An exploration of narrative as a research method

Abstract

Narrative derives from a long history of literary tradition and is increasingly used as a research method. Narrative in essence is the stories of our lives and the stories of the lives of others. Narrative is open to interpretation. This interpretation develops through collaboration of researcher and respondent or story teller and listener. Narrative, explored through interpretive research allows access to the respondent reality via their socially constructed stories. As a term it is a many sided concept. This paper considers the distinct features of narrative, highlighting the potential for overlap within the terms of life history, life incidents, story telling, biography and autobiography