The Use of Video Data in Reading Research

Abstract

This paper discusses the uses of video data in research on reading as well as future directions for research in the area. In the paper, we view video as a medium for collecting, transmitting, and storing research data, just like photography, audio recording, live observation with field notes, artifact collection, in-person interviewing, questionnaires, and administrative records are media through which data are collected, transmitted, and stored. The purpose of this paper is to point the reader to some existing resources on the collection of video data and to discuss some trends in the use of video data in research on teaching and learning in the area of reading. Our central argument is that video recording technologies are evolving rapidly, providing particular affordances—and challenges—for the use of video data in qualitative and quantitative research on reading. We argue that some of these affordances might also help address the “gaps” in reading research identified in this Handbook , gaps that now exist with respect to what has been studied in reading research, gaps in the translation of research findings from the reading research to reading practice communities, and gaps in how results from reading research are implemented in schools and classrooms. As we discuss below, new affordances in video data collection, management, and data analysis have the potential to address these gaps by allowing for research on new topics in the field, by allowing for different ways to communicate research results to different communities of practice, and by providing different ways to guide practitioners as they implement findings from reading research in classrooms.