Narrative Inquiry

Narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly) is a research methodology emphasizing stories as primary data and using narrative structure as the organizing principle of analysis and presentation. Narrative analysis is a broader category of analytical approaches applied to narrative data; analyses may extract themes, examine structure, analyze plot, or study how language constructs meaning. A researcher using narrative analysis might deconstruct narratives into codes and themes (losing narrative structure); a narrative inquirer preserves the story itself as the unit of analysis. Narrative inquiry is narrative analysis with a particular philosophical and practical commitment to narrative.

Yes. Some researchers collect narrative interviews and analyze them thematically (narrative thematic analysis). Others use narrative as one data source alongside observations or documents. This is permissible, but clarity is important: explicitly state which elements are narrative inquiry (preserving narrative structure) and which are thematic analysis (extracting codes/themes). Mixing methods should be purposeful and clearly described.

Realistic narratives are often non-linear. Participants may jump backward and forward, skip details, or contradict earlier statements. Rather than forcing narrative into artificial order, analyze the narrative as told: the fragmentation, digressions, and contradictions often reveal meaning. Why does the participant emphasize certain moments? Why does the narrative loop back to earlier events? The structure (or lack thereof) is analytically meaningful. 'Restorying' involves the researcher organizing the narrative into a coherent chronology to make underlying arc explicit, but this should be transparent—readers should see both the original narrative and the restoried version.

Not all stories have tidy endings. Ongoing or ambiguous narratives are authentic representations of living experience. Analyze the narrative as presented, including its openness or uncertainty. What does it mean that this person has not yet resolved this experience? The absence of closure may be analytically significant. You can invite further conversation (follow-up interviews) to explore ongoing developments, but respect that some stories remain open.

Restorying is the researcher's reconstruction of a narrative into a coherent, understandable form. You take the fragments and elements the participant shared and weave them into a narrative account (often chronological) that makes the underlying arc and meaning clearer. Use restorying when the original narrative is fragmentary, when you want to highlight particular themes or trajectories, or when you want to make implicit meanings explicit. Restorying is not misrepresenting the participant; it is a legitimate analytical tool. However, present both the original narrative and your restoried version so readers can see your interpretive work.