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Public Health Workforce Training
Link to beginning section of Introduction to Qualitative Research

Narrative Research

Narrative research explores the lived and told stories and experiences of an individual or a small group of individuals. The narrative—in this case a spoken or written account of an event(s) or experience(s)—“tells the story of individuals unfolding in a chronology of their experiences, set within their personal, social, and historical context, and including the important themes in those lived experiences” (Creswell 57). There are several types of narrative research practices including: biographical, autobiographical, life history, and oral history.

Narrative research requires personal involvement of the researcher and direct interaction with the study participant(s). It is the connection between researcher and participant that allows the researcher to gather and interpret the narrative being told. Perhaps the most common data collection method in narrative research is in-depth interviewing; however, researchers may also utilize observation and document analysis techniques. Data gathering can be time intensive, so narrative researchers should be prepared to make a significant time investment with a participant. Active involvement of and collaboration between the researcher and the participant can facilitate the data collection process and encourage validation of a story, as the researcher is able to get clarification on facts, meaning, and importance of different parts of the story.

Using the data collected, the researcher will work to “re-story” the narrative. Re-storying is the process of reorganizing data into some general type of framework, usually chronological sequence, where themes and causal links between ideas are identified and a plot is formed. Re-storying can incorporate and/or provide context to situate the story or experience within the participant’s life (e.g. relationships, job, and home life) and his/her culture and environment (time and place).

Example:

Wheatley, et al. (2008) conducted a narrative research study that described prenatal care experiences of low-income, first-time mothers. The purpose of this study was to hear the voices of a diverse group of women as they discussed the content and quality of their prenatal care, especially in relation to established patient-centeredness markers. The authors asked three central questions that guided the inquiry:

  1. What do women’s pregnancy narratives tell us about the nature and quality of their experiences with prenatal care?
  2. Do the women’s evaluations of their care experiences reflect concern with the patient-centeredness markers of the National Healthcare Disparities Report?
  3. Do women discuss other issues not captured by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) markers that might constitute additional dimensions of patient-centered care specific to the prenatal care setting?

Wheatley RR, Kelley MA, Peacock N, Delgado J. Women's narratives on quality in prenatal care: a multicultural perspective. Qual Health Res. 2008 Nov; 18(11):1586-98.

Challenges to consider when using narrative research:

  • Can be time intensive
  • Requires one-on-one interaction with participant(s)
  • Extensive amounts of information are/may be collected and require analysis
  • Active collaboration between the researcher and study participant(s) is essential to completeness and proper understanding of data