NARRATIVE RESEARCH

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1 Prepared By:Syed Ahmed AliMuhammad AtifM. Farrukh EjazShakir UllahSaleem Ahmed

Key Ideas

Brief history of narrative research

Key characteristics of narrative designs

Strengths and weaknesses of narrative designs

Steps in conducting narrative research

Criteria for evaluating narrative research

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Narrative Designs

Strengths

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

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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

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Steps in Conducting Narrative Research

Collaborate with the participant storyteller

Write a story about the participant’s experiences

Validate the accuracy of the report

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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?

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Criteria for Evaluating Narrative Research

Did the story include information about place or setting of the individual?

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?

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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

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