Imagining Forward: Visual Storytelling to Make Research More Accessible for Practice
When you are lost in information, you need a visual map
This post originally appeared on SAGE MethodSpace in March 2020, during the Mentor in Residence tenure of Dr. Sharon Ravitch, just as we were settling into the unknown of COVID. It has been reproduced here with permission.
Note from Dr. Sharon M. Ravitch
This piece, Imagining Forward: Visual Storytelling to Make Research Accessible for Practice, is a vital contribution to qualitative research methodology. This post speaks to the research imagination as it relates to representations of research meanings and data. The piece focuses on the ways that qualitative researchers can, and we argue, should, re-imagine our approaches to conducting research broadly, and specifically our methods for analyzing, sharing, and representing data.
Readers–I hope you’ll finish reading this piece with innovative ideas that will make your research process and products exponentially more generative and actionable! And stay tuned, we are writing a book on this soon…..
If this article resonates, please click the ♥️ above!
By Jane R. Shore
“The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.” John Tukey
Many of us start our mornings watching or listening to the news, reading magazines, books, and even scrolling through Twitter or Instagram. Those of us with children read bedtime stories to them at night. Stories reveal themselves and resonate throughout our daily lives. Telling stories helps us identify ourselves, interact with one another, and make sense of the world. Throughout history, storytelling–in words, gestures, and visuals has been one of our most fundamental forms of communication.
Well-crafted stories should not be limited to book authors, journalists, or toastmasters. In any situation in which we are opening the hearts and minds of others to new information, new people and new ideas, storytelling is the channel by which we are led to action.
This is especially true in research. When conducting research, the data we collect can feel exciting and meaningful, but when presented as a spreadsheet, series of bullet points, or a list of facts, lies flat. In a world driven by data, where vast amounts of decontextualized information can become currency for persuasion, stories bring us together as humans.
Combining data, narratives, and visuals can bring these deep and powerful messages forward in ways that stories, numbers and data alone cannot. Learning to harness the power of visual stories allows us to be more inclusive, more connected, and more memorable.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to School of Thought to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.