Photo-elicitation: an ethno-historical accounting and management research prospect

Lee D. Parker

doi:10.1108/09513570910987439

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Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

ISSN: 0951-3574

Online from: 1988

Subject Area: Accounting and Finance

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Photo-elicitation: an ethno-historical accounting and management research prospect

Document Information:
Title:	Photo-elicitation: an ethno-historical accounting and management research prospect
Author(s):	Lee D. Parker, (School of Commerce, The University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia and University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK)
Citation:	Lee D. Parker, (2009) "Photo-elicitation: an ethno-historical accounting and management research prospect", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 22 Iss: 7, pp.1111 - 1129
Keywords:	Accounting history, Photographs, Research methods, Visual media
Article type:	Research paper
DOI:	10.1108/09513570910987439 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Acknowledgements:	The author gratefully acknowledges comments and advice received from Professor Finley Graves of University of North Texas, Dr Samantha Warren of Portsmouth University, Professor Tom Tyson of St John Fisher College, Rochester, New York and research assistance provided by Gloria Parker of Stonehaven Consulting Services. The paper has also benefited from commentator and participants' inputs and advice at its presentation at the University of Aberdeen; the 4th International Critical Management Studies Conference, Cambridge University 2005; and the Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting Conference, Cardiff 2006.
Abstract:	Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to explore the methodological dimensions and potential of photo-elicitation, particularly as a historical research tool for archival, oral and critical accounting, and management historians. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis draws upon the methodological, theoretical and empirical literatures of visual anthropology, visual sociology, visual ethnography, oral history, and visual research methods and develops a methodological agenda for photo-elicitation research in accounting and management history. Findings – It reveals the potential for contextualised, interpretive and critical discovery in accounting and management history. The prospect of peeling back of hidden layers and voices is significantly enhanced by the introduction of photo-elicitation, which offers empowerment not only through the visual triggering of memory but through the negotiation and construction of images themselves. Originality/value – The prospect of more direct access to organisational and personal experience and context is accompanied by new understandings of multiple voices and fresh narratives. Together, these promise potential insights from the particular to the societal.