Researching family practices in everyday life: methodological reflections from two studies
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: The study of the everyday is recognised as central to the understanding of identities, agency and social life. Yet, attempts to research everyday life often fail to capture the complexity of the mundane. This paper draws on findings from two studies: fatherhood across three generations and adult narratives of childhood language brokering to illuminate that complexity. The purpose of bringing these studies together is methodological; in particular, it is to examine how the storied material generated by narrative approaches can contribute to understanding of the everyday practices of family life, practices that are often unacknowledged, hidden or assumed. One study adopted a narrative form of interviewing while the second combined narrative photo-elicitation techniques with narrative accounts. Methodologically, the two studies illustrate that no one method produces ‘objective’, comprehensive knowledge of family practices. Together, however, they produce new insights into family practices around fatherhood, migration and language brokering and how participants ‘do’, ‘display’ and commemorate family. The paper argues that narrative approaches, sometimes alongside visual methods, can assist holistic analyses of family practices from sociocultural, intergenerational and life course perspectives.
Authors: Ann Phoenix, Julia Brannen
Institutions: University of London, Coram
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: G1637003718, G3624745305, G4355501268
OpenAlex ID: W2005194433