Narrative Research: Research Methods

by Molly Andrews, Jessica Nina Lester (Editor), Mark Davis, Mark Elliot (Editor), Cigdem Esin

Overview

First published Open Access under a Creative Commons license as What is Narrative Research?, this title is now also available as part of the Bloomsbury Research Methods series.

Narrative research has become a catchword in the social sciences today, promising new fields of inquiry and creative solutions to persistent problems. This book brings together ideas about narrative from a variety of contexts across the social sciences and synthesizes understandings of the field. Rather than focusing on theory, it examines how narrative research is conducted and applied. It operates as a practical introductory guide, basic enough for first-time researchers, but also as a window onto the more complex questions and difficulties that all researchers in this area face. The authors guide readers through current debates about how to obtain and analyse narrative data, about the nature of narrative, the place of the researcher, the limits of researcher interpretations, and the significance of narrative work in applied and in broader political contexts.

This new edition includes updated references and a greater focus on digitality throughout. It addresses social justice and decoloniality more explicitly, centrally and consistently, drawing on examples around Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, climate change and Extinction Rebellion, and Covid and pandemic narratives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350319035
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/20/2025
Series:	Bloomsbury Research Methods
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Molly Andrews is Honorary Professor of Political Psychology at the Social Research Institute, University College London, UK and co-director of the Association for Narrative Research and Practice (ANRP).

Jessica Nina Lester is Associate Professor of Inquiry Methodology in the School of Education at Indiana University, USA.

Mark Davis is Professor in the School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia.

Cigdem Esin was a narrative researcher and co-director of the Association of Narrative Research and Practice - previously the Centre for Narrative Research. She first arrived at CNR to do her PhD in 2004. Before her untimely death in 2022, Cigdem taught Psychosocial Studies at the University of East London, UK.

Barbara Harrison is Emerita Professor of Sociology at University of East London, UK.

Lars-Christer Hydén is Professor Emeitus of Social Psychology at Linköping University, Sweden.

Margareta Hydén is Professor Emerita in Social Work at Linköping University, Sweden.

Aura Lounasmaa is a postdoctoral researcher in the Space and Political Agency Research Group at the University of Tampere, Finland.

Corinne Squire is Co-Director of ANRP and Chair in Global Inequalities, University of Bristol, UK.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Foreword
Acknowledgements
1. What Is Narrative Research? Starting Out
2. What Is the Story? Five Contemporary Issues in Narrative Research
3. Narratives in Social Research: Researching Narratives Across Media
4. Narratives in Social Research: Researching Narratives, Power and Resistance
5. The Uses of Narrative Research
6. Challenges in Narrative Research
Further Reading
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Narrative Research provides an engaging, accessible introduction to narrative research in social sciences. It includes inspiring examples that illustrate how to do narrative research and why it can be exciting, challenging, and rewarding. Although it focuses on social sciences, it is useful for anyone interested in narrative studies across disciplines.” —Hanna Meretoja, University of Turku, Finland

“Narrative Research offers diverse and engaging approaches to exploring individuals and society. This book centers on the vivid voices of field experts with diverse experiences and academic backgrounds. This book is not merely an introduction to the meaning of narrative, narrative research methods, or practices. It seeks fundamental reflection on human and social issues. Narrative Research consists of engaging subjects, entertaining stories, and meaningful structures. This book is not something to be read quickly. Instead, it offers a serious and systematic approach for anyone seeking reflection on themselves and humanity.” —Yohan Goh, Yonsei University, South Korea

“Both experienced and novice researchers will hugely benefit from this read. The book sketches the broad co-ordinates of narrative research, offering an expansive scope including numerous examples from a range of disciplines and applications of narrative work. The depth and breadth of examples, including many from the majority world, offer an expansive view of the exciting developments in the field that disrupt its 'authority' as 'expertise' located in the minority world. The book offers a reading of narrative research that is hugely relevant for our contemporary global context where questions of social justice, ethics and re-humanisation should take front and center stage. I strongly recommend this accessible and illuminating read!” —Floretta Boonzaier, University of Cape Town, South Africa

“This book has much to offer researchers at all career stages who are seeking to incorporate narrative methods into their research. Apart from an overview of concepts essential to doing narrative research, the chapters also consider the ways in which narratives may be expressed beyond written and spoken modes, and examples of challenging social issues that can benefit from narrative research. Useful approaches and tools are presented alongside a range of different datasets as demonstrations of how this endeavour may be done.” —Charity Lee, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia

“This comprehensive introduction to conducting narrative research in the social sciences reflects the unique sensitivity, wisdom, and responsibility gained from the authors' extensive experience in the field. They invite you on a step-by-step journey filled with rich examples and practical tools, providing the valuable research companion they wished they had when they started. No matter where you are, this book will equip you with the resources you need to navigate your own path in narrative research.” —Oriana Bernasconi, Alberto Hurtado University, Chile.

“Despite the remarkable growth of narrative approaches in the social sciences, there are few guides to actually carrying out the work and even fewer that do so through detailed examples. Written by a stellar cast of accomplished researcher-scholars, this accessible, informative, wide ranging book is just the guide needed, and those wishing to learn more about contemporary narrative research, especially as it relates to matters of social and political concern, will be richly rewarded by this valuable overview of the field.” —Mark Freeman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, USA

From the Publisher