Visual Elicitation Reflexive Thematic Analysis
Also known as: photo-elicitation reflexive TA, image-elicitation RTA, visual-prompt reflexive thematic analysis, VERTA
Visual elicitation reflexive thematic analysis (VERTA) is a qualitative compound design that uses photographs, drawings, or other images as conversation starters in in-depth interviews and then analyses the resulting talk using Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis framework. The visual prompt lowers the communication barrier, stimulates richer narrative, and anchors abstract experiences to concrete imagery, while the reflexive analytic approach treats theme development as an active, iterative, and researcher-engaged interpretive process rather than a coding algorithm.
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When to use it
Use VERTA when your research question concerns the meanings, identities, emotions, or experiences that participants associate with a visually represented phenomenon — for example, place identity, occupational experience, health and embodiment, or community belonging. It is especially valuable when participants may find verbal description alone difficult (e.g., children, trauma survivors, speakers of a language other than the interview language) or when the phenomenon is inherently visual or spatial. The method requires in-depth interview data and time for iterative reflexive analysis; it is not appropriate when the goal is descriptive prevalence, statistical generalization, or rapid assessment. Avoid it if participants cannot or should not engage with the proposed images (ethical or cultural sensitivity issues), or if the analytic goal is better served by a structured deductive coding framework rather than an inductive reflexive approach.
Strengths & limitations
- Visual prompts access embodied, pre-verbal, and emotionally rich meanings that verbal interview questions rarely elicit.
- Participant-produced images shift epistemic authority toward participants, supporting collaborative and emancipatory research designs.
- Reflexive thematic analysis provides a rigorous, flexible, and well-documented analytic framework adaptable to diverse theoretical positions.
- The compound design is well-suited to studies of identity, place, embodiment, and practice where visual culture is intrinsic to the phenomenon.
- Reflexive memo-keeping throughout analysis creates an auditable trail that strengthens methodological transparency and trustworthiness.
- Participant-produced photo tasks add logistical complexity and may create burden or safety concerns.
- The reflexive analytic phase is time-intensive and demands strong methodological self-awareness from the researcher.
- Findings are context-specific and not statistically generalizable; the compound design amplifies rather than reduces this limitation.
- Ethical clearance for collecting or reproducing images of participants, places, or identifiable individuals requires careful planning.
Frequently asked
Who selects the images — the researcher or the participant?
Either or both, depending on the research design. Researcher-selected images keep the stimulus consistent across participants and allow comparison. Participant-selected or participant-produced images (photo-voice) give participants more agency and typically generate data that reflect insider meanings more strongly. The choice should be made deliberately in line with the epistemological and ethical commitments of the study.
How does visual elicitation differ from photo-voice?
Photo-voice is a specific participatory action-research method in which participants photograph their own lives with a dual purpose: to generate data and to stimulate community change. Visual elicitation is a broader data-collection technique encompassing any use of images as interview prompts, including researcher-selected photographs. VERTA can incorporate either approach.
Is reflexive thematic analysis just standard thematic analysis with more journaling?
No. Braun and Clarke distinguish reflexive TA from the earlier 'codebook' or 'framework' versions of TA. In reflexive TA, themes are understood as researcher interpretations, not objective patterns residing in data. The researcher's positionality actively shapes analysis, and this influence is not a problem to be controlled but a resource to be theorised. The analytic process is iterative rather than procedural.
How many participants do I need for VERTA?
Like reflexive TA generally, VERTA does not prescribe a fixed sample size. Braun and Clarke suggest that smaller samples (6–10) afford deeper engagement with individual accounts, while larger samples (20–30+) suit broader pattern-level analysis. The added depth of image-elicited interview data often means that a smaller, carefully selected sample produces rich and sufficient material for reflexive analysis.
Do I need to analyse the images themselves, or only the talk they generate?
This depends on the research question. In many VERTA studies the primary data are the transcripts of image-elicited talk, and images serve mainly as elicitation devices. However, the images themselves can be analysed as additional data — using visual content analysis or semiotic analysis — when the study is explicitly concerned with how images communicate meaning. Either approach should be stated explicitly in the methodology.
Sources
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2019). Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11(4), 589–597. DOI: 10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806 ↗
- Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 17(1), 13–26. DOI: 10.1080/14725860220137345 ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Visual Elicitation Reflexive Thematic Analysis. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/qualitative/visual-elicitation-reflexive-thematic-analysis
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Participatory Visual analysisQualitative↔ compare
- Reflexive Thematic AnalysisQualitative↔ compare
- Thematic AnalysisQualitative Research↔ compare
- Visual analysisQualitative↔ compare
- Visual Elicitation Thematic AnalysisQualitative↔ compare