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The narrative structure as a way to gain insight into peoples' experiences: one methodological approach
Author(s) -
Rejnö Åsa,
Berg Linda,
Danielson Ella
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/scs.12080
Subject(s) - narrative , narrative inquiry , narrative network , narrative criticism , narrative structure , meaning (existential) , psychology , function (biology) , qualitative research , complement (music) , narrative psychology , social psychology , epistemology , sociology , literature , social science , art , evolutionary biology , psychotherapist , biology , biochemistry , chemistry , philosophy , complementation , gene , phenotype
The narrative method is used in healthcare research, mostly in data collection but also in the analysis. Narrative approaches draw attention to how people tell about and create meaning of experiences. The aim of the article was to examine the narrative structure, the elements in the structure and their function and how these can be used in research to gain insights into experiences. Examples are taken from a material of narratives from a study where next of kin were asked to narrate their experiences of sudden and unexpected death from stroke. The narratives had a clear beginning, midpoint and ending. In the beginning, orientation of the narrated events was given. The narrated events were told to have a turning point constituted of complicating actions that lead to a resolution that solved the narrated event. The narratives were built up by multiple recaps into the narrated events and also consisted of asides – side narratives and flashbacks – events back in time. Use of a narrative structure can contribute with valuable information that might be missed with other analysis. The analysis can be used on its own, as a complement to other narrative analysis or even as a complement to other qualitative analysis.