Visual sociology: the key to (self-)knowledge. Research on young adults’ sartorial choices

Abstract

When social sciences were at their early stage as academic disciplines, what followed was adapting methodological naturalism by their theorists and researchers. Social scientists were often using methods and techniques “borrowed” from scientific positivism, such as experiments, biologically driven explanations or advanced statistics – that still dominate in disciplines like psychology. On the contrary, contemporary sociologists prove that the so called qualitative turn or “everyday life turn” was necessary to understand contemporary people and culture – searching for new methods and approach. My presentation will show the advantages of such perspective, I will present techniques of using and interpreting photographs to reach complex and authentic data on young adults (ones living in a computerized and thoroughly iconized world of contemporary popular, postmodern culture) on hard to reach questions of their self-identity, attitudes and preferences or shared values. I will try to prove how visual methodology such as photo elicitation interview and analysis of picture. My thesis will be supported and exemplified by my own research results (on how self-identity is constructed and presented by a personal clothing style).