Artifact analysis as an interpretive method

Ulrike Froschauer and Manfred Lueger

Chapter 20 in Handbook of Interpretive Research Methods in the Social Sciences, 2025, pp 309-323 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: We are surrounded by material artifacts (objects created by humans) in our everyday lives. Knowledge, skills, and behaviors are crystallized in artifacts, influencing how we perceive, think, and act. By conveying meanings, being embedded in meaningful contexts, and/or creating frameworks for social coexistence, artifacts provide important data for understanding people, individual behavior in social settings, and social dynamics. Despite this far-reaching significance, there is little methodological discussion of artifact analysis in current academic literature. This chapter illustrates how a deeper understanding of society can be achieved by exploiting the cognitive potential of artifacts. A hermeneutic-interpretive approach is used which considers the connection between meanings, modes of action, and social structures. After a brief introduction outlining the key principles underlying the interpretive method of artifact analysis, the chapter comprehensively discusses the approach. The chapter concentrates on the foundational aspects of artifact analysis and guides readers through a systematic, step-by-step interpretation of human-made objects.

Keywords: Artifacts; Hermeneutics; Interpretive research; Material culture; Qualitative methods; Visual analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803926384
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