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`Do you know what I mean?': the use of a pluralistic narrative analysis approach in the interpretation of an interview

Birkbeck, University of London, UK, n.frost{at}bbk.ac.uk

This article demonstrates a within-method pluralistic approach to narrative analysis. It uses an interview held with a mother expecting her second child, in which she talks about her expectations of second-time motherhood, to show how application of more than one narrative analysis to the data leads to a multi-dimensional interpretation. This approach draws on the strengths offered by each model it employs to privilege the narrator's words. By taking guidance from the interview text itself in each phase of analysis, layers of understanding of the account are built up. The article illustrates how eaxch interpretation is made. It demonstrates that the initial understanding of the story is gradually enriched by systematic exploration of the text until a new story emerges. The article concludes by presenting the new story and considering the strengths and limitations of the approach.

Key Words: K E Y W O R D S : motherhood • multi-dimensional understanding • narrative analysis • pluralistic approaches • qualitative research • triangulation

Qualitative Research, Vol. 9, No. 1, 9-29 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1468794108094867


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