Relational Inquiry: Generating New Knowledge With Adolescent Girls Who Use Crystal Meth

Abstract

Qualitative research is continuously evolving and expanding as researchers seek methodologies that reflect the intersubjective nature of experience. Relational inquiry is an approach which considers the relationships (a) between researchers and participants, (b) among multiple dimensions of the participant’s lived experience, and (c) between the subjectivity of the participant and the phenomenon under study. In this article, the authors present a study in which the experiences of adolescent girls who use methamphetamines are explored through the use of photograph elicitation. The authors demonstrate how engagement with photographs can bring forth narratives from which researchers, teachers, practitioners, and, indeed, adolescent girls can learn.