Walking methods

Walking Methods, also known as mobile methods, are qualitative methods that are new to the field of medical and health services research, but which have the capacity to advance our understanding of how to merge observation and in-depth narrative, to illustrate the richness of people’s thoughts and experiences. Frances Rapport, the author of this essay, indicates a new and exciting way of collecting health data that is deeply reflective, often emotive, and which encourages researchers to “travel through the world” alongside research participants. Walking Methods are versatile and active, and by moving alongside research participants, researchers are assured an immediacy to data collection, unsurpassed by other, more static methods. Walking Methods enable insights to emerge and conversations to be held that are firmly grounded in the events, actions, and behaviours witnessed through the process of data collection “on the hoof”. Walking Methods, as a result, are driven by “trigger points”, which can be a new thought or event, or something more expected, that influences the conversation. Trigger points can also be stimulated by reflections that a current event or activity brings to mind. Consequently, Walking Methods can reveal not only unusual but also everyday happenstance. Whatever the case, they provide data that are raw and realistic and, most vitally, highly insightful of people’s social or working lives and experiences.