1. Research Narrative Designs Dr. William M. Bauer
Chapter 16
Research Narrative Designs
Dr. William M. Bauer l

2. Key Ideas Brief history of narrative research
Questions for determining narrative designs
Key characteristics of narrative designs
Strengths and weaknesses of narrative designs
Steps in conducting narrative research
Criteria for evaluating narrative research l

3. A Brief History of Narrative Research in Education
1990 Clandinin and Connelly first overview of narrative research in education
Trends influencing the development of narrative research
increased emphasis on teacher reflection
emphasis placed on teacher knowledge
attempt to bring teachers’ voices to the forefront l

4. Questions for Determining Narrative Designs
Who writes or records the story?
How much of a life is recorded or presented?
Who provides the story?
Is a theoretical lens being used?
When can narrative forms be combined? l

5. Key Characteristics of Narrative Designs
Focuses on individual experiences
Reports a chronology of the experiences
use a time sequence of events
chronology sets narrative apart
Collects the individual stories told to the researcher or gathered through field texts
autobiographies
interviews
journals l

6. Key Characteristics of Narrative Designs
Restories the individual stories
researcher gathers stories and analyzes them for elements of the story
researcher rewrites the story to place it in a chronological sequence
restorying provides a causal link among ideas
information would include interaction, continuity, and situation l

7. Key Characteristics of Narrative Designs
Coding for themes
themes provide the complexity of the story
themes add depth to the insight about understanding an individual’s experiences
themes can be incorporated into the passage retelling the individual’s experience or as a separate section of the study l

8. Key Characteristics of Narrative Designs
Describes the context or setting for the individual stories
includes the people involved in the story
includes the physical setting
setting may be described before events or actions, or can be woven throughout the study
collaborates throughout the process of research with the individuals whose stories are being reported l

9. Key Characteristics of Narrative Designs
collaborates throughout the process of research with the individuals whose stories are being reported
participants are actively involved in the inquiry as it unfolds
relationships between research and participant are negotiated to minimize the potential gap between narrative told and narrative reported l

10. Strengths and Weaknesses of Narrative Designs
Collaboration
Gives “voice” to educators
Helps others understand topics
Captures everyday familiar data
Weaknesses
Participants may “fake the data”
Telling “horrific” experiences
Ownership of the story l

11. Steps in Conducting Narrative Research
Identify a phenomenon to explore that addresses an educational problem
Purposefully select an individual to learn about the phenomenon
Collect the story from the individual
Restory or retell the individual’s story l

12. Steps in Conducting Narrative Research
Collaborate with the participant storyteller
Write a story about the participant’s experiences
Validate the accuracy of the report l

13. Criteria for Evaluating Narrative Research
Does the researcher focus on individual experiences?
Is there a focus on a single individual or a few individuals?
Did the researcher collect the story of an individual’s experience?
Was there a restorying by the researcher of the participant’s story? l

14. Criteria for Evaluating Narrative Research
In the restorying, was the participant’s voice as well as the researcher’s voice heard?
Did the researcher identify themes that emerged from the story?
Did the story include information about place or setting of the individual? l

15. Criteria for Evaluating Narrative Research
Did the story have a temporal, chronological sequence including the past, present and future?
Is there evidence that the researcher collaborated with the participant?
Does the story adequately address the purpose and questions of the researcher? l

16. Applying What you Have Learned: Narrative Designs
Review the article and look for the following:
The research problem and use of quantitative research
Use of the literature
The purpose statement and research hypothesis
Types and procedures of data collection
Types and procedures of data analysis and interpretation
The overall report structure l