Cultural probes in transmigrant research : a case study

Shanthi Robertson

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The case study for this paper is an explorative, qualitative study of a rapidly increasing group of migrants to Australia: international students who apply for residency upon the completion of their degrees. Initially, the research design was based on the classic qualitative method of in-depth interviews, combined with a research diary of reflexive observations. However, as the many complex layers of the research questions began to unfold, the realisation emerged that interview data alone might not provide enough scope to deeply explore the participants’ lives. Wary of the distancing and contrived nature of interview situations, I thus began to explore more creative ways to approach the collection of data. Of particular interest were methods that would give participants opportunity for response away from the gaze of the researcher. It was this desire for a greater depth of data, as well as an interest in harnessing the creativity of both the researcher and the researched, that led to the consideration of cultural probes: individual packages of mixed-media materials that are given to research participants to allow them to document and record elements of their daily lives and thoughts. The central aim was to embed this relatively new and experimental method into a qualitative, sociological study of migration. Probes were thus used alongside the more conventional technique of semi-structured, in-depth interviewing to enhance the depth and breadth of data collection and analysis. As the research progressed, using the probes influenced the progress of the analysis and my own outlook as a researcher in ways that I had not foreseen. The purpose of this paper is thus to use the experiences of my own research to provide some reflections upon the probes as a method of qualitative inquiry, and to consider some of their possibilities as a research tool along with some of their challenges and limitations.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-25
    Number of pages25
    JournalInterActions : UCLA Journal of Education and Information Studies
    Volume4
    Issue number2
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

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