Story completion methods in qualitative research

Braun, Virginia; Clarke, Victoria; Frith, Hannah; Moller, Naomi

Abstract

This chapter reviews existing scholarship on qualitative story completion. We explicate the theoretical assumptions of qualitative story completion, demonstrating that what you can claim to have identified varies considerably, depending on whether you assume your data provide access to essential psychological truths, social perceptions, or social constructions. We also explore key design considerations for qualitative story completion, including the potential for comparative designs – a less frequent practice in qualitative than quantitative research. We discuss different ‘types’ of and considerations for, the story stem. We consider analytic approaches for qualitative story completion, including and extending beyond the most popular method to date, thematic analysis. We emphasise the unique data generation potential offered by qualitative story completion, and its ability to get at complex, and socially or politically sensitive research questions, in an ethically safe manner.

• Deposit Date: May 5, 2025
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Edition: First
• Book Title: Narrative story completion methodologies: Research approaches across the lifespan
• ISBN: 9780197681039
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/14403043
• Contract Date: Nov 17, 2023