Understanding Relational and Group Experiences through the Mmogo-Method®

Vera Roos is a Professor of Psychology at the North-West University's Potchefstroom Campus since 2004. To date she has published 65 peer reviewed papers in national and international journals and contributed to 20 chapters in textbooks. She has also presented various papers and posters at national and international conferences on topics related to community psychology with a focus on enabling contexts, relational psychology, intergenerational relations and the contributions of older persons in challenged contexts. Vera's theoretical approach, namely that the broader social environment informs the dynamic processes in complex systems, provided the background for the development of the Mmogo-method. This method assists social researchers to access the dynamic interactions between people in relation to their communities within a particular context and in a culturally sensitive manner. The Mmogo-method is regarded as a visual narrative that assists people to recount experiences and to make sense of the context in which they function. Vera is committed to promote the relational and collective wellbeing of older people and communities in relation to the contextual realities by eliciting strengths and competencies. Vera Roos is a NRF-rated scientist on level C2.

This volume describes the development and application of the Mmogo-method® as a projective visual data-gathering method, applied in different contexts and with different groups of people. "Mmogo" means togetherness in Setswana, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. The Mmogo-method® provides a deep understanding of personal, relational and group experiences and is particularly useful in cross-cultural contexts and across age groups. By allowing visual expressions of the self as a complex, dynamic social system it overcomes some of the limitations of traditional data-collection methods, such as questionnaires or interviews.  The book draws together contributions by leading social scientists to show how this flexible, visual data-collection method can be used independently or jointly with other data-gathering techniques, such as journalling or in-depth interviewing, to acquire rich information. The research method described here enables investigators to access perceptions, feelings and personal experiences participants might otherwise find hard to verbalize and explain. Researchers in disciplines such as education, social sciences, consumer sciences, market research, and city and town planning will find this book and its innovative method particularly valuable in addressing a gap in available visual and other data collection resources.