The Narrative Inquiry Primer

An Introductory Guide to Experiential Research
This book helps graduate students learn about narrative inquiry in a focused, yet meaningful way, providing them with a practical and theoretical foundation to help “jump start” their research agenda in narrative inquiry.
The Narrative Inquiry Primer is an introductory guide to the philosophical roots, practical strategies, and writing conventions of narrative inquiry. This experiential, qualitative research method challenges technical-rational approaches to educational research by valuing context, experience, and relational engagement. The method utilizes long-term fieldwork and close researcher-participant relationships to explore how stories structure memory, identity, and meaning. It has gained prominence across a range of fields, including education, medicine, law, and many others and is essential for capturing and communicating the richness of human experiences within contexts. This book provides an introduction to narrative inquiry by addressing fundamental questions for conceptualizing, planning, conducting, and writing narrative inquiry studies, as well as offering examples that researchers can use to assist their own decision-making. Easy-to-read and highly practical, The Narrative Inquiry Primer will help you feel confident in adding narrative inquiry to your research repertoire.