Analyzing Visual Data

by Michael S. Ball, Gregory W.H. Smith

This volume provides a basic framework for using visual data - namely still photographs - as a tool for social analysis. The authors determine the importance of theoretical assumptions in analyzing these data and provide advice on how to use photographs in cognitive, symbolist and structuralist research. The book is richly illustrated with examples ranging from Native American masks to perfume advertisements.

88 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Alexander Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a first text in using visual data in sociology and anthropology, this is a book that is a preferable introduction to photography and advertisement. It briefly describes through a few good cases that are consistent and socially permeable such that the average English speaker can understand the goals and the example studies without many external references.

This book is honest to the epistemological foundations of studying images, and doesn't dive off into incomprehensible prose about the mysticism of image study of which many culture readers seem prone.

It is unfortunate that this book does not delve much into how one can look at constructed, staged, or "forged" images as a social study unto itself, but rather issues a few brief paragraphs of warning. Further, there is very little in reference to external sources on how to do methods outside of this very bare bones explanation. This probably would make for a great undergraduate or masters student level text, but this is not adequate enough by itself to introduce the value of certain theories and where and when they are applied.

For that, it would appear the Handbook of Visual Communications edited by Smith, Moriarty, Barbatsis, and Kennedy is much more complete and well organized, however you have to put in a few more days to get through that one.