researching experience: narrative as a methodology in social science research
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Dr. Simone McCaughren University College Cork 21 st June 2011. Researching experience: narrative as a methodology in social Science research. Outline of presentation. Background to the research Research design Narrative: a conceptual framework Methodology of narrative - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
RESEARCHING EXPERIENCE:NARRATIVE AS A
METHODOLOGY IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
Dr. Simone McCaughren
University College Cork
21st June 2011
Outline of presentation Background to the research
Research design
Narrative: a conceptual framework
Methodology of narrative
Challenges of method
Conclusion/questions/discussion
Background to the research Researcher’s biography
Practice & academia – straddling two worlds – practitioner or researcher?
Rationale for undertaking the research
Designing the research in light of the above
Research design Narrative methodology
Interviews carried out over a period of 1.5 years
More than 30 adoptive parents – joint interviews
Sampling strategy included criterion & snowball sampling
7 adoption agencies nationwide
What is meant by narrative?
“Narratives (stories) in the human sciences should be defined provisionally as discourses with a clear sequential order that connect events in a meaningful way for a definite audience and thus offer insights about the world and/or people’s experiences of it”
Hinchman & Hinchman (1997)
Narrative: A conceptual framework Narratives & adoption discourse
Grand narratives – Church & State
Narrative of romanticism
Power of narrative/people telling stories
Contemporary adoption discourse
Methodology of narrative – why?
Represents a move away from the more traditional qualitative research methods
Adoption’s history is all about unheard voices Stories are an integral part of adoption discourse People tell stories all the time Stories provide coherence and continuity to one’s
experience and have a central role in our communication with others
Personal narratives, are people’s identity Fit with post-modern paradigm
The narrative interview Different approaches to narrative
interviews
The narrative interview (Schutze 1977; Riemann and Schutze, 1987)* - summarised by Flick, 1998
Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM) Chamberlayne et al, 2000; Wengraf 2001
The narrative interview contd. 1. Initiation - GNQ 2. Main narration 3. Questioning phase 4. Concluding talk
Table from Bauer & Gaskell (2000) ‘Basic phases of the narrative interview’
Challenges
Systematic violation of the role expectations of both participants
Narrative research is usually carried out with small sample size but the quantity of data gathered is large
No two interviews are alike - extremely rich data
Skills & integrity of the researcher
Conclusion
A challenging approach that needs to be developed and refined
A new skill Training for BNIM Pilot the research method Very rich material - analysis Participants offered their insights into the lived
experience of O.A. Would I have approach research in a different
way? .....where do I start??!! Any questions?
