Skip to main content

Critical Junctures in Narrative Research: Collaborative Reflections on Methodological Issues

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Narrative Research in Practice

Abstract

The co-creation of narratives can be a complex and intricate process where findings are shaped and molded by the interactions between researcher and study participants. From the moment the researcher enters the field of inquiry through to the writings of each story, and often beyond the final storytelling, there are poignant moments or junctures that the researcher may face in relation to methodology and ethical practice. The authors present three narratives about their experience of conducting narrative research within the field of music therapy. Each author tells her story in relation to the methodological and ethical challenges and considerations encountered. Looking both within and across these three stories, the authors highlight five critical junctures that may arise during the research process. Common strategies for negotiating these challenges are identified to assist narrative researchers in any discipline who may be experiencing their own pivotal junctures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aldridge, G. (2005). Therapeutic narrative analysis as a narrative case study approach. In D. Aldridge (Ed.), Case study designs in music therapy (pp. 31–52). London: Jessica Kingsley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J. (2006). Narrative inquiry: A methodology for studying lived experience. Research Studies in Music Education, 27, 44–54. doi:10.1177/1321103X060270010301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J. (2007). Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story within qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clandinin, D. J., Pushor, D., & Orr, A. M. (2007). Navigating sites for narrative inquiry. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(1), 21–35. doi:10.1177/0022487106296218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, J. (2009). Clinical supervision after suicide: Panacea or pretence? Psychotherapy in Australia, 16(1), 16–23. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/fullText;dn=673700376615634;res=IELHEA

  • Crossley, M. (2000a). Introducing narrative psychology—Self, trauma and the construction of meaning. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, M. (2000b). Narrative psychology, trauma and the study of self/identity. Theory and Psychology, 10(4), 527–546. doi:10.1177/0959354300104005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, M. (2003). ‘Let me explain’: Narrative emplotment and one patient’s experience of oral cancer. Social Science and Medicine, 56(3), 439–448. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00362-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crossley, M., & Crossley, N. (2001). ‘Patient’ voices, social movements and the habitus; How psychiatric survivors ‘speak out’. Social Science and Medicine, 52, 1477–1489. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00257-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daiute, C. (2014). Narrative inquiry: A dynamic approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly, K. (2007). Qualitative methods for family studies and human development. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damianakis, T., & Woodford, M. R. (2012). Qualitative research with small connected communities: Generating new knowledge while upholding research ethics. Qualitative Health Research, 22(5), 708–718. doi:10.1177/1049732311431444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, M. (1997). Shattered assumptions: Time and the experience of long-term HIV positivity. Social Science and Medicine, 44(5), 561–571. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00177-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson-Swift, V., James, E. L., Kippen, S., & Liamputtong, P. (2007). Doing sensitive research: What challenges do qualitative researchers face? Qualitative Research, 7(3), 327–353. doi:10.1177/1468794107078515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson-Swift, V., James, E. L., Kippen, S., & Liamputtong, P. (2009). Researching sensitive topics: Qualitative research as emotion work. Qualitative Research, 9(1), 61–79. doi:10.1177/1468794108098031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, J. (2005). Using narrative in social research: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn, L. (2014). The stories we haven’t told: The lived experience of music used in therapy for bereaved parents. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Queensland, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forbat, L., & Henderson, J. (2005). Theoretical and practical reflections on sharing transcripts with participants. Qualitative Health Research, 15, 1114–1128. doi:10.1177/1049732305279065.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, I., & Wheeler, S. (2010). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hynson, J. L., Aroni, R., Bauld, C., & Sawyer, S. M. (2006). Research with bereaved parents: A question of how not why. Palliative Medicine, 20, 805–811.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivankova, N., Creswell, J., & Stick, S. (2006). Using mixed-methods sequential explanatory design: From theory to practice. Field Methods, 18(1), 3–20. doi:10.1177/1525822X05282260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennelly, J. (2013). Sight, sounds and feelings: The views, experiences and practices regarding professional supervision for Australian-based music therapists. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Queensland, Australia. Available at https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:319389

  • Koelsch, L. E. (2013). Reconceptualizing the member check interview. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12, 168–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Labov, W., & Waletzky, J. (1997). Narrative analysis: Oral versions of personal experience. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 7, 3–38. (Original work published 1967)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ledger, A. J. (2010). Am I a founder or am I a fraud? Music therapists’ experiences of developing services in healthcare organizations. Doctoral thesis, University of Limerick, Ireland. URI: https://ulir.ul.ie/handle/10344/1131

  • Ledger, A., & Edwards, J. (2011). Arts-based research practices in music therapy research: Existing and potential developments. Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(5), 312–317. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2011.09.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ledger, A., & McCaffrey, T. (2015). Performative, arts-based, or arts-informed? Reflections on the development of arts-based research in music therapy. Journal of Music Therapy, 52(4), 441–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (1998). Narrative research–Reading, analysis and interpretation. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, Y. S., Lynham, S. A., & Guba, E. G. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 97–128). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAdams, D. (1993). The stories we live by—Personal myths and the making of the self. New York: William Morrow & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nuttgens, S. (1997). Bereavement following suicide: A narrative study. Doctoral thesis, University of Alberta (UMI No. 304390339).

    Google Scholar 

  • Polkinghorne, D. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Postmus, J. L. (2013). Qualitative interviewing. In A. E. Fortune, W. J. Reid, & R. L. Miller Jr. (Eds.), Qualitative research in social work (pp. 241–263). New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riessman, C. (1993). Narrative analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, P. C. (1995). Ethics of qualitative interviewing with grieving families. Death Studies, 19, 139–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sands, R. G. (2013). Ethnography. In A. E. Fortune, W. J. Reid, & R. L. Miller Jr. (Eds.), Qualitative research in social work (pp. 136–167). New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, L., Lathlean, J., & Squire, C. (2008). Shifting the focus: Sequential methods of analysis with qualitative data. Qualitative Health Research, 18(1), 120–132. doi:10.1177/1049732307310264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeanette Kennelly .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kennelly, J., Ledger, A., Flynn, L. (2017). Critical Junctures in Narrative Research: Collaborative Reflections on Methodological Issues. In: Dwyer, R., Davis, I., emerald, e. (eds) Narrative Research in Practice. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1579-3_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1579-3_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1577-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1579-3

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics