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Narrative methods in qualitative and quantitative research

22nd February 2006Combining social research methods, data and analyses

Jane ElliottCentre for Longitudinal Studies

Institute of Education

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Main themes of workshop session

Interest in exploring narrative elements of both qualitative and quantitative research

Utility of the notion of narrative identity (Ezzy, Ricoeur) Introduction to the British Birth Cohort Studies and in

particular the National Child Development Study Analysis of qualitative essays written by eleven year olds in

1969

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What is a narrative?

A story with a beginning, a middle and an end!

Aristotle’s Poetics

A method of recapitulating past experiences by matching a verbal sequence of clauses to the sequence of events that actually occurred.’ (Labov and Waletzky, 1967)

“(A) discourse with a clear sequential order that connects events in a meaningful way for a definite audience, and thus offers insights about the world and/or people’s experiences of it.” Hinchman and Hinchman (1997: xvi)

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Labov and Waletzky’s structural model

Abstract Orientation Complicating action Evaluation Resolution Coda

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Why should social scientists be interested in narrative?

Temporal representation of events and experiences Structure used to communicate the meaning of events and

experiences Inherently social

requires an audience narrative forms (genres) are shaped by social context

Implicated in the creation and maintenance of identity

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Narrative identity

Narrative provides a practical means by which the individual can understand themselves as living through time, a human subject with a past, present, and future made whole by a narrative plot with a beginning, middle and end.

Allows conceptualisation of individual as having a continuous presence through time without becoming fixed or essentialized

Identity as idem or ipse (identical or selfsame ‘soi-meme’) – permanence through time without sameness through time (Ricoeur).

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Narrative and identity

Ontological narratives are shaped by the social world in two important ways: available audiences for our narratives cultural repertoire of narratives/genres

It is also important to remember that individuals are active agents who play a part in reproducing but also modifying

‘public narratives’.

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Narrative, Reflexivity and Writing During the last 20 years growing interest in the topic of

narrative among qualitative researchers Elliot Mishler (1986) Research Interviewing: context and

narrative C.K. Riessman (1993) Narrative Analysis. Narrative and Life History Journal launched 1991 The Narrative Study of Lives Josselson and Lieblich

Attention to narratives in qualitative interviews; awareness of importance of researcher in eliciting narratives; interest in concept of narrative identity; awareness that researcher is a narrator

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British Birth Cohort Studies Fully representative samples of the British population Based on one week’s births - approximately 17,000 babies Followed up from birth into adulthood Four British Birth Cohort Studies

1946 : National Survey of Health and Development (MRC funded)

1958 : National Child Development Study 1970 : British Cohort Study 1970 2000/1: Millennium Cohort Study

Housed at CLS

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1958 Birth Cohort Study Representative sample of over 17,000 infants born in March 1958

(Perinatal Mortality Study) Sample followed at ages 7, 11, 16, 23, 33, 42, 46 (prospective

study) Multipurpose study: family life; education; employment; skills;

housing; health; finances; citizenship Focused bio-medical study at age 44 (MRC funded) Approximately 12,000 individuals are still participating Now core funded by ESRC with data collected every four years

Notesa: Target sample - Excludes emigrants, refusals & deaths. Includes immigrants at NCDS1-3.b: Achieved sample - At least on survey instrument partially completedc: Mother - Could be Cohort Member or spouse/partner

NCDS follow-ups and sources of information

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Hypothetical life history

x

Born

1958

1st Child 1984 2nd Child

1987Age 7 Age 11 1991 2000

Age 42

2004

Age 46

Age 16

Age 23

1981

Age 33

Gets married

Parents’ social class

Parental interest in school work

Free school meals

Mother smoking

Parental divorce

Maths and reading tests

Teachers’ assessment of child’s behaviour

Exam results

Job 1 Job 2 Job 3

Voting behaviour

Psychological well being

Working hours preferences

Savings

Domestic division of labour

Union membership

Training and skills

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NCDS – 2004 Sweep (Age 46)Telephone Interview• Housing• Partnerships – current and former• Births and other pregnancies• Periods of lone parenthood• Absent children• Children and the wider family• Family income • Employment status/employment history• Academic education/vocational training/other courses• Access to and use of computers• Basic skills• General health• Smoking, drinking and exercise• Experience of crime• Social participation

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NCDS 11-year old Essays At age 11, in 1969 NCDS Cohort members completed a short

questionnaire (at school) about leisure interests, preferred school subjects and expectations on leaving school

They were also asked to write an essay on the following topic: ‘Imagine you are now 25 years old. Write about the life

you are leading, your interests, your home life and your work at the age of 25. (You have 30 minutes to do this).’

13669 essays completed, mean length 204 words Copies of the original essays (in children’s handwriting) are

available on microfiche at CLS

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Existing research on the essays

A small sample of 521 essays have been coded for word count Boys 180 words Girls 228 words

All essays have been coded for employment aspirations, over 90% give a classifiable occupation

No systematic coding and analysis of the essays has been carried out to date

Extract 1:

‘When I am 25 I will have a job as a engineer or macanic. I hope to have a house in the country with a nice garden to dig and plant vegetables. I will own a car (zepher) to go on journeys around England or in paris. I hope to have a wife and children who I respect. I will have a dog colliee or a house dog both tame. On weekends I will take my family out for a ride or once a month visit my parents. ‘

At age 11:

General ability (47/80 – a little above average); Lives in a council house with natural parents; father is in a skilled manual occupation

At age 40:

Married with children; lives in a three-bedroomed owner-occupied house, very satisfied with accommodation; parents have both died; works as a foreman pattern maker.

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Extract 2:I am an Air-Hostest. I look after poeple I speck two langweges, and I meat lots of poeple. Some are old, and some are young. The money is good. When I am not on the plane I show people arond. Some people can not speck English, sowe I speck to them in their own langwege. At the airport there is a room were you can powder your nose hear and there. We have a speica suit that we must wear. Before we go on our first trip we have to lerne how to walk nicely, and how to wear our make up. We all ways have to smail.

At age 40: married with children, living in three-bedroomed owner occupied house; fairly satisfied with accommodation; looking after home and family, husband is customs and excise officer/immigration officer.

At age 11

General ability (44/80 –average); missing data about parents and tenure of accommodation

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Research project funded by the Nuffield foundation (Elliott and Morrow) Project is intended as a pilot study, possibly to be followed up by larger application

to ESRC Aim to type up and code a sub-sample of 560 essays & conduct preliminary

descriptive analyses Sample stratified to reflect: gender; ability; social class; family structure Essays will be coded for themes such as:

family life; leisure; employment; housing expectations; contact with parents; pets; transport and travel; aspirations vs expectations

Both qualitative and quantitative analysis will be carried out using NVIVO and SPSS to help organize, code, and analyze the data

Main research questions: how do gender and social class shape children’s aspirations?

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Analysis of essays: possible questions to address What are our initial impressions e.g. is the child optimistic/pessimistic;

positive/negative? To what extent is each essay a narrative or a description? What elements of narrative does each essay include? What is there in the essay that is surprising (& why)? What is in the essay that doesn’t surprise us (& why)? Is there anything in the essay that is assumed but not explicitly stated What is the role of time/ how is time used in the essay? What markers of gender and social class are there in the essay? How explicit is the age of the child and the historical context within the essay? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having over 13,000 qualitative

essays that could potentially be analysed?