Narrative inquiry: Stories and storytellers of social problems

This chapter provides an overview of the use of narrative inquiry in researching social problems. We begin by providing a brief historical sketch and definition. We then describe three ways in which narratives figure into the study of social problems (as personal stories, institutional stories, and stories of social problems). In considering the analysis of narratives, we start by contrasting objectivist and constructionist approaches and proceed to discuss several specific orientations. A study of forensic nurses serves as an example of how narrative inquiry may be applied to the study of a particular social problem. The chapter concludes by outlining the prospects and challenges of narrative inquiry.