Moving pictures: The inclusion of photo-elicitation into a narrative study of mothers' and midwives' experiences of babies removed at birth

Background. The last century has seen a renewed interest in the use of photographs as a means of generating data for social science research. However, despite being acknowledged as a potentially valuable tool for qualitative researchers, across a wide range of disciplines, photo-elicitation techniques have received little attention in social sciences research literature. Aim. This paper examines the methodological dimensions and potential usefulness of photo-elicitation when combined with narrative inquiry as data generation tools for research within the health and social sciences. The context for the research was mothers' and midwives' experiences of babies removed at birth. Methods. Four mothers and eight midwives took part in this research. Narrative inquiry incorporating photo-elicitation techniques was used to generate the data, with mothers being interviewed face to face and midwives taking part in focus groups. The images and audio data were collected, transcribed and analysed for emerging themes, contrasts and similarities. This research received a favourable ethical opinion by the University of Surrey ethics committee. Results. Photo-elicitation supported the generation of contextual new knowledge and insights into individual experience that may have gone unnoticed had just conventional methods been used. It also facilitated a participatory approach to the overall research design and shifted the paradigm of power in the researcher-participant relationship, in favour of the participant. Conclusion. Photo-elicitation in face-to-face interviews was perceived by participants as non-threatening and enabled active participation in the process. It generated new knowledge that may have gone unnoticed by verbal interview methods alone.