Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching with Visual Materials

About the Book

A now classic text, the book appeals to undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers and academics in all subjects looking to understand and clearly grasp the complex debates and ideas in visual analysis and interpretation.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Researching with Visual Materials - A Brief Survey An Introductory Survey of ′the Visual′ Understanding the Social Effects of Visual Materials Three Criteria for a Critical Visual Methodology Chapter 2: Towards a Critical Visual Methodology The Three Sites of Production, the Image Itself and Its Audiencing The Site of Production The Site of the Image The Site of Audiencing Chapter 3: How to Use This Book Reading This Book Selectively on the Basis of Sites and Modalities Reading This Book Selectively on the Basis of Having Found Some Images Why you Should Also Read Books Other Than This One How Each Chapter Works A Quick Word on Finding Your Images Another Quick Word, on Referencing and Reproducing Your Images Chapter 4: ′The Good Eye′: Looking at Pictures Using Compositional Interpretation Compositional Interpretation: An Introduction Doing Compositional Interpretation: Technologies and the Production of the Image Doing compositional interpretation: The compositionality of the Image Itself Compositional Interpretation: An Assessment Chapter 5: Content Analysis: Counting What You (Think You) See Content Analysis: An Introduction Four Steps to Content Analysis Content Analysis: An Assessment Chapter 6: Semiology: Laying Bare the Prejudices beneath the Smooth Surface of the Beautiful Semiology: An Introduction Choosing Images for a Semiological Study The Sign and its Meaning-Making Processes in Mainstream Semiology Making Meaning Socially: Social Semiotics Semiology: An Assessment Chapter 7: Psychoanalysis: Visual Culture, Visual Pleasure, Visual Disruption Psychoanalysis and Visuality: An Introduction A Longer Introduction to Psychoanalysis and Visuality: Subjectivity, Sexuality and the Unconscious How is Sexual Difference Visual 1: Watching Movies with Laura Mulvey How is Sexual Difference Visual 2: From the Fetish to Masquerade From the Voyeuristic Gaze to the Lacanian Gaze: Other Ways of Seeing From the Disciplines of Subjection to the Possibilities of Fantasy Queer Looks Reflexivity Psychoanalysis and Visuality: An Assessment Chapter 8: Discourse Analysis: Text, Intertextuality, Context Discourse and Visual Culture: An Introduction An Introduction to Discourse Analysis I and Discourse Analysis II Finding Your Sources for a Discourse Analysis I Discourse Analysis I: The Production and Rhetorical Organization of Discourse Discourse Analysis I And Reflexivity Discourse Analysis I: An Assessment Chapter 9: Discourse Analysis II: Institutions and Ways of Seeing Another Introduction to Discourse and Visual Culture Finding Your Sources for Discourse Analysis II The Apparatus of the Gallery and the Museum The Technologies of the Gallery and Museum The Visitor Discourse Analysis II: An Assessment Chapter 10: To Audience Studies and Beyond: Ethnographies of Television Audiences, Fans and Users Audience Studies: An Introduction Audiences, Fans and Users Audience Studies Researching Audiences and Fans Ethnographies of Visual Objects Ethnographic Studies of Audiencing: An Assessment Chapter 11: Making Photographs as Part of a Research Project: Photo-Documentation, Photo-Elicitation and Photo-Essays Making Photographs as Part of a Research Project: An Introduction Photo-Documentation Photo-Elicitation Photo-Essays Making Photographs as Part of a Research Project: An Assessment Chapter 12: Ethics and Visual Research Methods An Introduction to Research Ethics and Visual Materials Consent, Anonymity, Copyright Consent Anonymity Copyright Conclusions: Ethics, Visual Research and Contemporary Visual Culture Chapter 13: Visual Methodologies: A Review Introduction Sites, Modalities and Methods Mixing Methods Useful Reading on Various Visual Materials List of Key Terms

About the Author :
My research interests lie broadly within the field of visual culture. I′m interested in visuality as a kind of practice, done by human subjects in collaboration with different kinds of objects and technologies. One long-term project, which resulted in a book from Ashgate Press in 2010, looked at family photos. I approached family snaps by thinking of them as objects embedded in a wide range of practices. I interviewed women with young children about their photos, and also looked at the politics and ethics of family snaps moving into more public arenas of display when the people they picture are the victims of violence. The book explores the different ′politics of sentiment′ in which family snaps participate in both their domestic spaces in the public space of the contemporary mass media. Other work is extending my interest in subjectivities, space and visual practices by exploring experiences of designed urban spaces. I completed an ESRC-funded project on this theme with Dr Monica Degen at Brunel University in 2009, in which we compared how people experienced two rather different town centres: Milton Keynes and Bedford. Monica Degen, Clare Melhuish and I started a new ESRC-funded project in the autumn of 2011. ′Architectural atmospheres, branding and the social: the role of digital visualizing technologies in contemporary architectural practice′ was a two-year ethnographic study of how digital visualizing technologies are being used by architects in a number of architects′ studio in London. I′m also interested in more innovative ways to produce social science research, especially using visual materials. I was involved in organising the ESRC Seminar Series ′Visual Dialogues: New Agendas in Inequalities Research′ (2010-2012). Please visit the ′Visual Dialogues: New Agendas in Inequalities Research′ for more details. I′m also a member of the OpenSpace Research Centre.

Review :
If you need to carry out research into visuals then Rose′s book provides straight forward practical assistance for how to do so. Along with a history of this emerging field she explains clearly how we can deal with the visual from diverse approaches such as content analysis, semiotics, psychoanalysis and discourse analysis, all explained carefully, using examples, in terms of the stages of a research project. This new edition will be key material for undergraduate studies
David Machin
Cardiff University

Clear, comprehensive, theoretically informed, and up to date, Visual Methodologies is an excellent guide to the rapidly growing field of visual research
Theo van Leeuwen
University of Technology, Sydney

Substantially updated to include a wide range of visual media examples, Gillian Rose′s Visual Methodologies remains the authoritative introductory text on the methods of visual research. Conveying the richness and excitement of visual culture research, Rose expertly navigates across a range of methodologies, explaining in detail their particular usefulness and limitations through practical examples. For anyone already familiar with Visual Methodologies, this third edition offers a significant reworking of previous content, to include developments in the field of audience/fan cultures, digital media, ethics and image production as research practice. As such, Rose demonstrates the evolving nature of visual research and its methods, and reminds us of the passion involved in its study. It is a must buy for students and scholars alike
Julie Doyle
Principal Lecturer in Media Studies, University of Brighton

As of its first edition Visual Methodologies established itself as one of the better books to obtain a well-balanced introductory overview of different approaches to visual analysis and each revision further adds to its quality.

Rose′s book is mainly (except for one chapter) focused on methodologies for analyzing ′found′ or pre-existing images (as opposed to producing visual data or analyzing visual phenomena that are not images) but it does that in a very systematic and practical manner, clearly highlighting the exact modus operandi as well as the specific strengths and weaknesses of each of the methods or analytical frameworks. Of particular value is the attention devoted to mixing different methods, as far too often methods and theories are presented as distinct and even incompatible options
Luc Pauwels
Professor of Visual Studies, University of Antwerp

An accessible text book that provides the student of visual culture necessary tools and insights on how to analyze images. The book is unique in bridging a wide range of methodologies from the humanities and the social sciences. Rose′s in-depth and systematic discussion of theories and methods, as well as masterful handling of case studies and examples, will provide the reader with a valuable overview
Anneke Smelik
Professor of Visual Culture, Radboud University Nijmegen

Gillian Rose has provided a welcome overview of the state of the field. Visual Methodologies succeeds both as an introductory text, certain to be widely adopted in the classroom, and as a sophisticated refresher course for those who have followed the rapid maturation of this remarkable interdisciplinary discourse
Professor Martin Jay
University of California, Berkeley

Excellent coverage of key areas of visual research. Well written introduction to difficult concepts. Student friendly. I like the new use of color throughout the text. A good introduction to using visual materials and methodologies in advanced research. Clear examples and layout. I am actually still considering this text for future courses. I decided not to adopt if for my Spring 2012 course, though, because I decided against having a detailed methodological focus. Nonetheless, It′s a very well written text on how to analyze visual materials. A comprehensive overview of different approaches to visual research that is theoretically informed as well as providing a lot of practical insights. An excellent resource. This book is excellent for my unit on Cultural Geography where students are encouraged to understand visual texts as sources of information/data about the world. At the moment I am recommending this as essential to BMedSci students doing qualitative projects involving multimedia data and also PhD and MSc students. The number so far is small - 7 students have purchased the book. However, when I teach on qualitative methods in the autumn i plan to incorporate it within the curricular reading as essential. The book is easy to understand and gets students up and running in no time. The first two students I recommended it to used it as their main textbook for their final year dissertation and got firsts; given the nature of qualitative research where they were immersed in data that I was less familiar with, this really demonstrates the book′s usefulness. What more can a tutor ask for, than students who have used higher order skills to gain top marks, and this book helped them achieve this. This book provides an in-depth yet accessible introduction to visual methods. While it is not specifically for Education Students students will be able to use and adapt the approaches to education-based research. I will be putting it on the Level 6 reading list. Visual Methodologies is a thorough and accessible text which is clearly written. The layout aids understanding and the images clarify key points. I especially like the way that the use of tables and lists are included in the text to identify clear processes and issues.
Well done an excellent text which will be of use to a range of students studying sociology, education, social and cultural studies. Congratulations to Gillian Rose for an excellent reader on Visual Methodologies.
Visual Methodologies is a thorough and accessible text which is clearly written. The layout aids understanding and the images clarify key points. I especially like the way that the use of tables and lists are included in the text to identify clear processes and issues.
Well done an excellent text which will be of use to a range of students studying sociology, education, social and cultural studies. Congratulations to Gillian Rose for an excellent reader on Visual Methodologies.
Visual Methodologies is a thorough and accessible text which is clearly written. The layout aids understanding and the images clarify key points. I especially like the way that the use of tables and lists are included in the text to identify clear processes and issues.
Well done an excellent text which will be of use to a range of students studying sociology, education, social and cultural studies. Congratulations to Gillian Rose for an excellent reader on Visual Methodologies.
Visual Methodologies is a thorough and accessible text which is clearly written. The layout aids understanding and the images clarify key points. I especially like the way that the use of tables and lists are included in the text to identify clear processes and issues.
Well done an excellent text which will be of use to a range of students studying sociology, education, social and cultural studies. Congratulations to Gillian Rose for an excellent reader on Visual Methodologies.
Visual Methodologies is a thorough and accessible text which is clearly written. The layout aids understanding and the images clarify key points. I especially like the way that the use of tables and lists are included in the text to identify clear processes and issues.
Well done an excellent text which will be of use to a range of students studying sociology, education, social and cultural studies. Congratulations to Gillian Rose for an excellent reader on Visual Methodologies.
A very strong, useful volume for researchers who are engaged in critical visual analysis. Extensive, clear review of the avaliable approaches in the field of visual methods, and detailed, up-to-date examples in each chapter make the book appealing to a variety of researchers on different levels. An innovative text with a lot of transdisciplinary possibilities Very helpful for both undergraduate and graduate students. Efficiently covers various methodologies that relate to visual and cultural studies. This new 3rd edition also includes a new chapter on using photography in research. Impressing. This is an excellent introduction to visual research methodologies. I recommend it to both senior undergrad and graduate students as their first go-to resource, which they can then supplement with other sources depending on the direction of their research. This is an essential text for the Visual Communication module on the MA Technical Communication course. Rose′s framework for visual analysis provides a relevant starting point for visual analysis. Detailed discussion of specific methodological approaches is provided as well.

As the course is distance learning the companion website is a very useful addition as well. outside what I teach in RM This continues to be an essential text for my PG Students. Rose provides a deep, critical analysis of research methodologies that are key in design practice & therefore necessary for a design-driven innovator too. This book is terrific for students taking research methods classes and those doing their dissertation on visual media.
Gillian Rose does a very good job at presenting a comprehensive view of the different ways of approaching visual materials for research in the humanities. At once a fantastic teaching resource and a very helpful tool for students. This revised/updated edition of Rose′s excellent introductory text provides an essential background to MA students who wish to explore visual methodologies within their research reports. This is a text for all students who plan to apply visual methodologies in their research. Book is fitting to course objectives perfectly and as I had a lot of students who are studying advertising, this book is perfect Book is fitting to course objectives perfectly and as I had a lot of students who are studying advertising, this book is perfect This is a brilliant book but not suitable for my course unfortunately. I will however show it to students as a highly recommended optional purchase An essential textbook for teaching visual methods, greatly assisted by online resources and lots of examples. we have used the first two editions for this module and they have been useful for students working on an independent study module to start thinking about methodological approaches. The third - expanded - edition is really excellent and I have put it on all of my bibliographies for various modules. A very comprehensive guide that helps to provide students with a much needed overview of visual methodologies. Thankfully, the complexity of doing and reflecting is explicit in the book. I really liked this new edition of Rose′s book. Its main strength is in the way it provides a clear overview of each theoretical approach being discussed, and this new version keeps it up to date and relevant. I found the chapter on semiology slightly choppy, maybe because it needed expansion in the second part--but this is a relatively minor quibble, mostly because I am comparing it against the rest of the book, which is excellent. I also found the online resources very useful; it would be great to expand it with more bibliographical material and exercises. The text will be suggested to students who will engage with visual methodologies for their dissertations, as it is still a key reference in this field An excellent introduction to visual methods research for students who are new to them. This is a great introduction to the diversity of research methodologies that can engage visual materials. I can′t wait for my students to have this resource in their hands! Excellent text for masters and doctorates in professional studies involving arts curating, arts management candidates. This is a growing area judging by the applications we are getting. We might even start a pathway in curating, arts management curating practice and this would be an excellent text in subject-based practitioner research Reviewed changes from first edition. This remains an excellent introduction to the interpretation of visual culture, wide-ranging and penetrating, yet accessible. I don′t find the new edition substantially better (or different) in content, though its production is different and may be more appealing to students. Shall recommend 2nd edition, but indicate that students may stick with 1st. This book has been very useful to me in planning my teaching and I will strongly recommend it to the students This text provides a cutting edge approach to understanding the use of visual materials, which themselves are an undervalued resource. The content was different than I expected This is an excellent text - accessible, informative and engaging. It not only explains theoretical concepts but also provides concrete everyday examples. I have learnt from this text and will draw on it for my first year course on social research methods along with recommending it to my third year students who are doing visual research for their dissertations. Absolute classic! A compulsory read for students and scholars alike. The new edition is again a very big improvement! This is an excellent text on visual methodologies. The ′focus′ sections within the chapters help illuminate the methods/techniques under discussion. However, while it is useful for understanding how to research visual culture, it is too specialized for an introductory visual culture class. As such, I am recommending it as a supplemental text, not a required one. I will be asking the library to purchase the latest edition. The book gives an excellent overview of the methodology and application of methods for the analysis of visual material and the scientific use of photo making. The examples are very good elected. The best book I read on visual methods The new edition is worth it. I used parts of it as mandatory texts for my class.
Student feedback was very good. They loved the style and how the content was presented.
I would always recommend to buy it. This book offers a useful review of the new methods of studying society through visual artefacts and video/seeing. It is a growig area. I recommend it in classes where the aim of my students is to systematise their data. They may create a table, use notecards, or use NVIVO to organise their observations. My class in this area, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, is popular. It is entirely taken by qualitative researchers. Excellent book for students and researchers who wish to embark on a visual research project with little prior experience. The book is not sufficient to gain expertise in one methodological approach to visual data analysis but provides serious directions and links to other sources. An easy read with good (yet very short) summaries of chapters. A clear and accessible explanation of visual research methodologies. An excellent overview of visual methods which provides students with insight and application. this book is very recommended for further reading to all L3 yr2 learners Visual Methodologies is an accessible and authoritative text that will appeal to undergraduate, post-graduate students and researchers in all fields of visual culture. The third edition updates the text to accomodate new digital media. Proposed module is not running this year. Excellent and practical overview of visual studies. Perfectly suited for undergraduate and graduate courses. Deep, critical and engaging. I will certainly recommend this to students incorporating visual approaches to their research. I would recommend this book to students who wish to either analyse or produce visual data which is related to their specialist field, but who are not necessarily well-versed in visual culture or media studies.

There is a very good chapter on ′how to use this book′ which such students will find invaluable. A very useful introduction to a growing area of research. It provides a thorough grounding in the subject, with useful examples and discussions. We recommend this to students who are seeking creative ways to conduct their research. Reading this book has led me to re-thinking some aspects of the module, Research Mindedness for Social Workers. In particular the following are interesting:
* Rose′s study of family photographs (further strengthened by social media and smartphones) questions about how people understand family, and how social workers have to consider the significance and meaning of what is presented to them. [They probably do so, but we do not yet make comment on this in our teaching.]
* The significance of photographs in reminiscence work and life story books. Do we appreciate what is happening in that kind of work?
It therefore is likely that VISUAL METHODOLOGIES can make some immediate contribution to understanding of social work methods, and social work research. But it is also possible that VISUAL METHODOLOGIES can be in a way in some wider reflection about what social workers are doing in their practice; how they are contributing to discussions of identity and experience, and the questioning of identity and experience.
An excellent introductory text to begin in the field of visual methodologies. This gives both theoretical and practical advise to any reader entering this field. A clearly set out book that provides a solid grounding in methodologies for researching visual texts. I found the section on discourse and visual materials very useful. A solid book for both lecturers and students. Pink′s introductory book is, to my knowledge, by far the most comprehensive and up to date work on visual research methods. One of it′s key strengths (for my purposes) is the extensive chapter on photo elicitation/interviewing; a method that is rarely featured in books on visual methods. This book was quite specialised for the the majority of the students study the course.

Some student did like it in regards to there dissertations, in that it put them off...
This is an excellent compendium style text that offers easy-to-grasp insights into just how key using visual ′texts′ can be in social research. Limited interest to my Operating Department Practitioner students but some of my Masters students who are thinking about alternative methodologies for their research have found this book useful. Business research is now adopting methods previuosly associated with other disciplines. Rose′s account is particulalry relevant to the content analysis and marketing research many of my students are utilising This title is one of the best visual methodologies textbooks with it′s nice combination of theories and techniques. A very good, valuable and well thought-out publication with key ideas of relevance ad interest to Research Projects and many possible applications to an arts-based study programme. This book makes a really interesting read, and challenges students and researchers alike, to consider the value of source material beyond the spoken and written word. Very useful supplementary book for students considering their individual research study, and also to assist in the critical analysis of studies using visual methodologies. If you are just about to embark on alternative methodologies in your research this provides a refreshing approach to concepts that you may not have considered previously. A real gem. I will recommend this text for students to think of using different types of research methods when researching with children. A really useful book for researchers using visual methodologies and it suits all levels of research abilities. I would recommend this book to students interested in visual methodology in their research. A comprehensive book that covers issues around using visual data. The ethics section is particularly helpful as clearly using visual data identifies the participants which can create some prblematic ethical challenges. A comprehensive guide for students at all levels who wish to use a visual medium as part of their data collection As we encourage student to think more broadly about research this is very easy to read and accesisble for undergraduate nurses. An excellent textbook to support those using or considering research with visual methods. This text is an excellent resource for those considering using images within research. It is clear and understandable even to the novice researcher but is also extremely informative for those who have experience. Useful as a supplemental field work text for more ambitious or creative students very good for undergrad research projects I have been using this text book in its earlier manifestation and pleased to see the great improvement of more current images and colour
My only issue with this text book is price - my students have found it hard to buy so many texts books and they may buy older copies on amazon This is a fascinating book which would be of interest to the student expanding their research skills and requiring an further exploration of discourse and textual/visual analysis.
The level 4 module I lead would not require this depth of work but the masters programme would benefit from this book as a supplemental approach to the modules. Excellent resource if you′re teaching research methods. Will be recommended in my course, but a colleague might adopted as his core text. Gillian has again provided useful examples of the application of this methodology. Very useful introduction to the area of visual research. The presentations in the book provides a good insight in discussions within this diverse research area This is the perfect guide for undergraduate students doing any type of visual research. This is an excellent introduction to researching with visual materials. Gillian Rose′s introductory text gives a clear induction into a wide range of visual research methodologies. Furthermore she recommends the key, authoritative texts for each school of visual research methodology. Interesting, exciting, erudite however accessible. an interesting introduction This is a great overview of critical theory that can be applied to art/photography. It is up-to-date and considers online materials, current advertising trends and new methods of creating visual images. Good for students who are just beginning their journey to grasp the basic concepts, good for more advanced students to remind them of the basics of these critical theories. Highly relevant reading for those students and academics who involved in studying or researching visual texts. Really good for any student undertaking independent research in a field that uses ′visual methods′ We use it in connection with a museum visit with both our 2nd years (80+ students) and with our Masters Group (smaller - usually <6 students). A really useful text. I did not find this book suitable for basic undergraduate audience in general topic social psych course. Students would need methods background to make full use of material in text. Will consider for a qualitative methods course when assigned.
This is an excellent text for postgraduates, focussing on approaches to the anaysis of visual materials. The emphasis is on researching found images rather than generating new images, although this is covered in the final chapter. This book will be good for our design based students. I find this book to be a good recommended reading to students in the master courses as well as doctoral students interested in using visual methods for the study of religion in broadcasting and digital media. An excellent and informative book- pitched at just the right level.