Equity and Accessibility in Participatory Visual Methods for Online Spaces: A Conversation with April Bell and Keri-Lyn Durant
Participatory visual methods are often promoted as a way to attend to power dynamics in research, as well as foster ownership and participant autonomy. However, what happens when these methods are conducted online? How can researchers foster safer online spaces that are accessible to people with different needs and circumstances? How does the online space introduce or complicate conceptions of equitable participation? In this episode, guests Dr. Keri-Lyn Durant and Dr. April Bell discuss their experience with hybrid and online facilitation of digital storytelling. They reflect on the practices of building trust, safety, and care when discussing sensitive or stigmatized topics – all of which contribute to a space of vulnerability where intimate stories are shared, and friendships are formed. While power dynamics between researcher and participants may remain, the guests describe how they ensure ethics and participant autonomy in the making and sharing of digital stories. By providing thoughtful questions and equity-informed practices, this episode will help support new and established visual methods practitioners create more equitable and accessible online spaces for participatory visual methods.
Conversation Outline:
- Introduction (0:00-3:27)
- Addressing the digital divide and balancing structure with flexibility (3:28-6:48)
- Fostering trust, safety, and care (6:49-14:24)
- Building a container of care for online spaces (14:25-19:31)
- Centering autonomy and addressing power dynamics in online spaces (19:32-33:09)
- The transformative impact of digital storytelling (33:10-35:03)
Further Resource:
- Disrupting Death: Conversations about medical assistance and dying. https://www.disruptingdeath.ca/episodes.
Guest and Host Bios
Dr. Keri-Lyn Durant (Guest)
Keri-Lyn Durant (PhD Education) is a teacher, Research Project Lead on a SSHRC Insight Grant at Lakehead University, and co-host of the podcast Disrupting Death: Conversations about Medical Assistance in Dying. She has been an educator for over 30 years in both the United Kingdom and Canada; current research interests include how people, especially children and adolescents, navigate grief experiences, using digital storytelling as a tool in qualitative research, and medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada. Whenever possible, Keri-Lyn prefers to be outdoors with her wife, Paula, and dogs, Frank and Nitro.
Dr. April Bell (Guest)
April Bell (PhD Epidemiology) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Bell’s research is focused on decreasing reproductive health inequities among women and youth by addressing the impacts of societal and structural biases on adverse birth outcomes, sexually transmitted infections, HIV acquisition, abortion access, and unintended pregnancy. Having worked extensively in both the US and across sub-Saharan Africa, she is interested in using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including digital storytelling, to bridge the expanse between US and African settings.
Janna Martin (Host)
Janna Martin (PhD candidate) is a community-based researcher located in Guelph, Ontario. She has worked at the Centre for Community Based Research since 2018 and currently holds the title of Senior Researcher. Janna enjoys bridging capacities and working alongside community partners to conduct research and evaluation that is community-driven, participatory, and action-oriented. She works on projects across various sectors and social issues and has a particular interest in advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization. Her PhD research seeks to braid Mennonite and Indigenous histories to tell a decolonial story in the Waterloo Region.
To cite this podcast episode:
Martin, J. (Host). (2025, Apr 10). Equity and Accessibility in Participatory Visual Methods for Online Spaces: A conversation with April Bell and Keri-Lyn Durant. In Let Me Just Share My Screen. Production by Janna Martin, Centre for Community Based Research and Trillium Health Partners.
Podcast episode production team: Sarah Switzer, Elizabeth Mansfield, Kristina Fuentes-Aiello, Hani Sadati, Amanda Brotman