four note friday 1.22 | Photovoice + Google Scholar Alerts

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about setting up and scanning Google Alerts as a way to keep up with new photovoice projects. Google Alerts are a good way to keep up with photovoice projects on the internet—think blogs and news articles. On the other hand, Google Scholar Alerts are a good way to keep up with new photovoice scholarship—think journal articles and dissertations.

Let's go through the mechanics of how to set up such an alert, then I will provide four things to keep in mind when reviewing the alerts you receive. Here are the steps:

➕ Go to scholar.google.com
➕ Type in your search term or terms (i.e., photovoice or something more specific such as photovoice and critical consciousness)
➕ Click on the envelope icon and text that says "Create Alert"
➕ Enter your email address
➕ Click "Create Alert"
➕ Sit back and wait!

As the Google Scholar Alerts start filling up your email inbox, you want to review the results carefully and with a discerning eye. Here are some things to consider.

🟣 Do I really need these alerts right now?

I'll be honest, my email inboxes are very cluttered most of the time. Most of my Google Scholar Alert emails go unread. This is not always the case, however. If you are engaging in a photovoice project as an academic—or as a scholarly pursuit—you will likely need to do review, read, and synthesize the literature on your topic, as well as your methodology. When actively engaging in this reviewing-reading-synthesizing process, Google Scholar Alerts will not be very helpful. You'll need to dive into myriad databases and go from there.

Let's say, however, that you've just completed your dissertation proposal and are about to begin your study. The project may take a long time, perhaps a year or longer. That means, you will not necessarily be reviewing the most recent literature during that time. This is where Google Scholar Alerts come in. Set up the alert for this time, then review the emails as the dissertation is finalized and new literature is folded in to the final paper.

🟣 Is this photovoice or something photovoice adjacent?

The definition and application of photovoice is not consistent within the literature. Getting clear on your definition of photovoice—with proper citations and justifications, of course—is one key to understanding whether a particular article that comes through your inbox is actually photovoice.

I have a Google Scholar Alert set up for the word photovoice. The last alert I received was just yesterday. One of the returns was a journal article titled Integrated Digital Technology to Enhance Student Teacher’s 4Cs through Photovoice Dialogue: From Camera to Classroom, published in the Indonesian Journal of Education and Pedagogy. While this was an interesting paper, I would not call the methodology deployed photovoice. I see it as a form of the scholarship of teaching and learning and a pedagogical application of photo elicitation. The study was photovoice adjacent, not photovoice. Keep this in mind as you review the results arriving to your inbox.

🟣 How do I access these articles?

If you are affiliated with a college or university, I highly recommend downloading and using LibKey Nomad, a browser extension you can use with any browser you regularly use (Chrome, Edge, and Firefox). When a Google Scholar Alert arrives in your inbox and you click the link, you may find that article is behind a paywall. Do not despair! This is where the LibKey Nomad extension can help. Here is a video from a Canadian university to get you started.

I use this tool constantly, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It saves a lot of time in accessing important resources.

🟣 Tweak as you go.

Change it up. Set a few alerts, then see what comes in. Are the results too narrow? Too broad? If you find yourself under or overwhelmed, makes some changes. Set a small handful of alerts and see what happens. Add, change, or remove keywords over time as your focus sharpens. Consider also setting some alerts for key scholars in your area, and see what happens. Make Google Scholar Alerts work for you, not the other way around.

Have you used Google Scholar Alerts? How do you find it? What tips and tricks do you recommend? Let me know, as I would love to hear from you!

🥹 Thanks for spending a moment with me this Friday.
💌 If you’re new here, welcome! I hope this space becomes one you look forward to each week.

📬 Have a question you want me to answer in a future issue? Reach me at photovoicefieldnotes@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for being here.

Warmly,
Mandy
photovoice field notes
photovoicefieldnotes.com