Designing Narrative Research

by Janet Salmons, PhD Sage Research Methods Community Manager

What is Narrative Research?

We think of narratives as stories, words in context. Just as stories sometimes involve images, artifacts, and other elements, narrative research can involve multiple forms of data. It might seem that this type of study would fall into the domain of qualitative researchers. However, as illustrated by the collection of open-access examples listed below, narratives can be used in qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research. Pinnegar and Daynes (2012) note that what narrative researchers hold in common is the study of stories or narratives or descriptions of a series of events. They point out:

These researchers usually embrace the assumption that the story is one if not the fundamental unit that accounts for human experience. But what counts as stories, the kinds of stories they choose to study, or the methods they use for study vary.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods explains narrative research as:

Narrative analysis in the human sciences refers to a family of approaches to diverse kinds of texts that have in common a storied form. As nations and governments construct preferred narratives about history, so do social movements, organizations, scientists, other professionals, ethnic/racial groups, and individuals in stories of experience. What makes such diverse texts “narrative” is sequence and consequence: Events are selected, organized, connected, and evaluated as meaningful for a particular audience. Storytellers interpret the world and experience in it; they sometimes create moral tales—how the world should be. Narratives represent storied ways of knowing and communicating (Hinchman & Hinchman, 1997). I focus here on oral narratives of personal experience.

Research interest in narrative emerged from several contemporary movements: the “narrative turn” in the human sciences away from positivist modes of inquiry and the master narratives of theory; the “memoir boom” in literature and popular culture; identity politics in U.S., European, and transnational movements—emancipation efforts of people of color, women, gays and lesbians, and other marginalized groups; and the burgeoning therapeutic culture—exploration of personal life in therapies of various kinds. “Embedded in the lives of the ordinary, the marginalized, and the muted, personal narrative responds to the disintegration of master narratives as people make sense of experience, claim identities, and ‘get a life’ by telling and writing their stories” (Langellier, 2001, p. 700).

Among investigators, there is considerable variation in definitions of personal narrative, often linked to discipline. In social history and anthropology, narrative can refer to an entire life story, woven from the threads of interviews, observation, and documents. In sociolinguistics and other fields, the concept of narrative is restricted, referring to brief, topically specific stories organized around characters, setting, and plot (e.g., Labovian narratives in answer to a single interview question). In another tradition (common in psychology and sociology), personal narrative encompasses long sections of talk—extended accounts of lives in context that develop over the course of single or multiple interviews. Investigators' definitions of narrative lead to different methods of analysis, but all require them to construct texts for further analysis, that is, select and organize documents, compose field notes, and/or choose sections of interview transcripts for close inspection. Narratives do not speak for themselves or have unanalyzed merit; they require interpretation when used as data in social research.

Narrative inquiry embraces narrative as both the method and phenomena of study. Through the attention to methods for analyzing and understanding stories lived and told, it can be connected and placed under the label of qualitative research methodology. Narrative inquiry begins in experience as expressed in lived and told stories. The method and the inquiry always have experiential starting points that are informed by and intertwined with theoretical literature that informs either the methodology or an understanding of the experiences with which the inquirer began (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). In essence, narrative inquiry involves the reconstruction of a person's experience in relationship both to the other and to a social milieu (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).

Clandinin, D. J. (2007). Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology. SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452226552

Lewis-Beck, M. S., Bryman, A., & Futing Liao, T. (Eds.) (2004). The SAGE encyclopedia of social science research methods. (Vols. 1-0). Sage Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412950589

Like many research approaches, narrative research is taking new directions in the digital age. Many historical narratives are being digitized and made freely available through libraries and archives. New stories are emerging, whether being told directly to a researcher or shared online in discussion groups or social media. Use these open access articles to learn about qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches for studying narrative sources.

Qualitative Methods for Narrative Research

Fontaine, C. M., Baker, A. C., Zaghloul, T. H., & Carlson, M. (2020). Clinical Data Mining With the Listening Guide: An Approach to Narrative Big Qual. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920951746. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920951746

Abstract. We developed a novel approach to narrative Big Qual research that combines Carol Gilligan and Lyn Mikel Brown’s Listening Guide with Irwin Epstein’s clinical data mining. We adapted the voice-based research methodology of the Listening Guide for use with a corpus of clinical case notes drawn from an integrated data system (IDS) of a social service intervention serving families in an immigrant enclave. This methodological innovation was inspired by the insight that the Listening Guide can be used to trace and name the layering of meaning within any narrative, whether that narrative reflects the experience of an individual person or, as in this case, the community and everyday life of a social service intervention. Critically, this approach pivots on theorizing the subject as the collective of the intervention itself, as narrated by case managers, who can be understood as narrating subjects within the cultural, figured world of the intervention. In the context of a larger process and outcome evaluation, marrying these two approaches provided context, texture, and depth to supplement existing data sources like self-report survey data and participant observation, and offered a glimpse inside the “black box” of the intervention. We adapted the Guide through three readings of the clinical case notes: once for stanza structure, once inspired by the I-Poem technique but modified for these third-person narratives, and once with an eye to the contrapuntal voices of the inner and outer worlds of the intervention. As a methodological innovation this approach represents an advance in Big Qual and a promising approach to conducting narrative research on large qualitative data sets within mixed methods studies.

Guthrie, K. (2022). (Re)fractional narrative inquiry: A methodological adaptation for exploring stories. Methodological Innovations, 15(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/20597991221077902

Abstract. Narrative inquiry is relational inquiry in which inquirers come alongside the living, telling, re-living, and re-telling of stories. In this article, I present how I adapted narrative inquiry to explore parent perspectives of their gifted adolescent daughters’ experiences of belonging. At the time, I was conducting this study as part of my doctoral dissertation work and as a novice researcher, I struggled with (1) gaining access by a school district to interview adolescent students, (2) believing I could relationally come alongside adolescents as an outsider, and (3) questioning their developmental ability to think reflectively about their stories of belonging. Ultimately, I had to rethink my narrative inquiry approach. Here in this article, I share how I re-conceptualized my methodological approach as (re)fractional narrative inquiry to better understand gifted girls’ experiences from the perspectives of those who have relationally lived alongside them. I also present the context and methods of the study, provide a sample of co-negotiated narratives, discuss justifications of my inquiry, and conclude with reflections and evaluations of my adaptations.

Harris, L. M. (2022). Towards enriched narrative political ecologies. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 5(2), 835-860. https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486211010677

Abstract. Work on narrative, story, and storytelling has been on the rise across the humanities and social sciences. Building on significant work on these themes from Indigenous, Black, and Feminist scholarship, and other varied traditions, this piece explores and elaborates the potential regarding the elicitation, sharing, and analysis of stories for nature-society studies. Specifically, the piece examines core contributions along these lines to date, as well as the methodological, analytical, political, and transformative potential of story and storytelling to enrich, broaden, and deepen work in nature-society, political ecology, and environmental justice. All told, focus on story and storytelling, offers a number of relevant and rich openings to understand and engage complex, unequal, and dynamic socio-natures. While these elements have been present in nature-society work from some traditions and lines of inquiry, the time is ripe to broaden and deepen these engagements to more fully imagine, and respond to, key nature-society challenges.

Li, B. (2022). Navigating Through the Narrative Montages: Including Voices of Older Adults With Dementia Through Collaborative Narrative Inquiry. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 16094069221083368. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221083368

Abstract. Having the opportunity to express oneself is an important right to every human being. However, narratives of older adults with moderate to severe dementia are constantly ignored for their incoherence and inaccuracy. In most studies, their narratives were solely collected to measure their cognitive function, rendering their lived stories untold, unheard and undocumented. To include voices of older adults with moderate to severe dementia in research and liberate them from the patient identity, this article proposes collaborative narrative inquiry as a method to explore the meaning-making mechanisms and selfhood construction processes embedded in their incoherent narratives. Integrating narrative inquiry and collaborative analysis, collaborative narrative inquiry aims to collect, construct and deconstruct narratives of participants through an iterative and reflective way, in collaboration with caregivers. This method requires a paradigm shift from generating one essential truth of people’s lived experience to co-creating plural lived truths situated in different temporal, social and cultural backgrounds. Facilitating the proliferation of identities beyond the patient identity among older adults with moderate to severe dementia, collaborative narrative inquiry generates counter narratives against a single disease narrative. It de-marginalizes this group by inviting their voices back into the society, and destigmatises them by creating a new way to engage with them.

Moen, T. (2006). Reflections on the Narrative Research Approach. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(4), 56-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500405

Abstract. In her reflections on the narrative research approach, the author starts by placing narrative research within the framework of sociocultural theory, where the challenge for the researcher is to examine and understand how human actions are related to the social context in which they occur and how and where they occur through growth. The author argues that the narrative as a unit of analysis provides the means for doing this. She then presents some of the basic premises of narrative research before she reflects on the process of narrative inquiry and addresses the issue of the “true” narrative. Throughout the article, the author refers to educational research and in the concluding section argues that the results of narrative research can be used as thought-provoking tools within the field of teacher education.

Qualitative Methods for Narrative Research Over Time

Bruce, A., Beuthin, R., Sheilds, L., Molzahn, A., & Schick-Makaroff, K. (2016). Narrative Research Evolving: Evolving Through Narrative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 15(1), 1609406916659292. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406916659292

Abstract. Narrative research methodology is evolving, and we contend that the notion of emergent design is vital if narrative inquiry (NI) is to continue flourishing in generating new knowledge. We situate the discussion within the narrative turn in qualitative research while drawing on experiences of conducting a longitudinal narrative study. The philosophical tensions encountered are described, as our understanding and application of narrative approaches evolved. We outline challenges in data collection and analysis in response to what we were learning and identify institutional barriers within ethics review processes that potentially impede emergent approaches. We conclude that researchers using NI can, and must, pursue unanticipated methodological changes when in the midst of conducting the inquiry. Understanding the benefits and institutional barriers to emergent aspects of design is discussed in this ever-maturing approach to qualitative research.

Mueller, R. A. (2019). Episodic Narrative Interview: Capturing Stories of Experience With a Methods Fusion. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1609406919866044. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919866044

Abstract. Episodic narrative interview is an innovative, phenomenon-driven research method that was developed by integrating elements from several qualitative approaches in a methods fusion. Episodic narrative interview draws on critically oriented theoretical foundations and principles of experience-centered narrative and includes features from narrative inquiry, semistructured interview, and episodic interview. The purpose of episodic narrative interview is to better understand a phenomenon by generating individual stories of experience about that phenomenon. As such, an episodic narrative interview participant provides nested narrative accounts of their experiences with a social phenomenon, within the context of a bounded situation or episode. In this article, the author details the foundations of the episodic narrative interview approach and describes how the method is designed and implemented. The significance of episodic narrative interview is also explored, especially in terms of the ways in which it produces tightly focused, phenomenon-centered narratives that are reflective of particular bounded circumstances.

Quinn, K. (2021). Taking Live Methods slowly: inhabiting the social world through dwelling, doodling and describing. Qualitative Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941211012222

Abstract. This article contributes to literatures on sociological live method by advocating for ‘playing’ with the concept of slow methods. Slow methods include a reflexive disposition towards the unfolding of social life in ordinary spaces (dwelling), the use of drawing as an embodied tool for understanding this unfolding (doodling) and the combination of these approaches into writing which deliberately seeks to evoke the liveness of the social world (describing). It draws on an ethnography of a joint-use public-academic library and several scenes selected from its fieldwork. I make three arguments: first, I argue for analogue methods to compliment digitally focussed live methods. Second, I explore the value of slow methods for being drawn into a scene and drawn to see its micro-happenings, particularly in spaces where the social world unfolds in mundane and uneven ways. Third, I argue the approach allows ‘shy researchers’ to engage attentively and reflexively in the field.

Mixed Methods or Multimodal Narrative Research

Doran, P., Burden, S., & Shryane, N. (2022). Integration of Narratives Into Mixed Methods Research: An Example From a Study on the Value of Social Support to Older People With Cancer. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 16(4), 418-437. https://doi.org/10.1177/15586898211056747

Abstract. While many advances have been made mixing other methodologies with mixed methods research (MMR), there are few examples of narrative MMR or detailed procedures for integrating the narrative approach into mixed methods studies. This article contributes to the MMR field an example of integrating narratives in MMR by applying a methodological approach that is shaped by stories. The example integrated findings from cancer narratives with survey data to explore emotional support and quality of life of older people living with cancer. Integration was achieved by, firstly, following a thread through the research phases, and secondly, by using joint displays to align findings. The narrative MMR methodology presented is a tool for putting stories at the center of the research process.

Gencel Bek, M., & Prieto Blanco, P. (2020). (Be)Longing through visual narrative: Mediation of (dis)affect and formation of politics through photographs and narratives of migration at DiasporaTürk. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(5), 709-727. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877920923356

Abstract. Our article explores how diasporic journeys and identities are remembered and represented through the visual narratives of DiasporaTürk, a Turkish diasporic media presence consisting of a Twitter account, an Instagram page, and two books. These engagements revive past (dis)affects and highlight the contemporary relevance of nostalgia, sorrow and victimization as key themes in the migration experience of ‘guest-workers’ from Turkey. The evidentiary force of the index, inhabiting fictional characters while looking like factual and archival material, seems thus to both acknowledge and validate migrated ‘guest-workers’, who, as subaltern groups, have otherwise received little praise or recognition in Turkey or ‘host’ countries. At the same time, while converging past and present (dis)affects associated with Turkish migration, DiasporaTürk contributes to reaffirming the reduction and homogenization of official/normative collective memories of migration via concrete visibilities/presences and invisibilities/absences.

Nasheeda, A., Abdullah, H. B., Krauss, S. E., & Ahmed, N. B. (2019). Transforming Transcripts Into Stories: A Multimethod Approach to Narrative Analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919856797

Abstract. Stories are essential realities from our past and present. As the primary sources of data in narrative research, interview transcripts play an essential role in giving meaning to the personal stories of research participants. The pragmatic narratives found in transcripts represent human experience as it unfolds. Analyzing the narratives found in interview transcripts thus moves beyond providing descriptions and thematic developments as found in most qualitative studies. Crafting stories from interview transcripts involves a complex set of analytic processes. Building on the first author's personal experience in working on a doctoral thesis employing narrative inquiry, this article presents a multimethod restorying framework to narrative analysis. A step-by-step progression within the framework includes choosing interview participants, transcribing interviews, familiarizing oneself with the transcripts (elements of holistic-content reading), chronologically plotting (elements of the story), use of follow-up interviews as a way to collaborate (an important procedure in narrative inquiry), and developing the story through structural analysis. It is hoped that this article will encourage other researchers embarking on narrative analysis to become creative in presenting participants’ lived experiences through meaningful, collaborative strategies. This article demonstrates the fluidity of narrative analysis and emphasizes that there is no single procedure to be followed in attempting to create stories from interview transcripts.

Saint Arnault, D., & Sinko, L. (2021). Comparative Ethnographic Narrative Analysis Method: Comparing Culture in Narratives. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 8, 23333936211020722. https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936211020722

Abstract. Narrative data analysis aims to understand the stories’ content, structure, or function. However narrative data can also be used to examine how context influences self-concepts, relationship dynamics, and meaning-making. This methodological paper explores the potential of narrative analysis to discover and compare the processes by which culture shapes selfhood and meaning making. We describe the development of the Comparative Ethnographic Narrative Analysis Method as an analytic procedure to systematically compare narrators’ experiences, meaning making, decisions, and actions across cultures. This analytic strategy seeks to discover shared themes, examine culturally distinct themes, and illuminate meta-level cultural beliefs and values that link shared themes. We emphasize the need for a shared research question, comparable samples, shared non-biased instruments, and high-fidelity training if one uses this qualitative method for cross-cultural research. Finally, specific issues, trouble-shooting practices, and implications are discussed.

Sherry, K., Dabula, X., Duncan, E. M., & Reid, S. (2020). Decolonizing Qualitative Research With Rural People With Disabilities: Lessons From a Cross-Cultural Health Systems Study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920932734. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920932734

Abstract. Decolonization of research is nowhere more pressing than in post-apartheid South Africa, where cross-cultural encounters characterize every aspect of society. The health system plays a critical role in realizing the rights of marginalized populations, particularly rural communities and people with disabilities. However, cultural divides between service users and health care workers render health care provision unexpectedly complex. Such divides likewise obscure the meanings embedded in qualitative data, rendering research interpretations challenging. A study of the engagement between rural isiXhosa-speaking people with disabilities and primary health care workers was conducted by the first author, a White English-speaking female health care worker, in partnership with the second author, a Xhosa male research implementer. Ethnographic and narrative methods were used to create an embedded case study of 11 households of people with disabilities. Lessons on conducting ethical and culturally congruent research with this population are presented, important limitations in the qualitative paradigm raised, and alternative stances explored.

Simmonds, S., Roux, C., & Avest, I. t. (2015). Blurring the Boundaries between Photovoice and Narrative Inquiry: A Narrative-Photovoice Methodology for Gender-Based Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 14(3), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691501400303

Abstract. Photovoice provides alternative ways of doing research with schoolgirls, who are vulnerable and often under-acknowledged research participants. It is particularly valuable in dealing with sensitive topics such as gender-based violence, poverty and HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. Photovoice is thus widely employed in disciplines such as health, education, economics, sociology, anthropology, and geography. Up until now, however, it has been predominantly underpinned by participatory action research and other community-based participatory related methodologies. This article explores the possibility of blurring the boundaries between photovoice and narrative inquiry to create a narrative-photovoice methodology for gender-based research. In this study, South African schoolgirls participate as coresearchers employing narrative-photovoice and reflect on the value and limitations of this methodology for making meaning of gender (in)equity in their everyday lives. The main findings are categorized into the following themes: (a) superstition and suspicion: a gatekeeper to gaining access, (b) embracing creativity, (c) moving beyond the abstract, (d) digital versus disposable camera, (e) and having fun while learning. In the conclusion, the authors reflect on the participants' experiences of doing narrative-photovoice and highlight particular considerations for using this methodology.

Sonday, A., Ramugondo, E., & Kathard, H. (2020). Case Study and Narrative Inquiry as Merged Methodologies: A Critical Narrative Perspective. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1609406920937880. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920937880

Abstract. Case study and narrative inquiry as merged methodological frameworks can make a vital contribution that seeks to understand processes that may explain current realities within professions and broader society. This article offers an explanation of how a critical perspective on case study and narrative inquiry as an embedded methodology unearthed the interplay between structure and agency within storied lives. This case narrative emerged out of a doctoral thesis in occupational therapy, a single instrumental case describing a process of professional role transition within school-level specialized education in the Western Cape, South Africa. This case served as an exemplar in demonstrating how case study recognized the multiple layers to the context within which the process of professional role transition unfolded. The embedded narrative inquiry served to clarify emerging professional identities for occupational therapists within school-level specialized education in postapartheid South Africa.

Quantitative Methods for Narrative Research

Fage-Butler, A., Ledderer, L., & Nielsen, K. H. (2022). Public trust and mistrust of climate science: A meta-narrative review. Public Understanding of Science, 31(7), 832-846. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625221110028

Abstract. This systematic meta-narrative literature review aims to explore the narratives of trust evident in literature on public (mis)trust relating to climate science published up until May 2021, and to present the main findings from these papers. We identified six narratives of trust: attitudinal trust, cognitive trust, affective trust, contingencies of trust, contextual trust and communicated trust. The papers’ main findings spanned theoretical conclusions on the importance of positionality to trust and morality to trustworthiness, to qualitative findings that the scientific community was mainly trusted, to quantitative findings that explored how trust functioned as an independent, dependent or mediating variable. This literature review sheds important light on the interrelationship between climate science and publics, highlights areas for further research, and in its characterisation of trust narratives provides a language for conceptualising trust that can further interdisciplinary engagement.

László, J., Csertő, I., Fülöp, É., Ferenczhalmy, R., Hargitai, R., Lendvai, P., Péley, B., Pólya, T., Szalai, K., Vincze, O., & Ehmann, B. (2013). Narrative Language as an Expression of Individual and Group Identity: The Narrative Categorical Content Analysis. SAGE Open, 3(2), 2158244013492084. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013492084

Abstract. Scientific Narrative Psychology integrates quantitative methodologies into the study of identity. Its methodology, Narrative Categorical Analysis, and its toolkit, NarrCat, were both originally developed by the Hungarian Narrative Psychology Group. NarrCat is for machine-made transformation of sentences in self-narratives into psychologically relevant, statistically processable narrative categories. The main body of this flexible and comprehensive system is formed by Psycho-Thematic modules, such as Agency, Evaluation, Emotion, Cognition, Spatiality, and Temporality. The Relational Modules include Social References, Semantic Role Labeling (SRL), and Negation. Certain elements can be combined into Hypermodules, such as Psychological Perspective and Spatio-Temporal Perspective, which allow for even more complex, higher level exploration of composite psychological processes. Using up-to-date developments of corpus linguistics and Natural Language Processing (NLP), a unique feature of NarrCat is its capacity of SRL. The structure of NarrCat, as well as the empirical results in group identity research, is discussed.