NARRATIVE APPROACH- NAARATIVE APPROACH TO QUALITATIVE ENQUIRY (Michelle Butina)
5 traditional approaches to qualitative enquiry-
case studies, ethnography, grounded theory, narrative, and phenomenology.
Narrative inquiry is a form of qualitative research in which the stories themselves become
the raw data.
Want to understand more about the narrator. Common setting is interviews.
Approach originated from social sciences like anthropology.
Benefits of narrative approach in qualitative studies-
(1) humans are natural storytellers, so it’s easy to elicit stories,
(2) narratives provide in-depth data w/rich description and
(3) you can get in-depth meaning becoz participants reveal themselves in their stories.
If you want to understand a person’s identity in your research, you can use narrative
approach.
narrative identity (a theory) as “an individual’s internalized, evolving, and integrative story of
the self”
Data Collection.
Mostly from interviews, observations, and documents.
Data collection is whatever activities the researcher is involved in during this phase.
Using interviews, then need to select sampling method.
No rules for sample size in qualitative research.
3 ways to get data-
Informal conversational has no guide w/spontaneous questions with natural flow.
Standardized opne-ended has a guide with set of questions beforehand. All asked the same
questions
General interview guide approach is a mix of both.
Using open ended questions encourage narratives, everyday language.
Can have list of primary questions (less than 10) with secondary probing questions under
each.
Can conduct interviews twice. Second time is time to reflect and ask clarification Qs.
Data Analysis.
the process of making sense out of the data”
narrative analysis has 4 common approaches.
(1) narrative thematic analysis in which content within the text is the primary focus
(2) structural analysis in which the focus is on the way a story is told or put together.
(3) performance analysis and the focus are on the “dialogic process between teller and
listener”. Dialogue.
(4) visual narrative analysis is encompassing words and images.
narrative thematic analysis process I used consisted of five stages: (a) organization and
preparation of the data, (b) obtaining a general sense of the information, (c) the coding
process, (d) categories or themes, and (e) interpretation of the data.
a. Record your interviews. Transcribe the tapes. Make notes in the margins of themes,
patterns. Then delete their names and give pseudonyms, delete any locations
b. I believe this is subjective and a part of the coding process and finding themes and patterns.
5 traditional approaches to qualitative enquiry-
case studies, ethnography, grounded theory, narrative, and phenomenology.
Narrative inquiry is a form of qualitative research in which the stories themselves become
the raw data.
Want to understand more about the narrator. Common setting is interviews.
Approach originated from social sciences like anthropology.
Benefits of narrative approach in qualitative studies-
(1) humans are natural storytellers, so it’s easy to elicit stories,
(2) narratives provide in-depth data w/rich description and
(3) you can get in-depth meaning becoz participants reveal themselves in their stories.
If you want to understand a person’s identity in your research, you can use narrative
approach.
narrative identity (a theory) as “an individual’s internalized, evolving, and integrative story of
the self”
Data Collection.
Mostly from interviews, observations, and documents.
Data collection is whatever activities the researcher is involved in during this phase.
Using interviews, then need to select sampling method.
No rules for sample size in qualitative research.
3 ways to get data-
Informal conversational has no guide w/spontaneous questions with natural flow.
Standardized opne-ended has a guide with set of questions beforehand. All asked the same
questions
General interview guide approach is a mix of both.
Using open ended questions encourage narratives, everyday language.
Can have list of primary questions (less than 10) with secondary probing questions under
each.
Can conduct interviews twice. Second time is time to reflect and ask clarification Qs.
Data Analysis.
the process of making sense out of the data”
narrative analysis has 4 common approaches.
(1) narrative thematic analysis in which content within the text is the primary focus
(2) structural analysis in which the focus is on the way a story is told or put together.
(3) performance analysis and the focus are on the “dialogic process between teller and
listener”. Dialogue.
(4) visual narrative analysis is encompassing words and images.
narrative thematic analysis process I used consisted of five stages: (a) organization and
preparation of the data, (b) obtaining a general sense of the information, (c) the coding
process, (d) categories or themes, and (e) interpretation of the data.
a. Record your interviews. Transcribe the tapes. Make notes in the margins of themes,
patterns. Then delete their names and give pseudonyms, delete any locations
b. I believe this is subjective and a part of the coding process and finding themes and patterns.
