The Art of Experience: The Potential of Drawings to Enhance Phenomenological Research

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-22 - Arts-Based Research: Moving Beyond Spoken Words in Qualitative Research

Abstract

This work explores the potential of drawings to enhance phenomenological research. Art has been shown useful for qualitative research, including addressing sensitive topics such as becoming a mother. For three interviews, participants—doctoral student mothers—were interviewed about their experiences then asked to draw a picture and describe it. Drawing descriptions became a part of the interview transcripts, which were transcribed, coded and analyzed. From comparative analysis of transcripts before and after incorporating drawing, I was able to see differences in the manner, details, and depth of the participants’ described experiences. These changes suggest an important potential of incorporating art in phenomenology to facilitate a deeper understanding of personal experience and improving validity and ethics.

Author

• Anna CohenMiller, Nazarbayev University