Narrative inquiry : useful techniques for understanding the stories of people with cerebral palsy

Objective: Narrative inquiry methods are based on the premise that through listening to people’s stories we can make sense of their experiences and understand how they construct meaning in their lives within a broader social context. Narrative inquiry is seen to be particularly relevant for understanding the stories of people whose experiences may differ from normative experiences, including people with disabilities. Wide variation exists in both the data collection and analysis methods utilised within narrative inquiries. This paper details one example of narrative inquiry methods utilised successfully in an exploration of the stories of emerging adults with cerebral palsy (CP). Design: A qualitative, narrative inquiry guided, but not constrained, by the work of Donald Polkinghorne. Method: Multiple in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with 18 volunteers with CP aged 18–25 to explore their experience of emerging adulthood. While the majority of interviews used a traditional face to face format, email and telephone interviews were also successfully conducted. These alternative formats facilitated access to the study by people unable to participate in face to face interviews for reasons including speech impairment and geographic distance. A number of techniques were usefully employed during interviews, including setting the narrative terrain, funnelling, recursive questioning, and drawing on background knowledge. Data was analysed using both narrative analysis and paradigmatic analysis of narratives. Paradigmatic analysis included both inductive methods, that is identifying key concepts directly from the data, and deductive methods, relating to data coded according to key domains from the theoretical frameworks guiding the study; the theory of emerging adulthood and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Results: Narrative analysis resulted in the construction of an individual story for each participant. Paradigmatic analysis of narratives enabled the identification of a typology of four different types of stories of emerging adulthood and identification of common and contrasting themes and concepts appearing across stories. Both types of analysis offered useful, and different, insights into the stories and experiences of emerging adults with CP. Conclusion: A range of narrative inquiry techniques can be successfully used to engage effectively with people with cerebral palsy and to reveal their experiences and stories