n practice, the video is an hour interview with the participant by which they answer the pre-established questions, that are identical for each of the five participants. The video interview is then edited into a ten-to-twenty minutes video that keeps the most relevant declarations related to the research questions. The edited video is completely transcribed into a pdf document to be coded afterward.
The visual gallery will be a set of approximately ten pictures showing the artwork of the interviewee, including context, content, and detail to show it in the most extensive way possible (Marion & Crowder, 2013).
When suitable, the soundscape will be used to put the participant's artwork through the sonic environment (Truax, 1974). In this instance, when the artwork of the participant is a sonic experience, it will be recorded as sonic data to support the interview and the explanatory text, offering more insights from different perspectives and stimulating other senses.
Participant Selection
The selection of the participants was based on the three main criteria mentioned in the research questions. The person chosen needs to (i) fit within the target population being a Generation Z artist, (ii) have an artistic activity that is pretty central to its life and hobbies and (iii) be living or studying in Maastricht. The five participants have been recruited on such a basis, and will be presented through their artwork and its meaning to them.
I reached out to these participants based on their involvement in Maastricht's artistic community, facilitated by mutual contacts. Initially, I was only aware that one of them incorporated political elements into their art, while the others did not.
Additionally, all participants willingly consented to their physical presence being shown in the audiovisual content and adhered to the requirement stated in the consent form by introducing themselves with their names.
Research Design
The research methodology being audiovisual research, it will consist of a combination of face-to-face video interviews of a sample of youth population (the participants), a visual gallery of the artwork of such participants to support the interview with still imagery or soundscape depending on the discipline, and an explanatory text to summarise the profile and the main information collected. The final content for analysis will be articulated around the five profiles of participants and their presentations. Afterward, a result section will compile the relevant data acquired with respect to the research questions.
The choice of using audiovisual research lies in the fact that it allows multiple components and perspectives to be presented, by embracing the advantages of face-to-face video interviews, still imagery, and sound data, supported in addition by explanatory texts (LISBDNETWORK, 2023). It is a great opportunity to address a topic to the fullest extent with the participants and collect data from the researcher while stimulating the prospecting audience with visual and sonic experiences.
For instance, video face-to-face interviews enable the collection of in-depth data and enter the art world of the participant by creating proximity with the person (De Villiers, 2021), which is very useful in the context of this research. Indeed, it allows a deep look into the personal artwork of artists and how their stimulus influences it. To do so, the interviewer needs the most thoughtful information that they would be willing to share, and the setting of a face-to-face video interview can help the interviewee to share comfortably its impressions and vision. Additionally, the face-to-face aspect enables better communication between the interviewee and interviewer as it involves facial expressions and body language (Kvale, 2008).
The decision to engage in audiovisual research to explore and expose the topic lies in its compatibility with the different components that form the research questions. First, audiovisual research is a relevant methodology when applied in the current timeframe because nowadays technologies and easy access to audiovisual materials allow students to produce contents without having to invest in specific materials.
Moreover, the fact that I am researching youth populations, specifically Generation Z, can justify the choice of audiovisual research as it is a generation that grew up surrounded by the evolution of audiovisual practices through many forms. It is a concept they are familiar with.
Lastly, audiovisual research is a good methodology to assess artistic activism as most artistic disciplines presented hereto aim to be shown visually or through sounds. The inclusion of audiovisual material significantly enhances the overall study when analysing and describing artwork, as it allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and adds relevance for the audience
Type of Qualitative Analysis
In the context of understating if societal, political, and cultural components of one’s identity are translated into their artwork or not, this aspect of the methodology offers good material for analysis.
The video interview will be coded following the guidelines for coding qualitative research (Soldana, 2016). Therefore, the interview will be transcribed and coded in a first cycle, by paragraphs and then through a second cycle line-by-line, to summarise the declarations retrieved. Once the key messages are identified, they will be refined to keywords and be replicated into a scheme that connects the codes in subcategories for a final product that will present the entire interview in a resume; the code tree.
Thereafter comes the visual gallery, composed of a collection of photographs of the artwork mentioned by the participants during their interviews. Such photographs benefit the research as it locks a moment or a specific object and allows the viewers to take the time to observe the details of the image. As the intent of the research is notably to analyse in-depth the artwork of the participants, still imagery provides a strong upside as a method of data collection since it can freeze a lot of details.
The utilisation of soundscapes, when applicable, is relevant for participants that produce sonic artwork such as music, speeches, or poems. Sounds have the ability to evoke a distinct response in individuals, capturing their attention and appealing to a specific sensory experience. (Akoio, 2022). Moreover, soundscapes are useful when it comes to understand the relationship between an individual and its environment which is valuable in the sense that the soundscapes recorded aim to show the participant doing their artwork (Salmons, 2021).
Audiovisual research also includes explanatory texts that will contextualise, precise, and summarise the content gathered audio-visually. This additional component is a useful tool when contextualised within the research as the audiovisual components need to be converted into a written declaration to be analysed for the results. It will already gather the most important data acquired via the audiovisual content into a written form, facilitating the process of transcription that will follow.
Ethical Considerations and Limitations of Audiovisual Research
Although audiovisual research is suitable in many ways with the research, as elaborated above, this methodology has its limitations. First, face-to-face recorded interviews can make participants feel uncomfortable or intimidated by either the interviewer or the camera. This is therefore paramount to obtained the informed consent form ensuring that they are fully aware of the implications of their participation. Second, among all the content produced only some parts of the video interview, the photography, or of the soundscapes will be selected for the final product. This selection will be influenced by the expectations, positionality, as well as the cultural and social sensitivity of the researcher (Marion & Crowder, 2013). To limit biases, all the choices will be justified and supported by theoretical arguments connecting with the research process. Third, when it comes to sounds but not only, human beings do not perceive with the same perspective or sensibility which entails an important part of subjectivity when interpreting sounds.
Interactive Documentary
For the final presentation of the research, an interactive documentary that will be accessible through the Research Catalogue platform has been created. As previously mentioned, the audiovisual research incorporates various elements that necessitate diverse forms of audience interaction. Therefore, opting for an interactive website to showcase the findings aligns with the intention to offer the audience an immersive and personalised experience. By allowing them to navigate based on their own intuition and preferences, it encourages active engagement and exploration of the work. (De Musso, F. in Grasseni, 2021).