FIELD METHODSMcCormack / FROM TRANSCRIPT TO STORY: PART 1 From Interview Transcript to Interpretive Story: Part 1— Viewing the Transcript through Multiple Lenses

For researchers working within a narrative inquiry framework, the task of con-structing an interpretive story is daunting. They need to know, What do we do after we have transcribed our interview tapes? The author’s response to this question is described in this article. The lenses of narrative processes, language, context, and moments are the dimensions people use to construct and reconstruct their identity and to give meaning to their lives. These lenses highlight both the individuality and the complexity of a life. Excerpts from an interview with one postgraduate student illustrate some of the views highlighted by each of these lenses. SETTING THE SCENE Researchers who work within a narrative inquiry framework face a daunt-ing task. Faced with page upon page of interview transcripts, how do we con-struct what Ellis (1995) calls a meaningful story? Researchers report feeling “terrified and overwhelmed ” and “at a loss as to where and how to begin” (Kiesinger 1998:84). In short, they want to know what to do after they have transcribed their interview tapes. The two articles in this series respond to this problem by describing the process that took me from interview transcript to meaningful story. The pro-cess involved looking at interview transcripts through multiple lenses: active listening, narrative processes, language, context, and moments, then using the views highlighted by these lenses to write interpretive stories. These lenses are the dimensions people use to construct and reconstruct their iden-tity and to give meaning to their lives. Thus, they highlight both the individu-ality and the complexity of a life