The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies

This article introduces the Rug Methodology to enhance participation in the qualitative research process. The idea of using rugs to facilitate narratives and expression, and to build reciprocity and activate reflexivity and meaning-making, grew out of a peer-to-peer debate between the authors of thi...

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Main Authors: Ghita M. Bodman, Patrizia Garista
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-09-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205774
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author Ghita M. Bodman
Patrizia Garista
author_facet Ghita M. Bodman
Patrizia Garista
author_sort Ghita M. Bodman
collection DOAJ
description This article introduces the Rug Methodology to enhance participation in the qualitative research process. The idea of using rugs to facilitate narratives and expression, and to build reciprocity and activate reflexivity and meaning-making, grew out of a peer-to-peer debate between the authors of this paper on a qualitative research approach for weaving rugs, inventive methods for community action, and drawing as a reflective practice. The article describes the procedure of drawing rugs to encourage people participation. Rugs are everyday objects but they can become a qualitative tool that can be used with in-depth interviews, amplifying the opportunity of collecting participants’ lived experiences, emotions, reflections, and desires. The paper aims to define a framework which connects “to-do activities” with dialogical practices in research and to describe strengths and limitations of drawings rugs in a qualitative research design. Drawings, life events, and stories from the field are described and discussed, showing how everyday objects such as rugs can support expression, participation, reflexivity, and how drawing rugs is suitable for various and vulnerable targets and settings in qualitative studies. Finally, the paper describes the challenges of analysing data from drawings to illustrate lived experiences related to people who stay in rural areas and how they learnt to generate their quality of life.
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spelling doaj.art-8af7bfd7a83a47a3bc9621e40d375c6f2023-10-26T14:34:37ZengSAGE PublishingInternational Journal of Qualitative Methods1609-40692023-09-012210.1177/16094069231205774The Rug Methodology in Qualitative StudiesGhita M. BodmanPatrizia GaristaThis article introduces the Rug Methodology to enhance participation in the qualitative research process. The idea of using rugs to facilitate narratives and expression, and to build reciprocity and activate reflexivity and meaning-making, grew out of a peer-to-peer debate between the authors of this paper on a qualitative research approach for weaving rugs, inventive methods for community action, and drawing as a reflective practice. The article describes the procedure of drawing rugs to encourage people participation. Rugs are everyday objects but they can become a qualitative tool that can be used with in-depth interviews, amplifying the opportunity of collecting participants’ lived experiences, emotions, reflections, and desires. The paper aims to define a framework which connects “to-do activities” with dialogical practices in research and to describe strengths and limitations of drawings rugs in a qualitative research design. Drawings, life events, and stories from the field are described and discussed, showing how everyday objects such as rugs can support expression, participation, reflexivity, and how drawing rugs is suitable for various and vulnerable targets and settings in qualitative studies. Finally, the paper describes the challenges of analysing data from drawings to illustrate lived experiences related to people who stay in rural areas and how they learnt to generate their quality of life.https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205774
spellingShingle Ghita M. Bodman
Patrizia Garista
The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
title The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
title_full The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
title_fullStr The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
title_full_unstemmed The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
title_short The Rug Methodology in Qualitative Studies
title_sort rug methodology in qualitative studies
url https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205774
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