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Opening reflexive spaces: Maps as an anticipatory tool in expert interviews

Chris Groves Orcid Logo, Erin Roberts Orcid Logo, Karen Henwood Orcid Logo, Gareth Thomas, Nick Pidgeon, Fiona Shirani

Qualitative Research

Swansea University Authors: Chris Groves Orcid Logo, Erin Roberts Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1177/14687941251406038

Abstract

The value of maps in geographical and social-scientific research as tools that afford imaginative aesthetic engagement with research topics has become increasingly recognised. We explore here, for the first time, the value of these affordances for interviewing experts. In particular, the imaginative...

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Published in: Qualitative Research
ISSN: 1468-7941 1741-3109
Published: SAGE Publications 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71040
Abstract: The value of maps in geographical and social-scientific research as tools that afford imaginative aesthetic engagement with research topics has become increasingly recognised. We explore here, for the first time, the value of these affordances for interviewing experts. In particular, the imaginative engagement maps can provide may help unsettle routines of thought, and invite reflexivity towards the assumptions on which expert knowledge may rest. This contribution of maps can be particularly valuable in research where anticipating potential future consequences of societal transformations is a central aim. We examine a case study from South Wales, UK, relating to explorations of socio-technical transitions in the field of energy, and show how the imaginative engagements that maps afford for expert participants can facilitate specific ways of anticipating potential futures that avoid simply extrapolating from what is familiar.
Keywords: expert interviewing, future presents, hauntology, mapping, present futures, reflexivity, temporality
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Funders: Support for this research was primarily provided by the Welsh Government through the European Regional Development Fund as part of the FLEXIS project. Prof Pidgeon acknowledges support from the EPSRC UK Energy Research Centre Phase 4 and 5 (EP/S029575/1) and ESRC Behavioural Research UK Leadership Hub (ES/Y001044/1); Dr Roberts and Prof. Henwood acknowledge support from the BBSRC Greenhouse Gas Removal Project (BB/V011359/1).

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