NCJ Number
252153
Date Published
January 2015
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This methods paper describes a spatial approach to capturing and analyzing “lived experiences” that previously have been determined with qualitative research.
Abstract
The described methodology can be used to improve understanding of how people, places, and the relationships between them interact to shape a range of outcomes, from environmental conditions to health. This article presents the Spatial Video Generative (SVG), which is an environmentally cued narrative in which place is used to stimulate discussion about fine-scale geographic characteristics of an area and the context of their occurrence. Participants comment about where they live or work while guiding a driver through the area. Four GPS-enabled cameras are attached to the vehicle so as to capture the places that are observed and discussed by the participants. An audio recording of this narrative is linked to the video via time stamp. A program (G-Code) is then used to “geotag” each word as a point in a geographic information system (GIS). Querying and density analysis can then be performed on the narrative text to identify spatial patterns within one narrative or across multiple narratives. This approach is illustrated with case studies of post-disaster psychopathology, crime, mosquito control, and tuberculosis in homeless populations. The article concludes that SVG GIS output can be used to advance theory by being used as input for qualitative and/or spatial analyses. SVG can also be used to gain near-real time insight to support applied interventions. Advances over existing generative approaches include the simultaneous collection of video data that supports any commentary. 7 figures and 41 references
Date Published: January 1, 2015