On Friday, April 26, 2024, SEAMEO CECCEP hosted a webinar, which was
also live-streamed on YouTube. The webinar titled "The Use of Cartoon
Based Research" was delivered by expert, Prof. Sally Pirie from the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Many attended the webinar, including
professors, teachers, and government officials.
The event began with a warm welcome from the director of SEAMEO CECCEP,
Prof. Vina Adriany. She expressed her hope to Prof. Sally that this opportunity
would be the first of many keynotes by Prof. Sally. She hoped that in the
future, SEAMEO CECCEP could invite Prof. Sally to Bandung.
During her presentation, Prof. Sally discussed comic conventions as a
research tool, the advantages and disadvantages of comic-based research (CBR),
and more. At the outset, Prof. Sally explained various forms of Art-based
research typically used. In data analysis, artworks are used as a means to
engage with data and conduct comprehensive analysis, which can help authors
understand their experiences and those of others, as well as filter out the
stories they want to convey.
As an expert in comic-based research, Prof. Sally advised on how to
conduct CBR. One should make a habit of drawing every day and focus on the
feelings conveyed by the drawing rather than how the drawing looks.
Additionally, carrying a sketchbook everywhere helps in regularly drawing.
Engaging with the community and professional realm of art and getting to know
fellow researchers who use CBR greatly helps in developing in this field.
Prof. Sally also emphasized the advantages and disadvantages of using
CBR. The advantages include the enjoyment of writing and drawing, and sometimes
drawing makes researchers understand their data more easily. CBR also offers
complexity and nuances and replaces the primacy of conventional text as an
academic lingua franca. While the disadvantage of CBR is that it is sometimes
difficult to let go of conventional text and let the images speak for
themselves.
The webinar session concluded with a Q&A session. Many interesting
questions were posed to Prof. Sally. Lastly, e-certificates were handed over as
a token of appreciation by Mr. Ith Vuthy, M.Sc, MA.