Different Aspects of the Narrative Study
Narrative research is a handy qualitative analysis tool that provides answers to relevant questions by analyzing specific experiences. As a feature of this type of research, one can note adherence to a chronological sequence as the feature that allows assessing a particular story without distorting facts. Creswell (2018) states that this approach is one of the most valuable for describing an individual’s experience in the correct order.
Principles of Conducting Narrative Studies
Narrative studies involve different practices for collecting and interpreting data. As sources, interviews, documentaries, conversations, and other forms of primary information are used. As Creswell (2018) argues, despite the unified compilation mechanism in a chronological order, the processing of the information received may differ depending on the purpose of a study. Stories tend to be based on assessing the premises of certain situations and analyzing their consequences through patterns of differences or similarities.
Types and Benefits of the Narrative Approach
Creswell (2018) provides a classification of these methods and identifies biographical, autoethnographic, oral, and other tools for describing the experiences of individuals and their life paths. One of the main advantages of this approach is the validity of the information that is obtained from credible sources and is true. In addition, due to the preservation of chronology, no significant facts are omitted, which increases the value of such a study. This makes research work justified from the perspective of the need to analyze and process a large volume of personal information.
Algorithm of a Narrative Study: The Main Procedures
A narrative study is not complex and can be conducted without special tools. Creswell (2018) describes the entire algorithm as a process from defining a problem or topic to presenting it in a written form. In the intermediate stages, the rationale for the problem is given, and a specific individual’s story is selected based on the proposed issue. Further, a principle of data collection is applied, for instance, an interview or conversation. After that, the selected story is restored in accordance with the chronology. At the end of the research, the results obtained are summarized and recorded.
Reference
Creswell, J. W. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.