| 110 for people with dementia due to language impairment (31). However, the simple techniques we utilised were performed without too much analysis or censorship relying on the idea that the brain stores concepts in associative clusters and that brainstorming can therefore be useful in information retrieval (32). We presented the word ‘dementia’ in the centre of a worksheet and asked participants to discuss, write, and/or draw what thoughts or feelings came to mind. This activity was repeated with the word ‘support’. The word association tasks were the first activity in the interviews and the focus group. In the focus group, the moderators were careful not to lead the discussions in a particular direction, but rather just record the verbal responses of participants. In Australia, the researcher created a visual mind-map on the PowerPoint slide during the conduct of the focus group. Subsequently, researchers from each country then created ‘meta’ mind maps from the interviews and dyads mapping the associations that participants made with the stimulus words. Researcher-driven Photo Elicitation Techniques They involve researchers selecting photographs or other visual stimuli to promote participant responses (33). Researchers select the images to use, and how they should be presented to participants. The researcher may also ask specific questions about the photos or guide the discussion in a particular direction. This is distinct from participant-driven photo elicitation where participants themselves select the photographs or visual stimuli (34). Whilst participant-driven photovoice has been utilised more frequently in dementia research, it has pros and cons (13). In this study, researcher-driven photo elicitation was chosen to answer the focused research questions and ensure photographs were relevant and informative (33-35). Participants were asked to respond to and provide feedback on a scenario involving a hypothetical couple (‘Thelma and John’ or renamed as culturally appropriate) at four points in time: during a diagnostic conversation with their doctor; a few weeks later; a few months later and at 1-year post ‘Thelma’s diagnosis’. Participant handouts included stock photos of the hypothetical couple with a short description of their situation at each time point (36). Visual ‘thought bubbles’ were used to prompt participants to create a story around the pictures and discuss what they thought the people were thinking and feeling (25, 26). Participants were supported to share their ideas about the hypothetical couple’s feelings in the various situations and to reflect on
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