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Fuzzy Boundaries When Using “Mental Mapping” Methods to Trace the Experiences of Immigrant Women in South Korea

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Abstract

This chapter discusses 'mental mapping' as a visual research method and draws on a study of women immigrants who had moved to South Korea through commercially arranged marriages. Jung discusses the potential of the method, and particularly in promoting participants’ agency and authorship in research processes, that was countered by the circumstances of participants’ social vulnerability and powerlessness. In spite of efforts by the researcher to cede more power to the participants, and acknowledge them as co-producers of knowledge, this proved difficult for a range of reason including institutional expectations and the participants’ reluctance to be publically identified by family and neighbors. The researcher was pushed to navigate ethical and practical issues arising between anonymity and authorship, and develop flexible approaches for acknowledging authorship.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Hyunjoo Jung

Authors
  1. Hyunjoo Jung
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia

    Deborah Warr

  2. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Marilys Guillemin

  3. Melbourne, Australia

    Susan Cox

  4. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jenny Waycott

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Jung, H. (2016). Fuzzy Boundaries When Using “Mental Mapping” Methods to Trace the Experiences of Immigrant Women in South Korea. In: Warr, D., Guillemin, M., Cox, S., Waycott, J. (eds) Ethics and Visual Research Methods. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54305-9_3

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