Social Psychology Special Issue

Michael Walton
might be unable or unwilling to take part in
traditional research processes. There are a
range of creative methods which researchers
can use including sculpting, photography,
videography, art, drawing, roleplaying,
written exercises, metaphors and timelines
(Deacon, 2006).
Creative methods can be used in addition
to traditional forms of data collection, for
instance, photo elicitation interviews that
use photographs (often of the participants
choosing) as a talking point during interviews
(Harper, 2002). Doing so can keep the
‘quality’ of traditional methods, whilst also
benefiting from the creative aspects of
research.
Creative research does not require too
much skill to be effective, for example, I took
a simple approach and used card, paper and
coloured pens and used this to create mind
maps of places that are important for
resilience. It can be helpful to meet with
participants before using creative research to
judge if it is likely to work. Reflexivity is an
important skill for making such decisions.
5. Researcher reflexivity
Willig (2001) outlines the idea of ‘personal
reflexivity’, which involves critical selfappraisal
of a researcher’s thoughts, feelings,
and actions and how this could influence the
research. For example, Crang and Cook
(2007) suggest that researchers could reflect
upon the language they use, how to present
the research to multiple audiences, and the
impact their (perceived) identity could be
having on the research.
For my research I found that keeping field
notes and a diary has been important for
reflexivity, as well as for keeping an audit trail
of my research. I use field notes to record my
meetings with the community; doing so
provides a good opportunity to reflect upon
my experiences and consider how potential
issues could be resolved. Cloke et al.’s (2004)
guidelines on field notes suggest that
researchers should reflect on their expectations
before meetings with the community,
whether these expectations are met, and any
surprises they may have encountered. They
also suggest that field notes can include
reflections on the effect that the researchers’
presence seemed to have and how problems
could have been resolved differently.
Research journals or diaries are used to
record the research progress and can also be
used for reflexivity (King & Horrocks, 2010).
Diaries can provide a useful record of the
decisions that were made in the project and
why, and show researchers how their
thoughts, feelings, and ideas about the findings
have changed over time. Unlike field
notes, this can be used both when a
researcher is just working with a community
and when working on the project generally.
From start to finish, reflexivity can be a
useful skill to use in research. It takes time to
develop but it is worth the effort. Even if a
project runs smoothly, it can still be a useful
tool for personal development.
In summary
In many ways community research is an interdisciplinary
exercise and drawing upon interdisciplinary
methods can be helpful. Indeed,
the tips above are drawn from a range of
fields. For example, the field notes discussed
under ‘reflexivity’ are drawn from ethnography,
and the community mapping I used in
member validation was drawn from social
geography. Similarly, exploring the health
demographics and practices of local organisations
is an approach used in public health.
These are not a ‘one size fits all’
approach and others may find other
approaches useful. Community research is
often messy, and has many challenges not
inherent in other research, but can be rich
and rewarding.
Correspondence
Michael Walton
PhD Student & Associate Lecturer,
Department of Psychology,
Faculty of Health, Psychology and
Social Care,
Manchester Metropolitan University.
E-mail: m.walton@mmu.ac.uk
24 PsyPAG Quarterly