Illustrative Storytelling and Social Sciences: Reconsidering Boundaries, Extensions, and Meanings of Qualitative Research

Abstract

Comics are increasingly recognized as a flexible and multimodal medium capable of eliciting, constructing, analyzing, and disseminating qualitative data. Far from being merely illustrative or humorous, comics offer complex visualnarrative forms that can reflect and critique social realities, stimulate reflexivity, and engage diverse audiences. This approach highlights the scientific, ethical, and epistemological implications of using comics in research, particularly in relation to representation, positionality, and the visual construction of meaning. Comics can serve as tools for pedagogy, public sociology, and participatory inquiry, especially in areas such as health, gender, and digital cultures. From autoethnography and zine-making to the co-production of illness narratives, comics-based research encourages an inclusive, affective, and visually literate rethinking of qualitative inquiry. By situating comics within broader debates on methodological innovation, this perspective invites scholars to embrace the transformative potential of graphic storytelling in the social sciences.