Researching defended subjects with the free association narrative interviewing method

Abstract

In this paper, we illustrate several key differences between our approach to interpreting accounts of research subjects and those of other qualitative researchers. In particular, we work with a theoretical premise of a defended, rather than unitary, rational subject. The methodological implications that we discuss here are two-fold: this subject can best be interpreted holistically; and central to this interpretative process are the free associations that interviewees make