Using photographs in qualitative accounting research

Purpose: When the “linguistic turn” is replaced by the “visual turn”, there is a natural need for social scientists to embrace the new reality and incorporate visuals in their research. As a result, the importance of visual research, which centers on the use of visual sources, is growing. This paper provides an overview of how visual materials and related methodological approaches can be used in qualitative management and accounting research.

Methodology/approach: We begin by reviewing the literature on the research methods, drawing from many disciplines such as sociology, organizational learning, management, and accounting. Next, we analyze three cases – already published papers in accounting – to illustrate how photography can be used in qualitative accounting research. 

Findings: There is a growing literature on visual research methods. Researchers have used visual materials as primary and secondary data and multiple methodological approaches. Visual methods can also be used in accounting research. 

Originality/value: This paper provides an overview of emerging methodological approaches that use visual materials and discusses how they can be incorporated into qualitative accounting research.

Research limitations: Drawing a simple line between the various approaches presented in this paper is difficult as researchers can use visual material in unique ways throughout the research process. Therefore, the presented methodological categorizations can only help to better understand emerging visual research.