Qualitative Data Analysis: An introduction

1. Qualitative Data Analysis: An introduction Carol Grbich Chapter 17 : Narrative analysis

2. Narrative analysis • There are two main versions of narrative analysis: • socio-linguistic which focuses on ‘plots’ or the structure of narratives and how they convey meaning • socio-cultural which looks at the broader interpretive frameworks that people use to make sense of particular incidents in individual’s lives

3. Narrative analysis • When to use: when you are collecting stories from participants • Type of research questions: those that explore either the structure of narratives or the specific experiences of particular events,. • Strengths: gives insight into how individuals structure communication for effect and how they construct meaning from their life experiences. • Weaknesses: when only one approach (socio-linguistic/socio-cultural) is used the perspective is limited

4. Socio-linguistic approach: process • Abstract - an initial clause that reports or summarises the entire sequence of events of the narrative • Orientation clauses - the time, place and events of the narrative • Complicating action clauses - these clauses form the main body of the story and provide the next sequential event to respond to the question ‘and what happened then?’ • Evaluation – interpretation of the significance of events and meanings and also the importance of the narrator’s situation, socialisation, experience and views • Result or resolution – the final outcome of the narrative • Coda (often missing) - ties narrator and audience back to the present (adapted from Labov and Walensky, 1967, Labov, 1972 : 370, Labov, 1997)

5. Example: socio linguistic analysis • She gave birth after a long labour (orientation) • She went into labour on Thursday (complicating action) • On Friday they said she would have to have a Caesar (complicating action) • I think they should have let her have a normal birth, but these Gynaecologists won’t work weekends (evaluation) • And she had a lovely baby girl (result) • They’re all fine now (coda)

6. Criticisms of the sociolinguistic approach • The focus is the text and the sequence of events and what is missing is the interaction between the actor and the audience; the power relations; the shifts in meaning; the outcomes in terms of impact on the listener; and the development of shared understandings. • The assumption that language represents reality does not take into account the arguments that language is power laden, embedded in culture and socialisation contexts, and actually constitutes and constructs reality. • Narratives are complex constructions of meaning linking personal lives, community and culture and should be preserved intact, not fractured • The context is completely omitted and the impact of the issues of race, class, gender and hierarchy are not considered. • Narratives may not follow a chronological sequence in a linear way through time, they may be linked by themes which are not necessarily sequential.

7. Socio-cultural approaches 3 Narrative approaches: structural where the focus is primarily on what has been said and the classification of this into a particular typology or narrative type which can be named. performative with a focus on the how of the story in particular how it has been constructed in the dialogical process between interviewer and interviewee and how it has been communicated and interpreted both between the two and between the writer and the audience. autoethnography where both the what and the how of the narrative come in to play as the researcher crafts and shapes their own story for the audience as they move inward to share often very personal aspects of their lives and then step outside to pursue another more distant but critically self-interpretive view. (Cassandra Phoenix et al. 2010)

8. Socio-cultural approach: Process • Identify the boundaries of the narrative segments in the interview transcript. These may be entire life stories or specific life episodes recorded in interactive talk or interviews • Explore the content and context of the story. How do people make sense of events? What emotions and feelings are displayed? • Compare different peoples stories • Link stories to relevant political structures and cultural locations • Interpret stories being aware of your own positions and reactions and how these shape the final text

9. Socio-cultural analysis (Greg, 2006) • Divide the text into episodes which comprise the plot/sequence of the story • Eliminate material irrelevant to the plot (often facts) • Identify the stanzas in each episode which comprise a single theme or embedded story • Identify contrasts, binary oppositions and mediating terms (a blend of the shared features) within and across each episode

10. Socio-cultural, reducing narratives to their elements Scene 1 • Well mum thought I was being taken for a ride by an older woman when she first found out I was going to be a father. • Her first reaction was that I wasn’t a virgin, which shows where her thinking lay. Scene 2 • She’s now good, she’s come round a lot. • She gets on very well with Dan (his partner’s child by another relationship), • and she gets on well with Jen (partner). • Once she got over the problem of Jen being a terrible woman – a single mother who wanted someone to hang her bloody hat with – they got on very well, • so that’s been a substantial change.