Educational Research Chapter 16 Narrative Research Gay, Mills, and Airasian
Topics Discussed in this Chapter • The definition and purpose of narrative research • The narrative research process • The types of narrative research • Key characteristics of narrative research designs • Narrative research data collection techniques
Definition and Purpose • Narrative research • Definition • The description of the lives of individuals, the collection of individuals’ stories of their experiences, and a discussion of the meaning of those experiences • Purpose • An attempt to increase understanding of central issues related to teaching and learning through the telling and retelling of participants’ stories Objectives 1.1 and 1.2
Definition and Purpose • Narrative research • Reasons for its popularity • The increased emphasis on teacher reflection, teacher research, action research, and self-study • The increased emphasis placed on teacher knowledge, professional development, and decision-making • The increased emphasis on empowering teacher voices in the educational research process through collaborative educational research efforts Objective 1.3
The Narrative Research Process • Eight basic steps • Identify the purpose of the study and identify the phenomenon being explored • Select an individual in order to learn about the phenomenon • Pose initial narrative research questions • Describe the researcher’s role • Entry into the research site • Reciprocity • Ethics Objective 2.1
The Narrative Research Process • Eight basic steps (continued) • Describe the data collection methods with particular attention to active interviewing • Describe appropriate strategies for the analysis and interpretation of data • Collaborate with the participant to construct the narrative and to validate the accuracy of the story • Complete the writing of the narrative account Objective 2.1
The Narrative Research Process • Similarity to the steps discussed for all other research designs • An interactive, personal, collaborative process characterized by a caring, trusting relationship between the researcher and participant • The researcher’s intent is to empower the participant to tell his or her story • The participant must have equal voice in the relationship • The researcher must actively listen to the participant’s story before contributing his or her own perspective Objectives 2.2 and 2.3
Types of Narrative Research Objective 3.1
Types of Narrative Research • Five characteristics on which the type of narrative research is categorized • Who authors the account • The researcher, the participant, or both • The scope of the narrative • An entire life or a single episode • Who provides the “story” • Teachers, students, parents, friends, etc. Objective 3.2
Types of Narrative Research • Five characteristics (continued) • The theoretical and/or conceptual framework that has influenced the study • For example, critical or feminist theory • Whether or not all of these elements are included in the one narrative • The influence of the disciplines in which each of these characteristics are embedded Objective 3.2
Characteristics of Narrative Research • Six key characteristics • Focus on the experiences of individuals • Concerned with the chronology of an individual’s experiences • Focus on the construction of life stories based on data collected through active interviews • Active interviewing emphasizes the collaborative construction of the story Objective 4.1
Characteristics of Narrative Research • Six key characteristics (continued) • Uses restorying as a technique for constructing the narrative account • Incorporates context and place in the story • Reflects a collaborative approach that involves the researcher and the participant in the negotiation of the final text Objective 4.1
Characteristics of Narrative Research • Sources of data • Participant’s recollections of events or experiences • Secondary sources such as the participant’s journal entries, artifacts, etc. • The nature of these sources implies the researcher must interact at a very personal level with the participant to collect data • The need for a relationship based on trust, caring, respect, and equality to facilitate collecting data as well as analyzing and interpreting it Objective 4.2
Narrative Research Techniques • Empirical data is central to narrative research • The interpretive nature of narrative research presents concerns for credibility of the study • Implies the use of multiple data sources, triangulation, and collaborative negotiation of the written account Objective 5.1
Narrative Research Techniques • Six data collection techniques • Restorying • Oral history • Memorabilia • Story telling • Letter writing • Autobiographical and biographical writing Objective 5.2
Narrative Research Techniques • Two perspectives on data collection, analysis, and interpretation • Narrative analysis • The kind of narrative that is constructed by the researcher who has collected descriptions of events through interviews and observations and synthesized them into stories or narratives • The story is the outcome • Analysis of narratives • The process whereby the researcher collects stories as data and analyzes them into a set of themes that hold across all of the stories • The themes are the outcomes • The text focuses on the first of these perspectives Objective 5.3
Narrative Research Techniques • Restorying • The process in which the researcher gathers stories; analyzes them for key elements of the story such as the time, place, or plot; and rewrites the story to place it in a chronological sequence • Four stages • The researcher conducts the interview and transcribes the data • The researcher re-transcribes the data based on the key elements that are identified in the story • The researcher organizes the story chronologically • The participant is asked to collaborate with the researcher to write the final “restoried” narrative. • A major advantage is that the restoried account is likely to represent the individual’s lived experiences Objective 5.4
Narrative Research Techniques • Oral history • A method for collecting data from participants by asking them to share their experiences • Two ways to develop oral histories • Interviews using structured or unstructured protocols • Annals and chronicles • The participant constructs a timeline and divides it into segments of significant events or memories Objective 5.5
Narrative Research Techniques • Memorabilia • Photos, personal objects, newspaper articles, artifacts, etc. • Such memorabilia can be used by the researcher as prompts to elicit details about the participant’s life • Story telling • Telling stories should become a normative part of the data collection process • The use of many stories can provide researchers with many opportunities to add to their understanding of the participant’s experiences Objectives 5.6 and 5.7
Narrative Research Techniques • Letter writing • Engaging the researcher and participant in a dialogue • Facilitated by the use of e-mail • Provides valuable insights into the evolving, tentative interpretations the participant is considering • Allows the researcher and participant to reflect on the evolution of the themes Objective 5.8
Narrative Research Techniques • Autobiographical and biographical writing • Engaging the participants in writing about their perceptions of their experiences • Has the potential to broaden the researcher’s understanding of past events and experiences that have impacted the participant’s experiences • Other narrative data sources • Documents such as lesson plans, newsletters, etc. • Teaching portfolios • Personal philosophies Objective 5.9
Narrative Research Techniques • Writing the narrative • The final step in the narrative research process • The data collected throughout the study finds its way into the final written account • The collaboration between the researcher and participant becomes critical at this point Objective 5.10
