Deconstructing: Narrative Research

Week 9 Application
Deconstructing Mixed Methods Research
Walden University

NARRATIVE RESEARCH
Silva, J. M., & Pugh, A. J. (2010). Beyond the depleting model of parenting: Narratives of childrearing and change. Sociological Inquiry, 80(4), 605-627. doi:10.1111/j.1475-682X.2010.00353.x. The qualitative research design that I did not use is: Narrative Research. In this narrative research study, cited above, the authors and/or researchers, Silva and Pugh (2010) research twenty-four lengthy and in-depth interviews with parents who are younger in age, in an attempt to investigate the effects that parenting has on the lives of parents. The interviews that Silva and Pugh (2010) conduct and review employ the narrative
research design in this qualitative study. The article identifies how most current literature proclaims that parenting affects parents in a negative manner, whereas this article and/or study argues that the experience enhances the parent(s) (Silva and Pugh, 2010).
The study sets out to do two things, first it elaborates on five ways caregiving has impacted parents: it identifies 1) barriers; 2) aspirations; 3) second chance in parenting; 4) new path; and 5) connections (Silva and Pugh, 2010). The last thing it does is reveal a couple of metaphors parents tend to rely on that attempt to identify the various effects parenting has had on the lives of individual(s) (Silva and Pugh, 2010). The metaphors identified are: “the child as witness and the child as tether” (Silva and Pugh, 2010, para. 1). As the article and/or study concludes by offering some future research necessities, the authors and/or researchers make it clear to their audience/reader that the future cannot be productive without first obtaining and understanding what parenting does to those who parent. They feel that once that is understood and respected, then and only then will we understand various trends that occur in families (Silva and Pugh, 2010).
Something I noticed early in this article was the author’s “voice” (Bedford and Landry, 2010, p. 160) and/or use of the term “argue” (Silva and Pugh, 2010, para. 1). The authors state that, “While existing literature has identified the ways in which parenting affects parents adversely, we argue that more attention needs to be paid to how having children may enhance parents’ lives” (Silva and Pugh, 2010, para. 1). This statement alone tells me that these two authors have a passion and an opinion for what they are addressing in this article.
According to Bedford, and Landry (2010), passion in narrative research can be looked at as a strength and also as a limitation. One could critique this theory and identify that usually people that are passionate about the work they are conducting do a really good job, whereas on the other hand, one could argue that people that are passionate about their topic of study may inject some biased opinion in their research and not accurately analyze the information obtained (Bedford and Landry, 2010). The researcher has to be mindful of this concern throughout their study. He/she will be responsible for making sure they have full understanding of where they stand philosophically on the topic and always incorporate cultural and social factors in their analysis of the participant’s narrative (Bedford and Landry, 2010).
Another weakness that can be strengthened for narrative researchers is their ambiguity.
As identified earlier, they have to know where they stand and where their ambiguity lies as well, and in both, do their best to avoid incorporating either in their interpretations of their research (Bedford and Landry, 2010). Narrative researchers have to be clear on where they stand in these two arenas and “mask” (Bedford and Landry, 2010, p. 171) them both. The relationships that develop during the study are another limitation that could also be identified as a strength. Researchers have to be mindful to remain objective to make certain and to assure the participants that they will not participate in voyeurism, just to obtain their own personal gain academically (Bedford, Landry, 2010). These are only some of the strengths and limitations that narrative researchers have to take into consideration while conducting narrative interviews. In this study previously identified, these two researchers need to definitely remain objective.
My analysis of this narrative research would be conducted utilizing the thematic approach (Bedford and Landry, 2010). I say this because I would use the narrative interviews as data, and turn them into themes that express my findings (Bedford and Landry, 2010). Those findings would allow me to answer the question, “how did parenting effect you as a parent and why”? There will exist, portions of each person’s story that will aide me in answering this question. I deem the thematic approach the best analytical approach for this qualitative narrative research
design.

Reference
Hanson, W. E., Creswell, J. W., Clark, V., Petska, K. S., & Creswell, J. (2005). Mixed methods research designs in counseling psychology. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 52(2), 224-235.
Torres, L. (2009). Latino definitions of success: A cultural model of intercultural competence. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 31, 576–593.