Photos and Children: Using Photo-Elicitation Interviews While Researching Children

Photo-elicitation interviews (PEIs) have emerged as an important visual method in qualitative research either to obtain additional data or to prompt and guide verbal interviews. Images are used in PEIs either from the researcher or participants, depending upon the research goals and fieldwork practicalities. Despite the increasing use of PEIs in qualitative research, their potential as a qualitative tool for studying children's perspectives remains under-explored. In this paper, I explore the effectiveness of PEIs in research involving children, particularly in studies related to the social organization of space. Drawing on my reflections from conducting ethnography, I aim to highlight the significant interest children showed in PEIs. I used photographs, provided by me from different places of the area, to prompt and guide verbal qualitative interviews, which helped to study the social organization of space from children's perspectives. I argue that researchers can apply this type of PEIs with children, particularly those unfamiliar with social research, to understand their perspectives in an effective way.