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Monaco Research Observatory · Visual Research Infrastructure
MVFA · Fieldwork Collection · Archival System · Structured Research Records
The Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive (MVFA) is the archival system used by the Monaco Research Observatory to organise, identify, document and maintain the traceability of photographic and audiovisual materials obtained through fieldwork in Monaco between 2017 and 2026.
Its documentary base consists of a Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection of more than 2,000 photographs and videos. From this collection, certain materials are formalised as Structured MVFA Records when they become part of research that requires individual identification and traceability.
Within those structured records, 225 visual assets currently constitute the VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus, selected and audited using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Archive distinction. The Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection, the MVFA as an archival system, the Structured MVFA Records, the VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus and the materials publicly deposited in OSF are related but distinct levels.
Archive Overview
Fieldwork Collection & Research Structure
| 2,000+ | Photographs and Videos in the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection |
| 2017–2026 | Fieldwork Period |
| 225 | Assets in the Current VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus |
| 160 | Photographs in the Analytical Corpus |
| 65 | Videos in the Analytical Corpus |
| 75 | Linked Spatial Cases |
| 7 | Geographic Archive Areas |
The 225 assets do not constitute a statistically representative sample of the complete visual collection. They form a purposively selected analytical corpus developed to provide relevant, observable and traceable evidence for the empirical applications of VAM and SECP.
Contents
- About the Archive
- MVFA Archive Architecture
- Structured MVFA Records & Traceability
- VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus Selection
- Current Analytical Corpus
- Broader Research Uses
- Open Research & OSF Repository
- From Archive to Visual Research
- Public Visual Communication
- Scope & Interpretative Limits
- Archive Information, Rights & Related Research
01
About the Archive
The MVFA originates in direct observation and fieldwork routes conducted repeatedly in different areas of Monaco. Its broader visual collection comprises more than 2,000 photographs and videos documented between 2017 and 2026.
The materials record spaces, routes, interfaces, activities, tourist landscapes, architecture, hospitality environments, waterfronts, mobility, consumption, signage, thresholds, commercial elements and other observable conditions related to the different research strands of the Monaco Research Observatory.
Photographs preserve spatial configurations, territorial contexts and visually identifiable elements. Videos can also document dynamic properties such as approach sequences, route continuity, circulation, temporality, spatial transformation and human presence or mediation.
The MVFA operates as a cross-cutting research infrastructure. It is not an analytical method in itself, and its materials are not limited to VAM or SECP.
The same visual base can contribute, through distinct selection processes, to spatial research, visual research, longitudinal analyses, the sociology of luxury tourism, visual iconography and other strands developed by the Observatory.
02
MVFA Archive Architecture
The MVFA architecture distinguishes five levels, separating the production of fieldwork material, its archival formalisation, its analytical use and its possible public dissemination.
1. Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection
The Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection forms the project’s general visual base. It brings together more than 2,000 photographs and videos obtained through fieldwork between 2017 and 2026.
These materials retain potential documentary value for multiple research strands, although not all have been individually formalised with an Asset ID or used in specific analyses.
2. Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive · MVFA
The MVFA is the archival system that organises the provenance, identity, documentation and research relationships of visual materials when they become part of structured research processes.
The MVFA should therefore not be understood simply as a physical folder or as the set of 225 VAM–SECP assets. It is the infrastructure that connects original files, metadata, identifiers, datasets, research uses and, where appropriate, public resources.
3. Structured MVFA Records
A material item from the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection becomes a Structured MVFA Record when it enters a research output or process that requires individual traceability.
At that point, it may receive a stable Asset ID and a documentary record specifying, as applicable:
- original file;
- media type;
- authorship and provenance;
- date or period;
- location;
- geographic area;
- relationships with Spatial Cases;
- Evidence Codes;
- associated research outputs;
- public links, where available.
This layer may continue to grow as further materials from the broader collection are incorporated into Visual Notes, Visual Collections, Monaco Through Time, Video Fieldwork or other research.
4. VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus
The VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus is a specific subset of structured MVFA records. It currently comprises 225 visual assets selected and audited to provide evidence for empirical applications of VAM and SECP.
Its selection responds to specific analytical needs and does not restrict other possible uses of the visual archive.
5. OSF Public Repository Layer
Selected datasets, documents and visual derivatives may be deposited in the Open Science Framework (OSF) to provide public access, persistence and external traceability.
Publication in OSF constitutes an additional layer. Membership in the visual collection or the MVFA does not depend on whether the material has been publicly deposited.
Analytical eligibility ≠ archival inclusion ≠ public release eligibility.
03
Structured MVFA Records & Traceability
Assets formalised within the system may receive a stable Asset ID, designed to remain unchanged regardless of the original filename, its physical location or its subsequent public use.
Asset ID Example
MVFA-P-2025-CD-000004
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MVFA | Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive |
| P / V | Photograph / Video |
| 2025 | Verified year |
| CD | Geographic archive area |
| 000004 | Stable asset sequence |
General Research Traceability
For general archival uses, the basic relationship can be expressed as:
Original Asset → Structured MVFA Record → Research Use
The same record can subsequently be linked to different forms of research without losing its archival identity.
VAM–SECP Traceability
When an asset forms part of the VAM–SECP corpus, the structure may include:
Asset ID → Case ID → Evidence Code → VAM / SECP
Visual Research Traceability
When an asset is used in the Monaco Visual Observatory, it may be linked to:
Asset ID → VN / VC / MTT / VF
An asset can contribute to more than one project without thereby becoming multiple archival units.
Archive identity ≠ evidence function ≠ research use ≠ analytical result.
How to Read the MVFA–VAM Codes →
04
VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus Selection
The 225 assets included in the VAM–SECP analytical corpus were selected from the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria.
The corpus subsequently underwent a retrospective audit against these criteria to verify consistency between documentary selection, spatial units and the evidence requirements of both instruments.
Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria
| Criterion | Inclusion | Exclusion | Methodological Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Provenance | Asset originating from the researcher’s fieldwork and linkable with sufficient confidence to an observation location and period. | Provenance, location or timing cannot be verified sufficiently. | Ensure documentary traceability. |
| 2. Spatial Relevance | Asset relatable to one of the Spatial Cases or to the immediate context needed for its interpretation. | Material with no identifiable spatial relationship to the cases included in VAM or SECP. | Maintain correspondence between evidence and spatial unit. |
| 3. Analytical Relevance | Documentation of at least one condition potentially relevant to Visibility, Accessibility or a SECP category. | Exclusively aesthetic, tourist or personal material with no sufficient relationship to the analytical variables studied. | Distinguish between the general archive and the analytical corpus. |
| 4. Observability | The property of interest is sufficiently observable without relying on inferences unsupported by the visual content. | The alleged evidence requires attributing conditions that the photograph or video cannot show. | Preserve the distinction between evidence and interpretation. |
| 5. Technical Adequacy | Resolution, framing, lighting or duration sufficient to identify the relevant documentary condition. | Material that is excessively blurred, dark, obstructed, incomplete or technically insufficient to support a reliable assessment. | Maintain a minimum standard of evidentiary quality. |
| 6. Evidentiary Contribution | The asset adds a perspective, moment, route, scale or documentary property relevant to the case. | Duplicates or virtually equivalent records that contribute no significant additional information. | Reduce redundancy and visual pseudoreplication. |
| 7. Temporal Relevance | The asset documents a condition belonging to the period under investigation, and its temporal context can be established with sufficient clarity. | Material whose timing is incompatible with the assessment or cannot be adequately situated. | Avoid interpreting temporary conditions as permanent. |
| 8. Contextual Sufficiency | The image or video provides sufficient context to understand the location or spatial relationship of the documented feature. | Frames or excerpts that remove the context needed to interpret the observed element. | Reduce decontextualisation of the evidence. |
| 9. Analytical Balance | The corpus may document restrictions, openness, accessibility, absence of mechanisms, alternative conditions and counterexamples. | Selecting assets solely because they confirm a prior analytical expectation. | Reduce confirmation bias and preserve empirical variation. |
| 10. Medium Suitability | A photograph or video is an appropriate medium for observing the corresponding documentary property. | The available medium does not adequately represent the phenomenon to be assessed. | Match the type of evidence to the condition under study. |
Selection did not focus exclusively on locating evidence of restriction or exclusion. The corpus also includes situations of accessibility, absence of barriers, permeability, alternative conditions and negative findings where relevant to the assessment.
Selection principle. Assets were selected for their capacity to provide relevant and traceable documentary evidence for the analytical questions, not because they confirmed a particular interpretation in advance.
05
Current VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus
The current analytical corpus comprises 225 visual assets: 160 photographs and 65 videos.
These materials are linked to 75 Spatial Cases distributed across seven general archive areas.
Photographs can document relatively stable configurations, whereas videos can record approaches, circulation, spatial sequences, temporality and other conditions requiring audiovisual continuity.
Each asset appears only once as an archival unit, although it may support several dimensions, assessments or research uses.
Visual Asset ≠ Spatial Case. Several photographs or videos may support the same case, and a single asset may be relevant to different dimensions without becoming several archival units.
06
Broader Research Uses
Materials that are not part of the VAM–SECP corpus are not regarded as discarded evidence. They remain within the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection as a potential basis for other research.
Possible uses include:
- sociology of luxury tourism;
- visual iconography;
- luxury landscapes;
- tourist and urban landscapes;
- hospitality environments;
- waterfront and yachting research;
- consumption and visual display;
- mobility and circulation;
- urban transformation;
- longitudinal visual comparison;
- Monaco Visual Observatory.
Selection for these strands follows their own research questions and criteria. An asset that was not relevant to VAM or SECP may therefore be entirely appropriate for a Visual Note, a Visual Collection, a longitudinal comparison or research on iconography and luxury tourism.
07
Open Research & OSF Repository
The Monaco Research Observatory uses the Open Science Framework (OSF) as a public deposit layer for datasets, methodological documentation and selected research materials.
OSF does not constitute the complete MVFA. The original files and the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection are maintained separately within the research archive.
The public repository may include:
- Master Research Dataset;
- VAM documentation;
- SECP documentation;
- MVFA documentation;
- Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection documentation;
- public JPG and MP4 derivatives;
- other research materials associated with the Observatory.
Individual Asset Access
When a Structured MVFA Record has a public version deposited individually in OSF, its Asset ID may be linked to a specific URL for that JPG or MP4.
This maintains a traceability chain such as:
Research Output → MVFA Asset ID → Master Dataset → OSF Public Asset
MVFA Formal Documentation
The architecture of the broader visual collection, its archival levels, its relationship with Structured MVFA Records and its research uses are formally documented in:
MVFA — Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection: Scope and Documentation
Open the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection Documentation →
Project Repository
Monaco Research Observatory · Open Science Framework
DOI:
10.17605/OSF.IO/FV293
Explore the OSF Research Repository →
Repository distinction.
WordPress presents, contextualises and interprets the research.
The MVFA organises provenance, identity and visual traceability.
The Master Dataset structures analytical relationships.
OSF provides public deposit, persistence and external verifiability.
08
From Archive to Visual Research
Monaco Visual Observatory
The Monaco Visual Observatory conducts visual research using selected materials from the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection and the Structured MVFA Records.
Photographs and videos can become Visual Notes, Visual Collections, Monaco Through Time comparisons and Video Fieldwork pieces.
The Monaco Visual Observatory is not limited to the 225 assets in the VAM–SECP corpus. It may use other materials from the broader collection as long as their provenance can be established and they are appropriate to the research question concerned.
When an asset from the broader collection enters an output requiring individual traceability, it may be formalised as a new Structured MVFA Record.
MVFA = archive, provenance and traceability.
Monaco Visual Observatory = selection, contextualisation and visual research.
Explore the Monaco Visual Observatory →
09
Public Visual Communication
Visual Fieldwork on Instagram
A selection of photographs, videos and field observations is also presented through the project’s public Instagram channel.
Instagram serves as a space for visual communication and dissemination. It is not the scientific repository and does not replace the MVFA’s archival documentation.
Material publicly displayed on Instagram may come from the Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection even if it is not part of the VAM–SECP corpus or deposited in OSF.
When its provenance is retained within the research archive, it may subsequently be used in Visual Research and formalised as a Structured MVFA Record if the new output requires individual traceability.
Explore Visual Fieldwork on Instagram →
10
Scope & Interpretative Limits
A photograph or video documents observable conditions at a particular place and time. Its inclusion in the archive does not, in itself, constitute an interpretation of what it depicts.
A visual asset cannot automatically establish:
- intention or motivation;
- identity or social position;
- causality;
- legal status;
- subjective experience;
- long-term temporal representativeness;
- conspicuous consumption as a motivation;
- a VAM score;
- a SECP occurrence.
Interpretations require specific research questions, appropriate context and, where applicable, additional evidence.
Image ≠ interpretation.
Archive inclusion ≠ analytical confirmation.
Public visibility ≠ research validity.
11
Archive Information, Rights & Related Research
Archive Information
| Archive system | Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive |
| Abbreviation | MVFA |
| Research environment | Monaco Research Observatory |
| Researcher | Xavier Reinaldo-Virgili |
| Fieldwork period | 2017–2026 |
| Broader Visual Fieldwork Collection | More than 2,000 photographs and videos |
| Structured MVFA Records | Formalised progressively according to research use |
| Current VAM–SECP Analytical Corpus | 225 visual assets |
| Analytical photographs | 160 |
| Analytical videos | 65 |
| Linked Spatial Cases | 75 |
| VAM–SECP selection approach | Purposive analytical selection based on explicit and audited inclusion and exclusion criteria |
| Public repository | Open Science Framework |
| Repository DOI | 10.17605/OSF.IO/FV293 |
| Archive status | Active Visual Research Archive · 2026 |
Rights & Reuse
Authorship of the fieldwork and visual materials belongs to Xavier Reinaldo-Virgili.
The originals are retained within the private research archive. The conditions for reuse of publicly deposited materials are governed by the licence and terms specified in the corresponding repository record.
Related Research
Visual Research · Monaco Visual Observatory · Visual Iconography of Monaco · Monte Carlo Research Lab · Visibility–Accessibility Matrix · Soft Exclusion Coding Protocol · How to Read the MVFA–VAM Codes
Monaco Visual Fieldwork Archive · MVFA · Monaco Research Observatory
Status: 2,000+ Visual Fieldwork Materials · Structured MVFA Records · 225 VAM–SECP Analytical Assets · 160 Analytical Photographs · 65 Analytical Videos · 2017–2026
