Educational Research

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Types of Narrative Research Objective 3.1

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Narrative Research Techniques • Six data collection techniques • Restorying • Oral history • Memorabilia • Story telling • Letter writing • Autobiographical and biographical writing Objective 5.2

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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