1st International Visual Methods Conference

University of Leeds 15th - 17th September 2009

Aims

The aim of the conference is to bring together leading researchers and practitioners representing different disciplines and approaches to visual methodology in order to exchange ideas and advance visual methodology in all its forms. There will be two internationally acclaimed keynote speakers, a workshop for those new to visual methods, posters and a wide range of papers given. Presentations will focus on state-of-the-art visual methods as well as innovative real-world applications.

The conference is now full. Unfortunately we won't be able to accept any more bookings.

Guest Speakers

• Opening keynote address will be given by Professor Claudia Mitchell, McGill University, Canada.
• Plenary keynote address will be given by Professor Marcus Banks, University of Oxford, UK.
• Keynote photographer exhibition by Professor Dona Schwartz, University
  of Minnesota, USA.

Participant News

• Information for presenters - Visual Methods Conference (PDF File, 37K)
• Participant News - Visual Methods Conference (PDF File, 61K)
• University of Leeds Campus Map (PDF File, 183K)
  

Programme

• Visual Methods Conference Programme (PDF File, 478K)
• 1st International Visual Methods Conference Programme Overview (PDF File, 35K)
  

Venue

The conference will take place at the University of Leeds, 15th -17th September 2009, and will be held in the historic Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall. Leeds is among the top ten universities for research in the UK and is internationally acknowledged as a centre of excellence in a wide range of academic and professional disciplines. Leeds is the fourth largest city in the UK and close the unique Yorkshire Dales National Park. Travelling to Leeds is straightforward and accommodation in the city is very good.

Submitting Papers

There are two key dates; the first one is Friday 27th March for panel organisers and for individual papers, to be submitted to enable a peer-review process to take place. Presenters will need to register on or before for June 1st.

Themes

This is not a theme-based conference and we envisage a broad interpretation of visual methods. Whilst we would expect many papers to come under the following sub-headings they are not meant to the exhaustive or limiting:

• Participatory Visual Methods
  The notion of participant generated data implies that those who have agreed to become involved in a study produce some or even all of the data. This shift towards more collaborative and participative modes of research, informed primarily by the critiques of hierarchical and expert driven systems of inquiry, is gaining momentum around the globe. A wide array of visual methods are used in participatory visual research including ‘Photovoice', photo-elicitation', ‘graphic-elicitation', ‘mindmapping', concept mapping', and all forms of ‘Arts-based research methods'. We encourage papers to be submitted along these lines and particularly welcome innovative participatory methodologies.

• Researcher Created Data
  Researcher created visual data within the social sciences is experiencing a resurgence of interest. There is an increased willingness by empirical visual researchers, documentary photographers and video-based researchers, to embrace issues of personal and procedural reflexivity and acknowledge diverse ways of recording, viewing, and analysing researcher created data. In response to this growing enthusiasm new software is being developed which log, search, organize, categorize, tag and annotates textual and visual data. We look forward to a range of papers in this expanding area.

• Visual Methods and Research Design
  Research design is concerned with the overall structure and orientation of an investigation. It makes explicit a general plan and identifies a particular set of research strategies for conducting a study. This is a highly skilled task at the best of times and learning how to effectively incorporate visual methods into contemporary research designs is a methodological priority for all visual researchers. How are visual methods incorporated within sensory research? How are visual methods best employed in longitudinal qualitative research? These and other research design issues are mostly under theorising aspects of visual methodology and we therefore especially welcome papers on this topic.

• Arts-based and Creative Visual Research Methods
  Contemporary empirical researchers in the social sciences are increasingly adopting a flexible approach to methodology as researchers strive to answer more complex questions about society. New and imaginative visual methods are emerging in response. Some creative methods have a close affinity with photo and graphic elicitation but extend the participatory principle by emphasising respondents' ownership and agency through the act of creation. With creative methods, the process, activity and practice, is important as a way of enabling participants and researchers to communicate important emotions and experiences. This is a challenging and important aspect of contemporary visual methodology.

• Visual Representation
  Different media and modes of representation are currently available but most academics in the past have followed well trodden paths laid down by previous generations. However, all this is changing and word and numbers based researchers, as well as visual researchers, are rethinking how to visually represent data and findings. There is growing need to present and represent data and findings to diverse audiences including policy makers, practitioners and communities involved in participatory research. The field is wide open for innovative studies of good practice in representation ranging from graphical illustration of concepts to hi-tech visualisation of meta-number, word and image-based research.

• Visual Ethics
  Due the relative newness of visually orientated research, there is limited agreement among ethics committees and visual researchers, on the application of ethical guidelines. It is clear that around the world funding bodies, universities, academic departments, regional and local authorities and researchers, are only now beginning to consider establishing comprehensive and viable visual ethics policies. This is no easy matter, since image-based research is comprised of a range of visual media applied in a multitude of ways and does not form a homogeneous set of technologies, procedures or techniques. We would hope that the visual ethics vacuum will be filled, as a matter of urgency, with situated exemplars of good practice. This is an important topic for all visual researchers.

Leeds is a city of culture and interesting events are always taking place, for example on 1-4 July 2009 the 11th RAI International Festival of Ethnographic Film is taking place: http://www.raifilmfest.org.uk/. In nearby Bradford is the excellent National Media Museum: http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/

We look forward to welcoming you to the 1st International Visual Methods Conference.

Last updated by Peter Edwards on 10th September 2009

International Visual Methods Conference