Ruthellen Josselson, Ph.D.
“There is no method capable of being
learned and systematically applied so that
it leads to the goal. The scientist has to
worm general principles out of nature by
perceiving in comprehensive complexes
of empirical facts certain general features
which permit of precise formulation.”
---Albert Einstein
DISCOVERY
prediction (whether, to what extent
in regard to difference)
vs.
meanings(process and causality)


"an interpretive science in search of meaning
not an experimental science in search of
lawas" (Geertz, 1973, p.5)
"man is an animal suspended in webs of
significance he himself has spun"
Big Q question – the conceptual
context
Little Q question – near
to experience
INDUCTION
ABDUCTION
What others
The “method”
have seen:
– how you will
The literature inquire
review and
conceptual
context
What you see
– what the
texts say
The
interpretation:
What you
make of it all.
HOLISTIC –
CONTENT
HOLISTIC-FORM
CATEGORICAL CATEGORICAL–CONTENT
FORM
From Five Ways of Doing Qualitative
Analysis
PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS-Fred
Wertz
GROUNDED THEORY-Kathy Charmaz
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS -Linda McMullen
NARRATIVE ANALYSIS- Ruthellen
Josselson
INTUITIVE INQUIRY-Rosemarie Anderson
1) Read for the plot
a) Attend to what is happening:
Where are we? What are the stories
being told?
b) Attend to repeated images and
metaphors
c) Attend to dominant themes
d) Note contradictions and absences
2) What are the multiple contexts in
which these stories are embedded?
3) The listener’s/reader’s response to the
interview
a)Identify your own thoughts and feelings
What are your associations to the
narrative? What is your emotional
response to the person and interview?
b)What is your social location in relation
to the participant?
c) How might your response affect your
understanding of the person and the
stories being told? How does your
response help you understand the
narrative?
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



ABSTRACT – summary of the story to come
ORIENTATION – introduces person, place,
time
COMPLICATING ACTION – what happened
EVALUATION – what is significant about the
story; how it is to be understood
RESOLUTION/CODA - return to the present
Based on Alexander, I. (1990). Personology: Method and
Content in Personality Assessment and Psychobiography.
Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Primacy:
 What comes first has a particular importance because
it came first to the mind of the narrator and introduces
and frames the narrative.
 Frequency
 That which is repeated must have some particular
meaning.
 Incompletion
 An obvious form of incompletion occurs when an
expository sequence begins, follows a course, but ends
before closure is reached. Or, there can be
discontinuities in the narrative even when closure is
reached.

Uniqueness
This may be pointed out by the participant as
something unusual. More subtle are the signs of
uniqueness that arise from either differences in
expression from those commonly held in the
general language, or more importantly, clear
departures from the usual language expressed by
the subject.
Negation:
Pay attention to narration that declare what is NOT
or what the participant did NOT think or feel. The
idea being negated still comes from the participant
and we can wonder what is being negated and why.
Omission
We might think about what is being left out of
the narrative and why this might be. Ideally,
this would be inquired about at the time of
interview, but it can still be considered on
analysis.
Emphasis:
Something is called to our attention deliberately
by the teller, e.g., “I want you to know that . . .,”
or “A critical event in my life was . . .,” or other
obvious forms of accent or underlining.”
Error:
Slips of the tongue or distortions
may indicate important, hidden motives.
Listening/reading/ interpretive
communities:
Read within listening communities of
multiple listeners –
exploring the different connections,
resonances,
and interpretations that each listener
naturally brings to the analytic process.