Online opportunities for mobile and visual research methodologies

Abstract

The recent surge in interest in both mobile and visual methodologies reflects an increasing awareness of mobility and visualization in shaping our social worlds. The ‘mobilities turn’ in social science draws attention to the significance of a range of mobilities, from everyday to global. In tandem, visualization of virtual and lived spatial and social contexts is increasingly central to everyday lives and wider social processes. Both mobile and visual methods have evolved to reflect the epistemological changes that accompany these realizations, leading to a mobility of method as approaches draw from a range of disciplines. Online resources present particular opportunities for the expansion of these methods. For example, video methods can be adapted for online use in collecting visual data whilst on the move and this data can then be disseminated in video form through the Internet. However, this interrelationship between online, mobile and visual methods has not been fully explored to date. This chapter explores the ways in which these methods can be combined to create knowledge in a unique way. It assesses the efficacy of these methodologies and methods by reviewing existing research and draws out key themes for analysis and further development.