Educational Research Chapter 16 Narrative Research Gay, Mills, and Airasian

Educational Research

Chapter 16Narrative 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


Types of Narrative Research

Autobiographies Biographies Life Writing

Personal Accounts Personal Narratives Narrative Interviews

Personal Documents Documents of LifeLife Stories and

Histories

Ethnohistories Ethnobiographies Autoethnographies

EthnopsychologiesPerson-centered Ethnographies

Popular Memories

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


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


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

writingObjective 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 experiencesObjective 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


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



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


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


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