THE PHOTOVOICE AS A STRATEGY FOR DATA COLLECTION IN AN ETHOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe the use of the photographic resource the photovoice, as a strategy in data collection in an ethnographic research. The study was done at the University Hospital of University of São Paulo, Brazil. The collaborators were pregnant women, who during their prenatal attendance visited this hospital. For data collection cameras were lent to the collaborators to take pictures of the areas in the hospital they classified as interesting. Once, the films were developed, the researcher appointed interviews with these pregnant women to discuss the pictures. Data were presented by narrative and their analyses were done based on the Interpretative Biographical Method. The results showed that the photographic resource –the photovoice– was important in all the phases of the research: during the interview, giving voice to the collaborators of the study, helping to remember the visit to the hospital and the transcription of the narratives and their analyses.