Auto-driven photo-elicitation interview (PEI) with young girls in rural Morocco: A case study of visual ethnography.

Abstract

A male researcher has difficulty doing research on the world seen from young girls’ point of view! This article examines the use of auto-driven photo-elicitation interviews (PEI) while engaging young girls in rural Morocco in a study of children’s role in the household in the midst of tension between tradition and rapid socio-economic changes. In this case, the article describes an example of auto-driven PEI and discusses the feasibility of this qualitative method to establish a good rapport between a group of young girls (approximately age 7 to 12) and a foreign, male researcher (age 58). The point being, the male researcher attempts to achieve insight into the children’s thoughts and views of their present situation and imagined future. The article argues for the feasibility of using auto-driven PEI for this purpose, yet applying it in a sensitive and sensible way. The road to follow is not straight forward and there are dilemmas that have to be faced in each case, for example in this case to weigh local requirements for appropriate behaviour up against a researcher’s wish for information as little as possible tainted by adult relatives or family.