This National Centre for Research Methods webinar explores mobile methods in social research, focusing on walking and go-along interviews, swim-along methods, and driving as research spaces. The speakers discuss how these approaches can provide deeper insight into lived experience, highlight barriers to inclusion, and challenge assumptions about accessibility and participation. Case studies include research with people with dementia, visual impairments, and political elites in Africa.
Speakers
- Professor Ruth Bartlett – University of Southampton: Overview of walking and go-along interviews, their phenomenological roots, benefits, risks, and ethical challenges.
- Sadie Rockliffe – University of Brighton: Swim-along interviews exploring access to blue spaces for people with visual impairments.
- Professor Gabrielle Lynch – Research in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda: Driving together as a research space and adapting mobile methods to driving contexts.
Themes Covered
- Shifts in researcher-participant power dynamics
- Revealing barriers to inclusion and accessibility
- Embodied knowledge and sensory experience
- Ethical considerations in mobile research
- Expanding qualitative research methods through walking, swimming, and driving
The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) delivers research methods training through short courses and free online resources.
- Visit the NCRM website: https://www.ncrm.ac.uk
National Centre for Research Methods
Dementia Researcher