Essay Sample with Analysis of Journal Article

Analysis of article example

Chase, S. E. (2003). Taking narrative seriously: Consequences for method and theory in interview studies. Turning points in qualitative research: Tying knots in a handkerchief, 273-296.

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Narrative analysis can be defined as an analytical approach or technique which accommodates various approaches. Social researchers apply these techniques in exploring and analyzing how different people tell stories concerning their lives. Through narrative analysis, social researchers are also able to understand and comprehend the intricacies of individual and social relations. It is an important tool which researchers used in understanding the diversity and various levels present in stories, instead of treating or viewing these stories as coherent, natural and unified entities (S. Chase, 2003). Susan’s work focuses on the narrative character of social lives. She tries to explore the various ways which people make sense of their lives, stories which institutions say to explain their doings, actions and inactions and, the stories institutions produce to legitimate whatever they do on a daily basis.

Susan applies methods of narrative inquiry to find out the engagement of undergraduates with regards to issues that pertain diversity issues. Susan uses interviews, faculty staff, administrators and the content analyses of student government minutes to provide an analysis of how the various students have learnt to speak and listen with one another across social differences, especially with regards to race. Susan goes on to argue that learning to speak and listen is an indication of the educational process itself; that is assist in opening the mind of an individual, in critical thinking and, the re-consideration of ideas which are taken for granted. Narrative analysis lays more emphasis on narratives as socially constructed through interplay of social, interpersonal and cultural relations instead of an in-depth analysis of them as a representation which contains a single meaning. Susan goes on to further point out that the unit of analysis is not only the story itself as it is told and or written but also in the manner in which the story is told and it should make great sense to those listening to the story, the story teller and the researchers together with the research audience.

One aspect of narrative research strategies is that narrative methods are limited to qualitative in-depth analysis of the stories told. The essence of using a narrative strategy is that it provides a good approach to an in-depth understanding of the actor’s point of view of his or her identity or self-image and that it encourages people to give voice to their often unheard stories

Article analysis essay

Focus Group Interviews: A New Feminist Method

Frances looks into how feminist qualitative research can be strengthened and broadened through the development of feminist focus group inter- views. In addition to that, he studies the influence and the impact of popular culture on the construction and maintenance of "normative sexuality" for women. Frances addresses some of the practical and ethical issues that a researcher must confront when using group interviews. He looks into the different concerns in recruiting participants and making the most of the unique dynamics of a group interview and the kinds of data they produce for analysis. More than most other methods, group interviews provide feminists with the opportunity to conduct research that is consciousness- raising and empowering, research that does not merely describe what is, but that participates in shaping what could be (Frances, 1999).

Frances tries to further the development of focus group interviews as a valuable method for feminist social scientists. This method not only conforms to feminist principles but offers the possibility of expanding and utilizing them in new ways. The distinctiveness of feminist methodology is located in a shared commitment to three goals: 1) to "bring women in," that is to find what has been ignored, censored, and suppressed in the standard focus on men's concerns; 2) to minimize harm, control, and exploitation in the research process, using research strategies that are more inclusive and less hierarchical than the standard practice of social research; and 3) to conduct research that will be of value to women and will lead to social change or action beneficial to women. He further points out that group interviews provide a new way for feminist researchers to meet these goals. Focus groups provide the opportunity for studying issues of gender and sexuality with a more egalitarian relationship between the researcher and the research subjects, and consciousness-raising and empowering interaction among participants. Rather than exploiting participants who may get very little in return, group interviews can provide support for participants and meet some of their needs. Focus group interviews provide a way to study attitudes and beliefs, and more importantly can facilitate the kind of thinking that can lead people to question their previous assumptions. As Frances points out, "feminist research is not research about women but research for women to be used in transforming their sexist society." Group discussions can identify "local theories and popular knowledge" while group members may generate new knowledge as they attempt to understand their situation. Group interviews can advance the transformation of patriarchal social institutions through research and through their potential for consciousness-raising and empowerment.

Frances points out that he uses the questionnaire as both a recruitment tool and as a way of getting certain consistent information about the participants and that individual interviews would probably not have had as great an effect on his own consciousness because it would have been easier for Frances to isolate any surprising or challenging statements as coming from a few unusual individuals.

References

Chase, Susan E. (2003) ‘Narrative inquiry: Turning Points in Qualitative Research. Tying Knots in a Handkerchief. Handbook of Qualitative Research, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. pp. 274–294.