Mapping is a fairly novel method in social science and health research and can be a useful method for a number of purposes, including producing data on locations that are hard to access (see Ravn & Duff 2015). In this project, a mapping method was used as a component in the second interview to explore how participants experience and feel about their local neighbourhood. Participants were first asked to draw, on an A3 piece of paper, what they considered as their neighbourhood including all places they spent time in or passed through.
As a second step, participants were asked to add Post-its with two different colours; pink for places they liked and blue for places they disliked. Some participants drew only a couple of streets and indicated that this was what they perceived of as their local area, while others drew a larger area that covered larger parts of their local town. While this method generated data about the uses of space, it also included another layer. Instead of simply mapping movements in places, this task added a more affective layer to the map by asking specifically about places that the participant likes and dislikes. This produces information about their sense of belonging and sense of place.
Photo by Tom Rumble on Unsplash
Girls Growing Up 