Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences / Edition 1

by Catherine Kohler Riessman

Overview

The research literature on narrative has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. No longer the province only of literary study, the "narrative turn" has penetrated almost every human science: anthropology, sociology, psychology, history, and others. However, although insights about individual lives may be compelling, it does not mean that the "story" can "speak for itself" and still be a useful procedure. Is there a way that researchers can explain their analytic procedures or representational choices when they present a narrative study? Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences attempts to provide guidance on this situation. Aimed at providing the rigor needed to advance applied narrative analysis, Catherine Riessman provides an explanation and guideline to readers on: * Presentation of and reliance on detailed transcripts of interview excerpts * Methods for analyzing the structural features of discourse * Analysis of the co-production of narratives through the dialogic exchange between interviewer and participant. After completing this book, readers will be able to perform a narrative study that can be defended as a systematic form of inquiry and provide a criteria for validation of their narrative study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761929987
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/13/2007
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Catherine Kohler Riessman is Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at Boston College, and an Emerita Professor at Boston University. She serves as a Visiting Fellow in the Centre for Narrative Research, University of East London. She earned a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Science from Columbia University. Riessman has authored four books and numerous articles and book chapters in medical sociology and qualitative methodologies.

Table of Contents

Looking Back, Looking Forward
Constructing Narratives for Research
Thematic Analysis
Structural Analysis
Dialogic Performance Analysis
Visual Analysis
Truths and Cautions

Editorial Reviews

"Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences is a well-written, profoundly useful guide to four of the main narrative methods: (a) oral narratives derived from interviews; (b) narratives derived from archival materials such as diaries, letters, and other documents; (c) ethnographic observations as compiled from field notes; and (d) visual media (in combination with text or not) such as videotaped interactions, paintings, and photographs. Not only is she practical and thoughtful about types of narratives, but even more important are the insights that she provides about the alternative methods of transforming narrative materials into published works. [...T]his excellent work will be indispensible for teachers of graduate courses in narrative and other qualitative methods and for research teams wanting to do first-rate narrative research. "

Keith E. Davis

Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences provides an accessible framework for researchers - to analyse narrative texts with confidence, empathy, and humility.— Ron Adams

Narrative Inquiry

Narrative Methods for the Human Sciences provides an accessible framework for researchers — to analyse narrative texts with confidence, empathy, and humility.

Narrative Inquiry - Ron Adams