything else that you
would like to say that I haven't asked about? I think I have
said more than enough (laughs).
Pick most engaging phrases from throughout
the hour-long interview (start & end)
‘Scream the Place Down’
Joyce, 87
A phrase, word,
or a memorable
description may
jump out..

my family said
I was too old
too old, to be on my own
that I needed organising
but, you lose everything
you lose everything
to come in here
as you can see
you only have
the barest minimum
there's not much here
it is not nice,
not nice at all
it is not good for me
I can't get out.
That's what you lose, when you come in
all your independence
is taken away from you.
I'm not able to do it myself,
that's very hard to take
you get so frustrated
at times, you could
scream the place down
‘Scream the place down’
Joyce, 87
Miller, E., Donoghue, G., & Holland-Batt, S. (2015). “You could scream the place down”:
Five poems on the experience of aged care. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(5), 410-417
JOYCE – 87

Good Research Poetry
Should Shock Us
Into Feeling,
Into
Thinking Differently

Miller, E. (2019). Creating research poetry: A nursing home example. In Áine Humble and Elise Radina (Eds.),

Marcy Meyers. (2017). Concrete Research Poetry: A Visual Representation of Metaphor. Art/Research
International: A Transdisciplinary Journal, 2(1).
CONCRETE POETRY
AS WELL AS text to read, concrete poems give
reader a visual object to be perceived
Stigma Casserole

When your time is up
everybody comes
and goes
so quickly
since I have been here
so many
people
have
passed
away
they
have
gone
their way now
it makes you
wonder
how much longer
you have got
it's a daily thought
you don't know
when
your time
is up

Public poetry installation at Bexhill-on-Sea, England, from Scottish poet Robert Montgomery
IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE: INSTALLATIONS

3. Art – Drawing / Cartoons
example – artist sketch from transcripts

The DRAW AND WRITE TASK - Retirement Village Residents

Q1. Draw EXPERIENCES of AGEING (time & decline)

Q1. Draw EXPERIENCES of AGEING
Experience of Ageing – Recreation & Sport AND Family

Slowing down – TIREDNESS –
where has my energy gone?

Getting Dressed with Husband’s Help

Q2. Draw Expectations of Retirement Living

Q3. Draw EXPERIENCES of Retirement V Living

BEFORE: House Work / Lawns to Mow / Stairs to Climb AFTER: Relaxing

Photographic Task Instructions: We would like you to take photographs of your experience giving or
receiving care – this task can be completed individually or jointly, keeping in mind the end intention to
publicly exhibit the photographs (e.g., with Seniors Week & Carers Week) and engage the broader
community in a conversation about caregiving. We would like you to do this over a 1-2 week period – until
you feel the photographs accurately represent your experience of giving or receiving care.
• You might like to photograph ‘a day in your life’, so for one day, taking one photograph every hour you
are awake
• You might choose instead (or as well) to photograph highlights, lowlights, challenges or simply your day
to day experience – and what helps and/or hinders
In photographing your experience, don’t forget to zoom in on details and to be as creative as
you wish – you could photograph concepts, metaphors, signs or words that capture
how you feel and what you want to share with other people. You might also photograph what
you thought the experience would be like, and what it actually is. . This task should be enjoyable, as you
creatively capture aspects of caregiving – remember, as well as photography, you can also engage in other
creative expressions that interest you (e.g, drawing, creative writing, videos etc).
If you are taking photographs in the community, in public spaces and of identifiable people, explain the
project to them – and ideally try to take the photograph so no people are clearly photographed (eg
through close ups of hands, bodies, spaces, places, buildings etc).
Finally, if it helps, you can record a brief note about each photograph below, and we will discuss what the
photographs capture and represent in the interview.
OUR CARE JOURNEY – TASK INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions tried
to foster creative
responses

OUR CARE JOURNEY www.ourcarejourney.wordpress.com
Digital Exhibition
3 Minute Video: https://ms-my.facebook.com/Thrivingcommunitiesqld/videos/our-
care-journal/1768913763230769/

RESEARCHERS & PARTICIPANTS – OPENING NIGHT
CAPTURING IMPACT – SURVEY
• Post event survey net-promoter score of 9.3.
• 93% felt moved or inspired; 75% described app as useful
• “optimism and joy at the opening palpable”.
• The interactive display was “inspirational”, “amazing”, “mind-
blowing!”, “the impressive display of quite intimate subjects in
a large format digital exposition was extraordinary”

Memories
Example ImagesANDREA’S HIGHLIGHTS & LOWLIGHTS OF
CARING FOR 92 YR OLD GRANDMOTHER
“Highlight – memories.
Lowlight…when the design of
the physical environment
(steps) means we cannot
easily access support
services” Andrea

Value of a Cartoon
(Simon listened & produced these – B & W - during workshop)

THE EMOTIONAL PAIN OF CAREGIVING

EXHIBITION FEEDBACK: “The medicalising of the bed is so poignant: I remember
thinking about it a couple of times in my life in relation to people in this situation
close to me. I love the huge wall of images of people drawing and making mess
co-designing. The minimal text works for maximum effect: so well done”

1. Photovoice – joining of
photography with voice
2. Research poetry –
form of found poetry,
creating poems (or
poem-like prose) from
interview transcripts
3. Art – drawing &
cartoons (participants &
research team)
SUMMARY:
Three Arts-Based Research Approaches
I have run workshops on PV & RP
- and could online if interest?

Participatory Arts-Based Research Methods
– Value, Impact & Processes
Note: My forthcoming Routledge Book
(late 2020/early 2021) tentatively titled:
Creative Arts-Based Research in Aged Care

Participatory Arts-Based Research Methods – Value, Impact & Processes

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