Research | The Assembly for Art & Inquiry

Research Design

Narrative inquiry was selected to support this projects perspective of achievement, emphasis on collaboration, and use of intimacy as a framework. Narrative inquiry is a qualitative method that has the ability to capture the dynamic nature of relationships and different perspectives of individuals. This occurs through the generation of a story that spans time and space. The method of narrative inquiry has been broadly described as “a form of knowledge that catches the two sides of narrative, telling as well as knowing” (Kim, 2016, p. 6). At the core of this method are individual stories. These personal narratives are essential to research. Broadly understood as representations of events or experiences (Genette & Levonas, 1976), personal narratives are methods of data collection, vehicles for findings, and the forms our knowledge takes on. Bruner (1987) was seminal to narrative theorizing and proposed two ways of knowing. There is a paradigmatic mode and a narrative mode. The former mode emphasizes positivistic verification of knowledge. These are quantitative explorations that most often generate findings related to static experiences. The latter, however, locates events in time and space to find meaning in their complexity. This is similar to Polkinghorne’s (1988) theorizing of narrative knowing, which highlights the multiple realms of analysis, one of which is a realm of meaning. The breadth of narratives creates space for researchers to use the methodology in various disciplines. For example, Sarbin (1998) emphasized the “storied nature of human action” and the use of narratives in psychology. Similarly, Connelly and Clandinin (1990) introduced the term narrative inquiry to educational research on the premise that “narrative is a way of organizing human experience, since humans lead storied lives individually and socially” (p. 18).

Music
Empire of the Sun (2008). “Walking on a dream,” Walking on a dream. Capital.

Episodic Interviews

Mueller’s (2019) episodic interview design guided the interview protocols in this study, which introduced an adaptation of the traditional episodic interview approach to support narrative inquiry. This provided a framework for eliciting episodic memories that supported a linear story and additionally maintained theoretical alignment. This is an important consideration when generating data for oral history as the finding is often the big story (Tonkin, 1992). It is a reconstruction of history, as told through the stories of those who lived it. This means that researchers must attend to both experience and time. Regarding the former, the experience explored in this episodic interview was the path to eminence. I specifically sought information about their collaborative relationships, having an assumption that they would emerge in some form or another. Regarding temporality, I sought to elicit episodic memories within the span of their academic careers. These are distinct from semantic memories, which are perceptions of experience (Flick, 2000). These memories are what one thinks occurred. Participants will respond in ways such as, “I thought we had fun…” or “He seemed okay…” But in the oral history tradition, researchers and participants are generating a historical document. Responses such as “I remember it was…” and “I specifically recall you saying that…” are more aligned. This enables the telling of a story of how it once was.

Music
Modest Mouse. (1996). “Dramamine,” This Is a long drive for someone with nothing to think about. Times Music; Up Records.