Seeing the data again, for the first time: the use of drawings in archival research

Purpose Embedded in historical research is distance. For qualitative researchers, this distance is temporal and affective and can decontextualise the interpretation and analysis of the data and render the researcher’s position and emotions invisible. In this article we draw – literally – on a research project to show how drawings create a bridge between a historical event and a contemporary analysis, providing analytic and reflexive possibilities. We show how the use of drawings allowed the researcher to stay present and pay attention to the finer details in the data that led to a contextual understanding as well as an interrogation of that context. Design/methodology/approach The research project focused on examining how a historical event unfolded in the public news reporting. A traditional archival data collection method was used, with research drawings produced from the data. Findings The drawings place the researcher within the interpretation and analysis and bridge the distance in three ways: one, by “making sense” of or contextualising the data; two, by producing themes and three, by attending to emotions. This article demonstrates how the art medium of drawing deepens the interpretivistic intentions of qualitative research by offering a critical lens to the data and by embedding reflexivity into the analysis. Originality/value This article demonstrates how the integration of drawing as a tool in qualitative research offers a multi-dimensional approach to understanding human experiences.