Exploration and specificity
A critical analysis of uses of comics as a method across qualitative research processes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8133752 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lydia Wysocki (0000-0002-2308-154X, Newcastle University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Qualitative Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-7941 • E-ISSN: 1741-3109 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14687941261420112 |
| OpenAlex | W7134914245 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 53 |
This article explores the uses of comics as a method in qualitative research, an area of growing interest across the social sciences, arts and humanities. It critically reviews a comprehensive range of studies using the comics medium as part of their methodological approaches to attaining informed consent, communicating with participants (beyond the one-way elicitation of information), transcribing data and disseminating research findings. In analysing these uses of comics not as one codified method but as multiple approaches, this article advocates for greater use of comics as a keyword to better advance a collection of distinct yet connected approaches used across phases of research projects towards divergent methodological objectives. In asking what a given use of comics is being used to do in a given study, this article emphasises’ research participants’ agentic participation in research and highlights the need to problematise assumptions of visual and creative methods as participative
Comics · Content analysis · Data collection · Qualitative property · Qualitative research · Research methodology · The arts · Visual methods · Comics and Graphic Narratives · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |