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“Guided tour”: a method for deepening the relational quality in narrative research

Michele C. Everett (The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
Margaret S. Barrett (The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)

Qualitative Research Journal

ISSN: 1443-9883

Article publication date: 6 April 2012

960

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is two‐fold: first, to provide a description and theoretical rationale for a methodological innovation used to explore relationships visitors form with a single museum over time; and second, to examine and critique the research outcomes in light of this approach.

Design/methodology/approach

To probe individual relationships with a museum, in this narrative inquiry, a unique method of data generation was developed – a “guided tour” of the museum. The guided tour, led by participants, provided a context and purpose for rich conversations between researcher and participant and deepened the relational quality of the research.

Findings

The quality of the researcher‐participant relationship played a critical role in shaping understandings, gained through the research process, about the phenomenon under investigation and self.

Research limitations/implications

Findings from the study document that novel insights emerge when opportunities to strengthen the researcher‐participant relationship are built into the research design.

Originality/value

This paper illustrates the value of employing strategies that deepen the relational quality in narrative research.

Keywords

Citation

Everett, M.C. and Barrett, M.S. (2012), "“Guided tour”: a method for deepening the relational quality in narrative research", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 32-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/14439881211222714

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2012, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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