Situated methodology; Narrative as tool to access situated and enacted qualities of occupation

Occupational science is increasingly moving beyond understandings of occupation as a capacity within individuals to a situated and unfolding conceptualization of our core concept. However such understandings of occupation have created some tensions in current research practices given that many of our research tools and approaches are framed within traditions setting the individual at the center of data collection and analysis, regardless of the context/environment where occupation take place and in which meaning grows/unfolds. There is therefore a need for methodology sensitive to the situated and unfolding character of occupation. In this workshop we propose ways to develop research methodologies sensitive to situated and unfolding qualities in occupation. Drawing on Ricoeur’s reasoning on narrative–in–action and Dewey’s concept of transaction we demonstrate how adoption of narrative methods can make research sensitive to the situated and moving character of occupation. We bring perspectives developed within an established international network of researchers using narrative grounded in action (based in Scandinavia) and a relatively new body of research around the world that turns to the concept of transaction (developed within an American context) to situate its findings. The workshop exemplifies the conference theme of strengthening international connections and provides one perspective for studying social issues, another conference theme. Objectives: Participants will: 1) Critique research designs with respect to the situated and unfolding nature of occupation, 2) Identify ways in which a transactional perspective might combine with narrative methods in a research program, 3) Outline a plan for a small research project using both narrative and transaction, and 4) Describe the concept of enacted narrative and identify its usefulness in occupational science. The workshop will provide examples stemming from on-going research projects from Sweden, Norway, and the US that exemplify the use of a transactional perspective and narrative methods. After a description of narrative analysis methods, small groups will work with different types of narrative data (provided) in order to try out such a research approach. Small groups will then be formed around common interests (e.g., participation, a particular age group, social justice, etc.) to outline a small research program that might combine narrative and transaction to explicate the situated and changing nature of occupation. This workshop contributes a method for examining occupation as situated, enacted, participatory, and inclusive of individuals and context in the broadest sense. As such it proposes a next step in the development of knowledge in occupational science. Key-words: action-based methodologies, narrative, transaction