Nicola RossNicola Ross

University of StrathclydeUniversity of Strathclyde

Nicola.ross@strath.ac.ukNicola.ross@strath.ac.uk

Meaningful meanderings: Meaningful meanderings: using mobile methods to using mobile methods to research young people’s research young people’s

everyday liveseveryday lives

ContentContent

Overview of the (Extra)ordinary Overview of the (Extra)ordinary Lives project Lives project

Mobile methodsMobile methods– ‘‘Guided’ walksGuided’ walks– Car journey interactionsCar journey interactions

Sharing intimate narratives: the Sharing intimate narratives: the productivity of motion, commotion productivity of motion, commotion and distractionand distraction

(Extra)ordinary lives: project (Extra)ordinary lives: project overviewoverview

Longitudinal, Longitudinal, participatory research participatory research with 8 young people in with 8 young people in carecare

Using visual and mobile Using visual and mobile methodsmethods

Young people develop Young people develop own multi-media own multi-media accounts and accounts and representationsrepresentations

Researchers conducting Researchers conducting an ethnography of this an ethnography of this processprocess

Working Working collaboratively collaboratively with new with new technologies technologies during project during project sessionssessions

Between session Between session contacts: contacts: ‘guided’ ‘guided’ journeys, journeys, conversations in conversations in a range of a range of settings.settings.

Multi-media project sessions and out-of-session contacts

Mobile research methodsMobile research methods Mobilities paradigm in social sciences Mobilities paradigm in social sciences

Mobile Research Methods:Mobile Research Methods:– Embodied, multi-sensory research Embodied, multi-sensory research

experiencesexperiences– Place-making practices and placed Place-making practices and placed

encounters: a ‘constitutive coingredience’ encounters: a ‘constitutive coingredience’ of people and places of people and places (Casey, 2001) (Casey, 2001)

– Shared, experiential journeys generating Shared, experiential journeys generating meaningful understandings of everyday meaningful understandings of everyday liveslives

– Placed and place-making interactions, Placed and place-making interactions, rooted in young people’s everyday localesrooted in young people’s everyday locales

‘‘Guided’ walksGuided’ walks Shared, experiential journeys in locales of Shared, experiential journeys in locales of

significance to young peoplesignificance to young people Conveyed young people’s intimate knowledge Conveyed young people’s intimate knowledge

of their localities and locally based social of their localities and locally based social relationsrelations

Research encounters ‘rooted’ in the everyday, Research encounters ‘rooted’ in the everyday, yet opening avenues for memories and yet opening avenues for memories and imagined futures imagined futures

Conversations meandered , unhurried sharing Conversations meandered , unhurried sharing of narrativesof narratives

Rhythm of the walk offered engagements and Rhythm of the walk offered engagements and disengagements, a mass of encounters, disengagements, a mass of encounters, diversions and disruptionsdiversions and disruptions

Car journey interactionsCar journey interactions Regular routine journeys, one-to-one contact Regular routine journeys, one-to-one contact

time, growing familiarity, strengthening time, growing familiarity, strengthening relations between young person and relations between young person and researcherresearcher

Young people making audio recordings of in-Young people making audio recordings of in-car interactions capturing journey car interactions capturing journey soundscapes and conversationssoundscapes and conversations

Revealed young people’s local geographies Revealed young people’s local geographies as mundane talk of driving/passengering was as mundane talk of driving/passengering was interspersed with intimate and mundane interspersed with intimate and mundane

Car journey interaction: moving Car journey interaction: moving between the mundane and between the mundane and

meaningfulmeaningfulAudio extract from car journey Audio extract from car journey interaction taking place as a young interaction taking place as a young person (aged 10) and researcher person (aged 10) and researcher travel together on one of their travel together on one of their regular journeys home from a regular journeys home from a fieldwork session. fieldwork session.

Mobile methods and the Mobile methods and the sharing of intimate sharing of intimate

narrativesnarratives Mobile methods ‘rooted’ in everyday Mobile methods ‘rooted’ in everyday

lives, dynamic, open interactionslives, dynamic, open interactions Space for narratives to be shared Space for narratives to be shared

was opened up, closed down, was opened up, closed down, diverted, and revisiteddiverted, and revisited

Motion, commotion and distraction Motion, commotion and distraction were productive in the sharing of were productive in the sharing of intimate narrativesintimate narratives

Further InformationFurther Information

For more information about the For more information about the (Extra)ordinary Lives research project, (Extra)ordinary Lives research project, seesee

QualQualiti, Cardiff School of Social iti, Cardiff School of Social SciencesScienceswww.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/qualiti