Visual Elicitation Oral History — Image-Prompted Life Narrative

Visual elicitation oral history is a qualitative method that uses photographs, objects, maps, or other visual materials as prompts during oral history interviews. By placing a tangible visual anchor before the narrator, the researcher unlocks richer, more detailed memories and personal meanings than spoken questions alone typically produce. The approach merges John Collier Jr.'s photo-elicitation technique with oral history's commitment to capturing first-person lived experience across time.