Biographical research methods have become a useful and popular tool for contemporary social scientists. This book combines an exploration of the historical and philosophical origins of this important ...field of qualitative research with comparative examples of the different ways that biographical methods have been successfully applied internationally. Through these many illustrative examples of socio-biography in process the authors show how formal textual analysis, whilst uncovering hidden emotional defences, can also shed light on wider historical processes of societal transformation. Topics discussed include: *individual and linked lives *generational change *political influences on memory and identity *biographical work in reflexive societies *narrativity and empowerment in professional practice *ways of theorising and generalising from case-studies. Biographical Methods in the Social Sciences promotes debate and provides opportunities for students and researchers to widen their uses of narrative research.
Prue Chamberlayne is Director of The Centre for Biography in Social Policy at the University of East London; Joana Bornat is Senior Lecturer in the department of Health and Social Policy at the Open University; Tom Wengraf is Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Research Methods at Middlesex University.
Narratives of Social Enterprise Froggett, Lynn; Chamberlayne, Prue
Qualitative social work : QSW : research and practice,
03/2004, Volume:
3, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Biographical methods are commonly regarded as suitable for the narrative study of individual lives. This article, drawing on a psychosocial case study of narratives in a community development ...setting, demonstrates their potential to make links between interpersonal, organizational and policy domains. The analysis questions the adequacy of notions of ‘social enterprise’ and ‘active citizenship’ to characterize activism, leadership and engagement in disadvantaged communities. By focusing on the intersection of personal and organizational narratives and the dynamic reflexivity of the interpretive process, the article also points to the capacity of biographical methods to enhance professional skills and understanding, and bring a newly dynamic relationship between research, policy and practice.
This article argues the relevance of biographical case study methods as a tool for professional practice. The case of Laura, manager of a small hostel for homeless people, shows hidden reserves of ...emotional understanding which Laura finds too risky to bring into play. Analysis of the structure of the interview shows the enactment and lowering of Laura's defences in interaction with the interviewer. The article argues for support and supervision to allow professionals to recognise and use their capacities for emotional thinking, and that this kind of 'experiential truth' is key both for users and professionals in tackling social exclusion. Methodological parallels between biographical methods and effective training are also drawn through discussion of responses to a training video based on a fictionalised version of a critical incident from this interview.
Biographical research is increasingly used for understanding current historical and cultural changes and for purposes of education, training, and policy development. This "biographizing" movement is ...part of a broader picture of shifting configurations of concerns, concepts, and methodologies. In 2000, the introduction to the authors' The Turn to Biographical Methods in Social Science attempted such a picture. The authors wanted to promote greater mutual awareness and partnership between a "German" approach, seen as having a more explicit conceptual and methodological apparatus, and a "British" approach that had a greater concern for power relations around the interview relationship and in processing, interpreting, and reporting. In that text, cultural studies was relatively neglected and treated rather dismissively. The authors welcome the opportunity in this shortened, revised version to include a more extended and reflective treatment of cultural studies. They invite others to tell different stories, to supplement or correct their own
The biographical challenge of caring Chamberlayne, Prue; King, Annette
Sociology of health & illness,
November 1997, Volume:
19, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The article discusses the contribution of narrative methods to the contextualised study of subjectivity. More specifically, it introduces the key features of biographical interpretive methods, which ...derive from phenomenology, and presents four case studies of carers in East and West Germany. Through the cases, the article explores inner and outer dimensions of carers’ coming to terms with disability, together with patterns of biographical continuity and change. This is followed by a comparative discussion of the interplay between personal and structural factors in the two societies. The article thereby demonstrates the strength of the method in exploring interrelationships between the personal and the social, as well as its particular relevance for professional practice in the social field.
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