Exploring the sociogenesis of identity by integrating big story and small story narrative research: a step-by-step methodological guide

Abstract

This paper proposes an integrated epistemological and methodological approach to narrative identity research that leverages the strengths of big story and small story traditions. We outline the study design for researching the dynamics between micro-social identity processes and stabilized identity positions. We suggest sampling dyads and gathering data regarding the unresolved experience in two main phases: individual interviews and interactions. A binocular approach to analysis of contrasted individual stories and negotiation is advanced, in which narrative and discursive resources are utilized to trace the identity co-construction. The data analysis in each of the two phases is organized through three levels, illustrated with an example: preparatory work, core analysis, and higher-order interpretation. Highlighting the the interconnectedness between motivational-emotional and identity processes, our framework offers a dynamic, processual, and contextual approach to narrative identity co-construction. Suggested design moves us toward bridging the individual/social divide that is persistently reproduced in psychological theory and research