Cameras used as tools for participants to gather research data bring several advantages, not least that the researcher does not have to be present during data collection, This empowers the participant with much more freedom of choice over what to record, in addition to both temporal and spatial freedom (Barker and Weller, 2003). The photographs also bring other advantages later in the research process when participants discuss their choice of imagery, giving structure and focus to an interview and acting as a prompt or aide memoire. With children in particular, they can assist in capturing the interviewee's attention more easily and for longer.
In this study, each of the four students in the initial sample was provided with a digital camera which they were to use to record images of what they perceived to be learning. They were provided with guidance on managing the camera, but none on what might constitute appropriate subject matter. The cameras were to be kept with them wherever practical, for use both in school and away from it ... wherever that might entail. From the outset, the intention was that this would take place over the course of a school term, allowing them to build up an extensive portfolio of images. The extended period of data gathering would also provide the opportunity for ongoing refinement of their technique and analysis.
It quickly became apparent that this wasn't going to be a sustainable approach since it depended on an incredibly high degree of commitment on the part of the participants, something they either weren't capable of or willing to provide. The students soon lost momentum (within a matter of a couple of weeks), feeling they had run out of steam and had captured every type of learning situation they could (as Barker and Weller, 2003 also found). Although I felt that talking through their findings with them might re-kindle their investigations, I had three reservations:
It is important to recognise here that declining motivation could be considered one form of withdrawal of consent (Mahon et al, 1996)