Description
Book SynopsisThe brief, practical texts in the Essentials of Qualitative Methods series introduce social science and psychology researchers to key approaches toqualitative methods, offering exciting opportunities to gather in-depth qualitative data and to develop rich and useful findings. In this book, Ruthellen Josselson and Phillip L. Hammack introduce readers to Narrative Analysis, a qualitative method that investigates how people make meaning of their lives and experiences in both social and cultural contexts. This method offers researchers a window into how individuals'' stories are shaped by the categories they inhabit, such as gender, race, class, and sexual identity, and it preserves the voice of the individual through a close textual analysis of their storytelling.
About the Essentials of Qualitative Methods book series: Even for experienced researchers, selecting and correctly applying the right method can be challenging. In this groundbreaking series,
Trade ReviewA crisp, clear, and pragmatic orientation to narrative research in psychology. Every student beginning narrative research should have this book firmly in hand. An excellent introduction that explains why narrative is so critical to the future of psychological research. -- Brian Schiff, PhD, author of A New Narrative for Psychology, American University of Paris, Paris, France
Using clear examples and easy to grasp language, the authors demonstrate narrative analysis methods and also ask researchers to think in new ways. They demonstrate how to balance the small details of a person’s life with attention to the bigger picture—the person as they exist in history, social locations, and inequality. Psychologists across many fields can learn from this guidebook how to study people in context. -- Sara McClelland, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
Table of ContentsSeries Foreword—Clara E. Hill and Sarah Knox
1. Conceptual Foundations for the Method
Stories and Human Experience: The Call for Narrative Analysis
History and Epistemology of Narrative Analysis
Key Features of Narrative Analysis
Summary
2. Study Design and Data Collection
Research Questions
Recruiting, Interviewing, Analyzing: The Recursive Circle
3. Data Analysis
Processes of Analysis
Orientation to the Narrative
A Sample Narrative Analysis: The Story of Lou
Reflexivity and the Analytic Process
4. Writing the Manuscript
Typical Structure of a Journal Article
Representation
Typical Structure of a Book or Dissertation
Tips for Manuscript Preparation
5. Variations on the Method
Small Stories
Variations in Analysis
6. Methodological Integrity and Ethics
Amount and Contextualization of Data Collected
Perspective Management
Data and Research Question
Coherence and Groundedness of Interpretations
Ethics
7. Summary and Conclusions
Benefits and Advantages of Narrative Analysis
Limitations of Narrative Analysis
Narrative Analysis for a New Psychology
Appendix: Exemplar Studies
References
Index
About the Authors
About the Series Editors
