Relief maps model
A central part of the methodology is the development of new methods based on the Relief Maps tool.
Relief Maps is a tool for the study of intersecting inequalities, which relates three dimensions in a single image; the social: gender, sexual orientation, social class, ethnicity, age, (dis)ability and religion, among others; the geographic: places; the psychological: emotions. It has the potential to systematize complex information about the lived experience of perceived discrimination, and allows a deep reflection that promotes social transformation in the process of a study (Rodó-de-Zárate, 2014).
An example of a Relief Map of a participant in a study can be seen in the following image (1), which visually displays, in a geographically based picture, the reliefs of comfort and discomfort due to various positions in places of everyday life.
Image 1: Relief Map – Perception of the dis/comfort of a black young heterosexual woman in public spaces, leisure places, health centres, government spaces, virtual spaces, her workplace, public transport, educational centres, natural spaces, activist spaces, and at home, according to her different positions of gender, sexual orientation, age, race/ethnicity, religion, language. (dis)ability, beauty standards and economic situation.
Relief Maps was first developed as a method for collecting data by hand from participants for further analysis, following three steps through which participants reflected on their experiences of oppression and privilege, due to diverse causes, in different places of their everyday lives, and then drew their own Relief Map.
In 2018, thanks to the funding from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and an award from the Ramon Molinas Foundation for the best social impact project, Relief Maps was developed as a digital tool (see www.reliefmaps.cat/en), which enhanced its potential as a tool for research.
As part of the INTERMAPS project, a new version Relief Maps tool was developed which relates quantitative and qualitative data and that uses geoinformation tools to collect, manage, analyse and visualize data on intersecting inequalities. This enables the collection of data from big samples, its systematic comparison across positions, effects and places, and its visualization as aggregated data in order to establish specific patterns of variable intersectional configurations of inequality and discrimination. At the same time, it allows for a deep analysis of the qualitative data associated with such variables in order to characterize the specific configuration of the experience. In this sense, it will transform the present qualitative tool into a method for integratively collecting, analysing and visualizing qualitative, quantitative and georeferentiated data through digital tools.
Apart from this, the new Relief Maps tool developed within the scope of the INTERMAPS project includes specific new features:
- The avatar: The avatar is a graphical representation of the intersectional profile of the participants. You can find all the details about it here.
- The geographical map: This feature allows for the collection of georeferenced data of the everyday experiences of the participants. See more about it here.
The new version of the Relief Maps model is available at https://reliefmaps.upf.edu. As of now, the website is not open for researchers' use. Once the development of the site is finalized, we will announce it publicly on this website.