HMPYC 80:
Research Methodology
Section D – Chapter 15:
Narrative Inquiry in Qualitative
Research
, 1. Introduction:
► An emphasis on social justice is directly linked to a turn towards more critical stances in
understanding, interpretation and representation.
- Researchers stand united in gaining a better understanding of human conditions that
could help address its ills.
► Qualitative researchers recognise they need to find new ways of knowing and doing
research.
- They need to study the relationships between phenomena and the larger system
holistically instead of just examining a phenomenon itself.
► Hermeneutics-based methods in research have the potential to enhance understanding that
may be lost when traditional methods are used.
► As narrative research is built on the foundation of observable practices and the
understanding of attitudes grounded in people’s everyday experiences, this type of
research can also help to close the age-old gap between research and practice.
► Narrative inquiry is part of Butler-Kisber’s qualitative inquiry typology.
► Through the kaleidoscope lived experiences are uniquely colored shapes, forming
interconnected, ever-changing patterns that only make sense when the parts are observed
in relation to the whole.
- Under the influence of postmodernism and poststructuralism there is increased attention
to the researcher’s reflexivity, with qualitative researchers routinely using it as a
methodological tool to better to better represent and justify their work.
► Reflexive research means that you should constantly take stock of your actions and your
role in the research process and subject these to the same critical scrutiny as the rest of
your data.
- Since narrative researchers are engaged in making meaning of the stories told by
participants, they are required to engage in reflexive research, as is true for all qualitative
researchers.
2. Relationship between the Arts and
Science:
► A key question that researchers grapple with, is whether art can be seen as science, or at
least as related to science in some way.
► A piece of art can, on the one end of the scale, merely be an object representing an
element of natural life (a tree, a bird) while, at the other end, it could invoke deep emotions
when we identify with it.
- Once we have identified with it and it moves us deeply, we start reflecting on it, and a
Research Methodology
Section D – Chapter 15:
Narrative Inquiry in Qualitative
Research
, 1. Introduction:
► An emphasis on social justice is directly linked to a turn towards more critical stances in
understanding, interpretation and representation.
- Researchers stand united in gaining a better understanding of human conditions that
could help address its ills.
► Qualitative researchers recognise they need to find new ways of knowing and doing
research.
- They need to study the relationships between phenomena and the larger system
holistically instead of just examining a phenomenon itself.
► Hermeneutics-based methods in research have the potential to enhance understanding that
may be lost when traditional methods are used.
► As narrative research is built on the foundation of observable practices and the
understanding of attitudes grounded in people’s everyday experiences, this type of
research can also help to close the age-old gap between research and practice.
► Narrative inquiry is part of Butler-Kisber’s qualitative inquiry typology.
► Through the kaleidoscope lived experiences are uniquely colored shapes, forming
interconnected, ever-changing patterns that only make sense when the parts are observed
in relation to the whole.
- Under the influence of postmodernism and poststructuralism there is increased attention
to the researcher’s reflexivity, with qualitative researchers routinely using it as a
methodological tool to better to better represent and justify their work.
► Reflexive research means that you should constantly take stock of your actions and your
role in the research process and subject these to the same critical scrutiny as the rest of
your data.
- Since narrative researchers are engaged in making meaning of the stories told by
participants, they are required to engage in reflexive research, as is true for all qualitative
researchers.
2. Relationship between the Arts and
Science:
► A key question that researchers grapple with, is whether art can be seen as science, or at
least as related to science in some way.
► A piece of art can, on the one end of the scale, merely be an object representing an
element of natural life (a tree, a bird) while, at the other end, it could invoke deep emotions
when we identify with it.
- Once we have identified with it and it moves us deeply, we start reflecting on it, and a
