Together, we can show you: using participant-generated visual data in collaborative research

Researchers interested in collaborative anthropology seek active ways to involve participants throughout the research process (Fluehr-Lobban 2008). Collaborative anthropology aspires to go “beyond participant-observation” by co-theorizing with participants, thus involving local viewpoints in the construction of anthropological theory (Rappaport 2008). This article focuses on how participant-generated data is effective in enhancing communication between researchers and participants, thus fostering collaboration throughout the research endeavor. In the research settings discussed here, collaborative opportunities were created through multimodal communicative practice between researchers and participants. For the purpose of this paper, multimodal communicative practice is defined as a dialogic process involving diverse modes of communication to co-construct knowledge. We discuss the co-construction of knowledge between researchers and participants at different stages of the research process: in the exploration of research themes, during participatory analysis of visual data, and in preparing the dissemination of findings.