Constructing Composite Narratives

This book provides the first instructional guide to composite narrative research methods. Composite narratives are short vignettes that weave together quotes from multiple participants. The effect is to convey meaning to both academics and end-users, disseminating research findings succinctly and effectively. Readers interested in writing composite narratives will find a complete guide in this book. More and more researchers are using composite narratives to present their research findings, with support for the effectiveness of composite narratives as a research method growing. Inside this book, there is a rationale for why to use composite narratives and a complete guide for how to write them. Many examples from the author are provided, complete with audit trails that evidence how the composite narratives were written from the raw qualitative research data. Social science researchers at all career stages will be able to use this book to justify and construct composite narratives. Beginning with a discussion of this background, the proposed book will offer research students, supervisors, and experienced academics a manual for how and why to use composite narratives in social sciences research. The intended audience includes qualitative researchers in the social sciences. Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Dr Olivia Johnston is a qualitative researcher in education and a lecturer in social justice in education and secondary Humanities and Social Sciences education. She works at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia.

Chapter 1: What are composite narratives and why use them?. Chapter 2: A background to composite narratives in the literature. Philosophical foundations of composite narratives. Evoking the felt sense. Chapter 3: An overview of methods for qualitative data collection and analysis. Qualitative research. Grounded theory research methods. Phenomenological research methods. Representing qualitative research findings. Chapter 4: Six steps for constructing composite narratives. An example of how to construct a composite narrative. STEP 1: Develop a narrative thread (a storyline) for the first half of the narrative. STEP 2: Build the first half of the narrative. STEP 3: Develop a narrative thread for the second half of the narrative. STEP 4: Build the second half of the narrative. STEP 5: Edit and structure the narrative. STEP 6: Assign a meaningful title. Summary of steps for constructing composite narratives. Chapter 5: Record keeping: Audit trails for composite narrative constructions. Credibility of composite narratives. Example of audit trail for step 1: Developing the narrative thread. Example of audit trail for step 2: Build the narrative thread. Dependability. Example of audit trail for step 3: Develop the second narrative thread. Example of an audit trail for step 4: Building the second half of the narrative. Confirmability. Transferability. Example of an audit trail for step 5: Write a short introductory and concluding paragraph. Example of audit trail for step 6: Choose a meaningful title. Summary of rigor in composite narratives. Chapter 6: Other methods for constructing composite narratives. Depth and structure. Voice in composite narratives. Chapter 7: Context of the narratives: A study about students' experiences of their teachers' expectations of them. Chapter 8: Eight examples of composite narratives about students' experiences with audit trails. Narrative 1: 'Expecting my best'. Narrative 2: 'A ping pong ball in a balloon'. Narrative 3: 'More like a boss'. Narrative 4: 'A model city'. Narrative 5: 'Seeming to smile'. Narrative 6: Designing my own future. Narrative 7: 'Backbone'. Narrative 8: 'Right on the money'. Narrative 9: 'My socks don't matter today'. Narrative 10: 'What's in it for you?'. The main research findings conveyed through Narratives 1-10. Chapter 9: 15 further narratives about students' experiences with a meta-narrative index. The meta-narrative - An index for 24 composite narratives. Letter to teacher: From your year 10 student. Narrative 11: 'Feeling smart'. Narrative 12: 'A part of the class'. Narrative 13: 'Will I ever get it?'. Narrative 14: 'The golden rule'. Narrative 15: 'Refreshing my mind'. Narrative 16: 'I'd rather class be pretty chilled'. Narrative 17: 'Feeling the heat'. Narrative 18: 'Anatomy of interest'. Narrative 19: 'Daydreaming'. Narrative 20: 'Facing inadequacy'. Narrative 21: 'Bothered'. Narrative 22: 'On my own'. Narrative 23: 'Sooner or later'. Narrative 24: 'Derailing a dictator'. Summary of main research findings conveyed in Narratives 9-24. Chapter 10: Evidence of composite narrative efficacy in communicating findings to research end-users. The Teacher Expectation Intervention. Using Composite Narratives for Research Impact. Findings about the effectiveness of composite narratives. Discussion of composite narratives for disseminating research findings. Chapter 11: Conclusion.