Researching Life Stories and Family Histories (Introducing Qualitative Methods series)

• Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data
• InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing
• InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing
• The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research
• Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods

The author demonstrates that biographical research is a distinctive way of conceptualizing social activity. The three main approaches to biographical and family history research are covered:

- Realist - focused around grounded-theory techniques of interviewing;

- Neo-positivist - more structured interview techniques;

- Narrative - with emphasis on the active construction of life stories through the interplay between interviewer and interviewee.

An invaluable introduction to the field, which contains much that will be of interest to the experienced practitioner, the book will be ideal for researchers in sociology, psychology, political science, social policy or anthropology.

Author//Editor Description: Robert Miller is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Queen's University Belfast and formerly at Duke University and the University of Florida.