Visual Methods for Assessment in Sociology

We live in a visual world; primacy is placed on sight and the image. Special moments in our lives are captured by moving and still images, which function as tools that help us remember and as evidence of a time gone by. The easy accessibility of photographic technology, incorporated into computers, tablets, and mobile phones, has increased this ability to capture. However, as Becker (1974: 6) notes, sociologists “seldom use photographs as a way of gathering, recording, or presenting data and conclusions”. Such criticism is perhaps being addressed by the increasing attention to visual methods of data collection, such as photo-elicitation and photo-voice. These can help jog the researcher’s and participant’s memory, reveal how they interpret and perceive the social world, and provide an alternate way to capture thoughts and feelings. In addition, incorporating images into teaching allows points to be illustrated or expanded upon, can help illuminate something where words simply do not suffice, and cater to a wider variety of student learning styles. Despite the power of the visual image and the wide accessibility of photographic technologies, there has been almost no research on visual methods for assessment in sociology teaching and learning. In this presentation, I will explore the importance of the visual image in and to sociology, and some ways that I have empowered students to use visual images in their learning and assessment. Such methods can help students to critically assess and connect sociology to their everyday world (Eisen 2012), and engage and develop their sociological imagination.