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An exploration of social justice intent in photovoice research studies from 2008 to 2013
Author(s) -
Sa MarieAnne,
EvansAgnew Robin A.,
Boutain Doris M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
nursing inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.66
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1440-1800
pISSN - 1320-7881
DOI - 10.1111/nin.12064
Subject(s) - photovoice , participatory action research , economic justice , social justice , psycinfo , sociology , public relations , psychology , social science , political science , medline , economic growth , law , anthropology , economics
In an age where digital images are omnipresent, the use of participant photography in qualitative research has become accessible and commonplace. Yet, scant attention is paid to the social justice impact of photovoice amongst studies that have used this innovative method as a way to promote social justice. There is a need to review this method to understand its contributions and possibilities. This literature review of photovoice research studies (i) explores whether authors implicitly or explicitly related the methodologies to their aims of promoting social justice (methodology–method fit) and (ii) outlines the social justice research impact of photovoice findings using the framework of social justice awareness, amelioration and transformation. PubMed, Scopus, Psyc INFO and Web of Science databases were searched from the years 2008–13 using the following keywords: photovoice; photonovella; photovoice and social justice; and photovoice and participatory action research. Of the 30 research studies reviewed, only thirteen identified an underlying methodology guiding the photovoice method. The social justice impacts emphasized were more related to social justice awareness ( n = 30) than amelioration ( n = 11) or transformation ( n = 3). Future researchers using photovoice as a way to promote social justice are encouraged to assess and plan for the social justice impact desired.