narrativeenquiry-blog

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Storytelling, Sense Making, Sociology and the Acquisition of  Tacit Knowledge through Narrative

While the benefits of storytelling are undisputed:

" The story becomes an object of study, focusing on how individuals or groups make sense of events and actions in their lives. The theoretical underpinnings to narrative approaches are outlined as are the applied benefits of storytelling such as how narrative conveys tacit knowledge, how it can enable sense making, and how it constructs identity." 

It is then important for the research involved to convey Ewans sense of identity. A small introduction should be used to establish this and set the scene and contenxt for which this research has been carried out. Mitchell et al encourage the use of first hand interview as a central means by which storytelling can reveal the valuable information by which the beholder and first hand observer may not be aware of the value. As such, the handling of any information gathered during the interview stage must be well interpreted. the subjectivity of the information gathered deems it unreliable for any form of empirical data however it will triumph in illuminating the central themes of this project: change, age, and regret.

"This method is said to be well suited to study subjectivity and the influence of culture and identity on the human condition."

Culture and Identity are the two main pillars of Art.  Researchers of many multidisciplines use storytelling to gain insight to the tacit knowledge contained within. If an interview is well structured and though out, it may reveal exciting textual information. 

"Articles on organisation studies focusing on change, culture, identity and tacit knowledge transfer through story were found useful in the research."

Storytelling can be used as a valuable research tool for enhancing our understanding of knowledge acquisition in the context of farming. Whereas quantivie and wualitive analyss may have its place: 

"Narrative lends itself to a qualitative enquiry in order to capture the rich data within stories. Surveys, questionnaires and quantitative analyses of behaviour are not sufficient to capture the complexity of meaning embodied within stories."

"Using the story metaphor, people create order and construct texts within particular contexts. Narrative analysis then takes the story itself as the object of study. Thus the focus is on how individuals or groups make sense of events and actions in their lives through examining the story, and the linguistic and structural properties (Riessman, 1993).

With ethnography the first person accounts are intended as realistic descriptions, and as an alternative format from other scientific descriptions. Thus it is the events described in Ewan stories and not the stories created that are the object of investigation. Stories do not reflect the world .out there., but are constructed, rhetorical, and interpretive (Riessman, 1993).

Narrative analysis differs from both ethnography and textual analysis by an interpretive power. It has to do with how things are interpreted (Bruner 1990, pp. 51). The approach is well suited to study subjectivity and identity largely because of the importance given to imagination and the human involvement in constructing a story. For sociologists narratives also reveal much about social life or culture, as culture speaks through a story.

"By seeing how people talk, researchers can analyse how culturally contingent and historically contingent the terms, beliefs and issues narrators address are (Rosenwald, and Ochberg, 1992)".  

"Though a philosophical view has seen historical writing not as demonstrative discourse to be assessed by formal logic but rather as narratives representing the real past, where historical narratives are a construction of a story about reality rather than a direct representation of reality. . In this way historical narrative differs from fictional narrative because there are documents and evidence of events, yet the narrative is a literary reconstruction of events including the ideological perspective of the author and culture (Polkinghorne, 1988)."

Moving over to language and linguistics and how this could affect the research and information within this project, researchers have developed out of studying narratives an understanding of life stories or self narratives. Life stories are social constructions; they are social in that they are exchanged between people; they are oral and told between people. As such life stories are a linguistic unit involved in social interactions they are products of culture, in their content and form (Linde, 1993).

Socio-linguists then study text structure and linguistic forms to see what makes life stories logical. Discourse analysis looks at the structure of stories, and descriptions of narratives to see what brings coherence to stories.

 "Particular examination of the lexicon and grammatical features also helps to see where cohesion comes from. The ethno methodological approach of conversation analysis also looks at how the structure of interaction and communication is created by the actions or speech processes of the participants."

"The object of the study is the construction of an .older worker. identity. This is discussed in the context of broader notions of age, gender, unemployment and development of government labour market policies. The research adopts a critical theory orientation to analyse the construction of identity (age and identity), and aims to contribute to the debate on struggles for recognition of difference. It highlights the challenging and complex situations people find themselves in, particularly the effects of power relations and socio-economic factors. It adopts reflexive and interpretive styles in analysis of discourse, and applies a range of methods in order to understand the complexity involved in the social construction of identity. While basing its analysis on critical theory, it also acknowledges the social constructivist and interpretivist methods. "

Ambrosini, V. and Bowman, C. (2001), Tacit knowledge: Some suggestions for operationalization, Journal of Management Studies, 38(6), 811-829 

Stories are one of the earliest forms of communication, from tales forming myths to legends. Stories often have the power to convince members of an organisation of a new perspective. This means of passing on knowledge has seen a developing interest, particularly in the UK, with business and retail firms recognising the importance of stories in organisations. Traditionally story has not been considered a means of strong communication. This article lists three types of story found in organisations, and outlines the current practices of stories. They can be used to humanise communication, engage audiences, enable or assist change and identify desired qualities in an organisation. Cortazzi, M. (2001), Narrative analysis in ethnography, In P. Atkinson (ed), Handbook of ethnography, London, Sage, 384-394. 

Wall and Cavendish et al tell us that narrative is a fundamental way humans organise their understanding of the world. Analysing topics, content, style, and context of narrative told in ethnographic studies can give access to the tellers understanding of meanings for key events, communities, or cultural context. Narrative is an activity or social process, therefore narrative can be studied both as a text and as a process, to inform quick analyses. Narrative analysis of text gives access to the textual interpretive world of the teller, but also must account for the 'functions of narrative, cultural conventions and the contexts in which they occur'. In addition, performative aspects of how narrative does social work for participants in speech events must be considered. Cortazzi presents two examples of narrative in this piece of text. A rationale for narrative is outlined with four reasons for studying narrative: concern with the meaning of experience, voice, human qualities on personal or professional dimensions, and research as a story. The role of the researcher in eliciting and co-constructing narratives is also discussed. In relation to my own body of research, I wish to convey as the role of researcher, the voice of Ewan and his professional experiences which evoke a larger story.

Cortazzi, M., Jin, L., Wall, D., and Cavendish, S. (2001), Sharing learning through narrative communication, International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 36, 252-257.  

Dervin then informs us how to treat our information, providing an overview of the sense making methodology and approach, and illustrates how it has been used in information and communication systems. It proposes sense making as a method to study needs, images and satisfaction of users and potential users of information systems. Underlying assumptions and theoretical foundations are discussed. The aim is to determine what they want, what they get, and what users and potential users think about their information systems. In this same way, included within my research is a quick back and forth of what Ewan wanted or needed in order to have continued with his profession.

Dervin, B. (1999), Sense-Making’s theory of dialogue: A brief introduction, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, California, May 27.  

Franzosi addresses both the issues of why and how sociologists should be interested in narrative. The reason why relates to the fact narrative texts contain rich sociological information through the recounting of stories or experiences, and that much empirical data in sociology is presented in narrative form. In regards to the methodology of studying narrative, Franzosi outlines a definition of narrative. This definition is used to further examine modes of analysis, demonstrating the methodology with an analysis of a short narrative text. Highlighted in this is both the structure and linguistic properties of narrative, illustrating how sociology and linguistics interrelate with regard to text.

Gabriel, Y. (1998), Same old story or changing stories? Folkloric, modern and postmodern mutations, In Discourse and organisation, D. Grant, T. Keenoy, and C. Oswick, [eds], London, Sage, 1998, 84-103.

 Gill presents the view that narrative inquiry is a component of systems design that can be used to facilitate the change process. Systems design provides the framework for narrative inquiry to facilitate conversations that develop the processes, pathways and patterns during social construction of reality by participants. The personal stories told are used to build larger frames of reference to assess assumptions and guide action. The value of stories is that while they recreate experience, they still retain the personal, cultural and historical contextual connection giving a true and unique account.

Glanz, L.; Williams, R.; Hoeksema, L. (2001), Sensemaking in expatriation - A theoretical basis, Thunderbird International Business Review, 43(1), 101-120.

Jeffcutt compares the traditional approach to management development with an outline of an approach adopting narrative. The paper shows how narrative can enhance the knowledge of effects of change on individuals. A management of change course is presented to illustrate the role of narrative. Narrative is said to express the richness and diversity regarding human experience. In contrast, following mechanical models of human nature can result in simple analyses. Thus narrative is a beneficial tool for portraying reality of situations to engage change and/or development in many multidisciplinary situations. Jeffcutt, P. (1994), The interpretation of organization: A contemporary analysis and critique, Journal of Management Studies, 31(2), 225-250. 

Josselson and Lieblich provide a comparative analysis of tacit and explicit knowledge. It views tacit knowledge as know-how. Explicit knowledge is articulated through language and subsiquently throught the act of storytelling. It points out two kinds of tacit knowledge, one involving non-social interaction and the other involving social interaction, collective and creative action for its development. "Social knowledge is perceived to be embedded in its context and is transmitted through stories told by organisational members during problem solving or problem re-definition. "Josselson, R. and Lieblich, A. (eds.) (1999), Making meaning of narratives, Sage Publications. London.

Llewellyn explains that narrative is a key aspect in conveying social knowledge. In this article, the role of narrative in expressing and transmitting social tacit knowledge is examined. The data is based on a three-year ethnographic study of an insurance company in America. Narrative provides a bridge between explicit and tacit knowledge (that which is non-quantifiable) and allows tacit social knowledge to be demonstrated and learned. It is found that maintaining an 'archival stock' of stories is less effective using databases, lessons learned systems, and video records when keeping transcripts of stories. "More importantly than keeping a stock of stories, organisations can make use of stories by enhancing the opportunity and increasing the number of occasions for them to be told." Llewellyn, S. (1999), Narratives in accounting and management research, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 12(2), 220.237 

Rhodes presents narrative as a literary form and uses it to link a text to the larger texts in which it is embedded. This linking occurs by using the text or narrative and interpreting it in relation to the surrounding situation or larger text. This may be in relation to other historical narratives and the larger organisation. In this case, Ewans stories are used to link his experiences to the wider farming dynamic. "Thus it is possible to track changes in the organisation through the development of the embedded narrative in relation to time and location. The study uses data from a high technology research organisation based in Silicon Valley in 1996-1997."

O.Connor, E.S., (1997), Telling decisions: The role of narrative in organizational decision making, in Shapira, Zur, (ed.), Organizational decision making, Cambridge series on judgement and decision making, New York, Cambridge University Press, 1996, 304-323.

 Additionally, Rhodes adopts a narrative approach to organisational change and learning, and emphasises the importance of capturing and reporting the "voices" of organisational participants, the leading theme for this body of research. He identifies learning, socialisation and diversity as a context for research and raises the issue of power relations and its impact in organisational learning. Power struggles feature within this documentation as farming has inevitably suffered as a result of changes in Government and legislation. Rosenwald, G.C., and Ochberg, R.L. (eds.), (1992), Storied Lives: The cultural politics of self-understanding, New Haven, CT, Yale University Press.

Salzer explaines how the fourteen essays included in this book are concerned with an introduction to narrative psychology. Issues explored include the relationships between personal stories, cultural and political forces influencing these stories, and the generation of a self-understanding. Resenwald argues for a performative theory of identity in which life stories do not simply reflect actual events but actively shape who an individual is. What has Ewans stories revealed abbout his personality? How did these events and experiences shape his career? "The particular conventions that govern the telling of self-narratives are critically important in the kinds of choices one makes in life."Salzer, M.S. (1998), Narrative approach to assessing interactions between society, community, and person, Journal of Community Psychology, 26(6), 569.580.  In conclusion, narratives allow access to implied and implicit knowledge and are an informal means of understanding and the approach can be used to implement or assist change for large companies but also in that sense tell a big story in a small way. Furthermore and importantly the shortcomings of traditional research in the ability to capture the rich nature of experiences has been highlighted.  

"Applying narrative methods to a military setting seems a natural progression, as soldiers have a diverse range of experiences and narrative may capture the social understandings, implicit knowledge, or the organisational identity of the military. Breaking from traditional quantitative methods and capturing stories may reveal an in-depth account of the military role, the processes and organisational culture embodied within the stories told. That is, the process of meaning making can be seen through the discourse of narratives, and outline the social norms, structures and attitudes of the organisation. An additional benefit to applying this methodology is the fact that many personnel have personal .war stories. to tell in discussion of their roles. "

Therefore capturing these stories and analysing them may lead to a better understanding and yield a far deeper insight into the complexity of life. Ultimately however narrative can be used to assist in the interpretation of tacit knowledge. Firstly, by collecting stories, the sense making enabled through narratives promotes understanding. Secondly, by eliciting these stories, particularly those where things go wrong, and applying the methodology, stories told can be actively reshaped and retold to promote the values and culture desired by the individual.

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Narrative Inquiry Critical Reflections

Within my investigation, I am presented with many issues: practical, rational, ethical and moral, all relating to the retelling of another's experiences. After all, I have had zero involvement with the experiences themselves, some of which date back 40 years before I was born. Is it possible to retell theses experiences in an appropriate way, ensuring a group of experiences has been retold accurately, and in a way which could be meaningful to my own project: to tell the story of my neighbour who has fallen victim to a rapid change in the way farming has developed? Can the information be used as fact? How can experience be treated as information and analysed to make a point? To what capacity can a person's mind distort an event to suite their own needs? Should I back up information from my neighbours stories with hard facts? Can I fill in blank areas or will these need re-addressing to solidify any stories? Who do the stories belong to once they have been retold?

Clandinin and Connelly (2000) explain that this form of investigation falls under the umbrella of narrative inquiry as I am aiming to identify the relationship between individual experience and cultural context.  "Narrative inquiry is a means by which we systematically gather, analyse, and represent people’s stories as told by them, which challenges traditional and modernist views of truth, reality, knowledge and personhood." While narrative inquiry can be n incredibly effective tool for making a point, it comes with many difficult issues in tow. Issues which I must stay aware of through-out my investigations. From interviewing my neighbour to how I analyse the information presented to me. A question frequently enters my investigation - how can this memory translate to information? Surely it is far too subjective to present an accurate source? Research suggests that finding a purpose for the investigation - such as a point or an audience, may clarify my route of investigation and embrace what is a subjectivity rich path. "Subjective meanings and sense of self and identity are negotiated as the stories unfold, … bearing in mind that stories are reconstructions of the person’s experiences, … remembered and told at a particular point in their lives, to a particular researcher/audience and for a particular purpose." As such, I must remember that while the views of my neighbour Ewan are very revealing, they do not account for all farmers. The intention is to present my neighbour as an injured party, therefore the means by which the narrative (or story) is presented will weigh heavily on the overall outcome - how I present the story will inevitably affect how the viewer absorbs the information.  "This all has a bearing on how the stories are told, which stories are told and how they are presented/interpreted. They do not represent ‘life as lived’ but our re-presentations of those lives as told to us."

Beforemy key point of research, my interview with Ewan, research into the ethics and moral requirements of narrative inquiry must be discussed.  I felt it important for both parties to work in a way to reflect my key intentions: to give a fair insight to the everyday issues facing Kintyre farmers in the present day. "Trust and openness in research relationship High levels of ethical and critical engagement Mutual and sincere collaboration, over time Storyteller having full voice, but both voices heard Reflexive engagement throughout Tolerance of ambiguity Valuing of signs, symbols, metaphors Using multiple data sources."  As a result, while Ewans stories are valued, it is incredibly important that information be backed up using other sources such as journals, books, government websites etc. Furthermore, exploring the relationship between visual metaphors and illustrations will be of vital importance to creating both intrigue and summarising key points within the investigation. The importance of presenting or re-presenting these vital stories is essential. "The stories are re-presented in ways that preserve their integrity and convey a sense of the ‘irreducible humanity’ of the person. Narrative analysis treats stories as knowledge per se which constitutes ‘the social reality of the narrator’ (Etherington, 2004:81). Etherington also explains that retold narratives must convey a sense of that person’s experience in its "depth, messiness, richness and texture, by using the actual words spoken". It includes some of researchers part in that conversation in order to be transparent about the relational nature of the research, and the ways in which these stories are shaped through dialogue and co-construction, as well providing a reflexive layer with regard to researchers positioning." For example: In one interview Ewan describes that a large barn caught fire whilst they where disposing of over three tonnes of quality sheep fleece, approximately 2 years ago. Sheep fleece is now so worthless it is more economical to burn it rather than try to sell it. He expressed that just 25 years ago sheep fleece was a valued product of the farm. Having checked official records of sheep fleece prices, coupled with newspaper clipping of current reviews on sheep fleece prices this was indeed a true point. Furthermore, using direct quotes helped give depth and richness tot he story. As an illustration of this story, I have chosen the barn set alight. Both visually stimulating, not too obvious and entirely provocative in questioning the value of goods once of such a great value to the farm, now a nuisance. A completely unique experience, retold as an account, used as information and one which can be used to tell a bigger story. A big story told in a subtle way.  Narrative knowledge/ Narrative knowing is created and constructed through stories of lived experiences, and the meanings created from these stories. It assists in the sense making of the ambiguity and complexity of unique and diverse human lives such as Ewans. Narrative Knowing is used in a vast diversity of ways in modern civilisation. For example, I recently watched a crime drama on BBC1 which stated 'based on a true story' before the featured film. This means someone has remembered and accounted a large amount of the information in the drama. They are presenting what they have seen and what they know or knew about the event which took place. A such, narrative knowing helps us explore memorable, interesting knowledge that brings together the many layers of understandings about a person, their culture and how they have created change:

"We hear struggles to make sense of the past and create meanings as they tell and/or ‘show’ us what happened to them. The shape of a story helps organise information about how people have interpreted events; the values, beliefs and experiences that guide those interpretations; and their hopes, intentions and plans for the future. We find complex patterns, descriptions of identity construction and reconstruction, and evidence of social discourses that impact on a person’s knowledge creation from specific cultural standpoints Knowledge gained in this way is situated, transient, partial and provisional; characterized by multiple voices, perspectives, truths and meanings."

My relationship with Ewan and both our eagerness to reflect the true changes to farming meant a collaborative understanding and flow during interviews. Within the interview section of my project, I feared I would be left simply with pages of transcript to type and stories to interpret. I thought I would need to filter what information could be used in a productive sense- in my case to highlight negative changes to Kintyre farmers. However, key research has found that if we see narrative inquiry as an ongoing collaborative effort, a natural understanding of data can be presented. "Analysis (meaning making) occurs throughout the research process rather than being a separate activity carried out after data collection (Gehart et al 2007). The emphasis is on co-construction of meaning between the researcher and participants. While being involved in/ listening to/reading the conversations, researchers take in what is being said and compare it with their personal understandings, without filling in any gaps in understanding with ‘grand narratives’, but rather inquiring about how pieces of the stories make sense together. The process of ‘data gathering’ and ‘analysis’ therefore becomes a single harmonious and organic process." Keeping Ewan informed in what point was vital, especially making connections with his experiences, memories and facts.  

Ethical issues within narrative inquiry are underpinned when we invite a person to interview or focus research around: Josselson (1996: 9) advocates that we should ask ourselves: ‘Do you really feel like interfering in his or her life? Will you be able to live with the consequences….? Is it justified from the interviewee’s own perspective?’ When I asked my ex-client if he had any anxieties about it he told me: ‘My greatest anxiety is that you change your mind about doing it’. (Etherington 2000). Usually the person being interview wants to be interviewed - consent should be paramount. I decided to share my purpose for research with Ewan as he is a close friend and didn't want him thinking I was out to shame his farming methods but rather share the reality of the farming life. This helped establish trust and later allowed me great freedom in my illustrations. I have also explored

Furthermore, Etherington (2007) explores how we can effectively question ourselves before, during and after the process of narrative inquiry and apply it to almost any situation or filed while discussing the handling of subjective information retold by another person .

1) Criteria Does the work make a substantive contribution to my understanding of social life? Does the writer demonstrate a deeply grounded social science perspective and demonstrate how it is used to inform the text?

2) Does the work have aesthetic merit? Does the writer uses analysis to open up the text and invite interpretive responses? Is it artistically shaped, satisfying, complex, and interesting?

3) Is the work reflexive enough to make the author sufficiently visible for me to make judgements about the point of view? Does the author provide evidence of knowledge of postmodern epistemologies that convinces me of their understanding of what is involved in telling people’s lives? Am I informed how the author came to write the work and how the information was gathered? Have the complexities of ethical issues been understood and addressed? Does the author show themselves to be accountable to the standards for knowing and telling participants stories?

4)What is the impact of this work on me? Does it affect me emotionally, intellectually, generate new questions, move me to write or respond in any other way?

5)Does the work provide me with a sense of ‘lived experience? Does it seem to be a truthful, credible account of cultural, social, individual or communal sense of what is ‘real’?

  References

Belenky, M. F., Clinchy,B.M. Goldberger, N.R. & Tarule, J.M.(1986) Women’s ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books.

Bruner, J. (1986) Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Ellis, C. and Bochner, A (2000)Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: researcher as subject. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Etherington, K. (2000) Narrative approaches to working with adult male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Etherington, K. (2007) Ethical research in reflexive relationships. Qualitative Inquiry, 13 (50: 599 -616. Hertz, R. (1997) Reflexivity and voice. London: Sage

Josselson, R. (1996) Ethics and Process in the Narrative Study of Lives. London: Sage

Leitch, R (2006) Outside the Spoon Drawer, Naked and Skinless in Search of My Professional Esteem: The Tale of an "Academic Pro“. Qualitative Inquiry, 12: 353 - 364.

Mishler, E. G. (1991) Representing discourses: the rhetoric of transcription. Journal of Narrative and Life History. 1 (40: 255-280

Richardson, L. (2003) Poetic representation of interviews. In J. F. Gubrium and J. A. Holstein (eds) Postmodern Interviewing. Thousand Oaks: Sage

Wosket, V. (1999) Therapeutic use of self: Counselling practice, research and supervision. London: Routledge Wyatt, J. (2008) No longer loss: Autoethnographic stammering. 14 (6): 995-967

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