Volume 7 Issue 2 (2011)
Research Design

Reflections on the Use of Autovideography in an Undergraduate Education Context

Russell Butson
University of Otago
Bio
Carla Thomson
University of Otago
Bio
Published October 12, 2011
Keywords
  • autovideography,
  • visual methods,
  • videography research

Abstract

In a recent study of undergraduates' use of information and communication technologies to support their academic work, we asked students to make video recordings of their personal study sessions. Our motivation was to capture their study practice as it occurred rather than relying solely on self-reports of their perceived or remembered practice. As we worked with the participant-created videos, we recognised their uniqueness as sources of evidence and their potential to reveal situated and authentic data. In this article, we have identified some of the complex and problematic elements of this method as we trace its evolution in our research practice.