Object elicitation in interviews about clothing design, ageing and dementia

Although photo elicitation has been thoroughly discussed in the literature, object elicitation has rarely been dealt with explicitly. This article describes the processes involved in object-elicitation interviews in three studies on clothing design, ageing and dementia, and elaborates on the practical, analytical and ethical issues. Object elicitation facilitates discussing concrete objects, such as garments, as well as sensitive issues like embodiment and power relations. Thus, object elicitation interviews may be ethically challenging in terms of anonymity and creating negative affect. Use of the method with ageing people and people with dementia needs to be further developed, with focus on challenges relating to cognition, communication and physical abilities.