Presenting the results of social research through the visual essay

• Author: Florentina Scârneci-Domnisoru
• Position: Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 93-108

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşo v

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 12(61) No. 1 – 2019

https://doi.org/10.31926/but.ssl.2019.12.61.1.10

PRESENTING THE RESULTS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

THROUGH THE VISUAL ESSAY

Florentina SCÂRNECI-DOMNIȘORU1

Abstract: The article draws attention to the visual essay as an artistic

approach in presenting the results of social research. It describes the concept

of visual essay, the way it is produced, the purposes and the appropriate

contexts for using it and the expected results. The article also includes

examples of visual essays and discusses certain issues which could be

encountered by the researchers who present such products to the audience.

The visual essay is a less conventional method of presenting research

findings, it has a great impact on the public and it is also accessible to the

non-specialised audience.

Key words: visual communication, visual research, visual sociology, visual

artistic product.

1. Introduction

Conventionally, the results of social research are scientific data presented textually,

numerically and/or visually. Typically, these are descriptive, explanatory and predictive

sentences which can comprise or can be validated with figures, percentages, statistical

parameters, etc. and which can be illustrated with images such as tables, diagrams,

photographs and even films.

Producing new knowledge implies referring to existing knowledge, therefore

presenting the research findings also means referring to previous theories. More

specifically, it implies mentioning the theories which were applied in the research, those

which were expounded on, modified, contradicted or grounded in t he research.

Besides setting objectives regarding the dissemination of the research findings to a

specialised public, there are also situations in which researchers establish objectives

such as informing and awareness raising among the general public or authorities. There

are many forms of presenting research findings which are accessible to audiences other

than the scientific community. Many of these are artistic methods – e.g. metaphors,

stories, films, theatre performances or exhibitions of drawings or photography.

Here are some examples: Pink (2008) aimed to study the difficulties faced by people

with disabilities; therefore, she also presented the research findings in the form of a

photography exhibition illustrating people with disabilities faced with situations where

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, fscarneci@unitbv.ro

Bulletin of the Transilvania University o f Braşov • Series VII • Vol. 12(61) No. 1 - 2019

94

the urban development and built environment obstructed their accessibility. Since the

photographs invited the audience to put themselves in the same positions, requiring

therefore empathic engagement, it was a persuasive presentation (for example, the

pictures showed that a person in a wheelchair who wanted to go to the bank had to

phone the employees of the bank so they would come out in the street to talk to the

person with disabilities). Another example is the creation of a picture album with the

city of Dresden. Photographs were taken (in the same places, from the same angles)

before and after the destruction of the city in the World War II bombing. The album

(with sequences of 'before and after' photographs) produced strong emotional effects

and helped raise funds for the restoration of the monuments destroyed in Dresden

(Christmann, 2008).

The visual essay is one of the artistic approaches to visual presentations of research

findings (see also collages, posters, films, etc.). I will try in this article to describe the

visual essay, the way it is produced, the purposes and the appropriate contexts for using

it and to discuss certain issues which could be encountered by the researchers who

presents such products to the audience.

Before defining and describing the visual essay, I would like to insist upon the artistic

(and therefore not scientific) character of this method of reporting research results.

2. The Visual Essay as an Artistic and not as a Scientific Approach to Presenting Research

Findings

Pauwels (2012) asserts that the visual essay is one of the most visual and expressive

forms that a visual research report can take. Moreover, he underlines its potential and

predicts it will have a promising future, given the fact that images are increasingly

present in social research. At the same time, however, the author notes that the visual

essay remains a method rejected by the majority of the scientific community. Pauwels

describes the visual essay ‘as a mode that seems very remote from traditional social

scientific practice and hence likely to produce controversy, both at the level of journal

boards and organisations measuring academic output. While at present this issue has

barely surfaced, many journals, by default, reject these kinds of contributions as they fail

to meet the required format of a scholarly contribution’ (p. 1).

In my opinion, the issue raised by Pauwels doesn't stem from the fact that the visual

essay is an approach far from the traditional scientific social practice, or from the fact

that it falls outside the range of standard academic contributions, but from the fact that

it is an artistic and not a scientific form of reporting research findings. Although many

authors operate with concepts such as art and artistic when describing the visual essay,

they do not seem to acknowledge the consequences of such a label. So, given the artistic

nature of the visual essay, it is no wonder that scientific journals legitimately choose not

to publish such works. Artistic products do not belong to scientific journals. However,

there are also journals which do not aim solely at scientific results and their objectives

are not only to promote knowledge production, but they are also keen on promoting

various methods of communicating the latest knowledge. Visual Communication, Visual

Studies or Multimodal Communication are examples of journals more inclined towards

arts than science, which publish visual essays too.