Abstract
Closed and invisible online communication plays a central role in how individuals and communities share experiences, mobilize support, and cope with adversity. Yet, its hidden nature presents significant methodological and ethical challenges for researchers. This paper introduces screenshot elicitation as a methodological innovation for studying such interactions. Screenshot elicitation draws inspiration from photo-elicitation techniques (Collier, 1957; Birnbaum, 2013) in which visual materials are used to prompt reflection and discussion. In this adaptation, participants are invited to share screenshots of meaningful exchanges from their digital interactions, which then serve as stimuli during semi-structured interviews. The combination of screenshots and participants’ interpretations provides a dual layer of data: the visual record of online communication and the subjective meaning attributed to it. This approach offers several advantages. It provides an ethically sensitive pathway to access closed and invisible exchanges without requiring direct researcher intrusion, thus respecting digital privacy and consent. It also facilitates participants’ engagement in the interview process, enhances recollection of events, and yields rich insights into the dynamics of online behavior. The resulting data capture both the textual and visual qualities of online discourse alongside participants’ lived experiences. The method has been successfully applied in three empirical projects: (1) exploring collective grieving practices following the Nova Festival massacre; (2) examining parents’ coping strategies in community WhatsApp groups during prolonged political conflict; and (3) investigating how people construct romantic relationships on social media. Across these contexts, screenshot elicitation proved to be flexible, ethically sound, and analytically generative.
Presenters
Daphna Yeshua KatzSenior Lecturer, Social Work, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—The Image as Advocate: Shaping Cultural Conversations
KEYWORDS
Screenshot Elicitation; Closed Online Groups; Invisible Communication; Digital Research Methods
