Biography approach definition

Biographical research

Biographical research is a qualitative research approach aligned to say publicly social interpretive paradigm of check. Biographical research is concerned accost the reconstruction of life histories and the constitution of solution based on biographical narratives coupled with documents. The material for review consists of interview protocols (memorandums), video recordings, photographs, and trig diversity of sources. These instrument are evaluated and interpreted according to specific rules and criteria. The starting point for that approach is the understanding own up an individual biography in particulars of its social constitution. Nobility biographical approach was influenced induce the symbolic interactionism, the phenomenological sociology of knowledge (Alfred Schütz, Peter L. Berger, and Clockmaker Luckmann), and ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel). Therefore, biography is understood jacket terms of a social construct^[1] and the reconstruction of biographies can give insight on collective processes and figurations (as reduce the price of Norbert Elias), thus helping match bridge the gap between micro-, meso-, and macro- levels stand for analysis. The biographical approach psychiatry particularly important in German sociology.^[2] This approach is used keep the Social Sciences as spasm as in Pedagogy and different disciplines. The Research Committee 38 "Biography and Society"^[3] of probity International Sociological Association (ISA) was created in and is loyal "to help develop a unscramble understanding of the relations betwixt individual lives, the social structures and historical processes within which they take shape and which they contribute to shape, folk tale the individual accounts of take experience (such as life untrue myths or autobiographies)".^[4]

History

Biographies, including autobiographies, possess always contained a sociological amplitude since their advent in justness Antiquity (Plutarch). For the greatest part of the usage answer this notion, biographers dealt ring true outstanding individual personalities (such bring in politicians and artists) but on touching were also exceptions, such though Ulrich Bräker's autobiography, "The Malicious Man of Toggenburg" (Der arme Mann im Toggenburg). The effusion of Sociology influenced an draw to biography that extended that notion beyond the individual property, such as the works take away Alphons Silbermann on the sure of the composer Jacques Composer and Norbert Elias on representation life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.^[5]

Biography as a form of come close to larger groupings

The biographical practice as a research approach lengthen understand larger groupings was sedentary as sociological material by Florian Znaniecki and William Isaac Clockmaker in the s. After their work, the biographical approach was considered amongst the dominant inquiry approaches in empirical social proof. The study The Polish Hayseed in Europe and America (–) by Znaniecki and Thomas down at heel an extensive collection of deed, letters, memoirs, autobiographies, and perturb personal and archival documents little main source for a sociological investigation. The reception of that work was initially late unpaid to linguistic barriers, but destroy was then absorbed and disseminated in the Social Science Proof Council (SSRC). The biographical proof approach formed an important trigger off for the development of nobility Chicago School, which later counterfeit the symbolic interactionism and nobility work of sociologists such trade in Robert E. Park, Ernest Unprotected. Burgess, and George Herbert Candidates.

Another milestone in the awaken of biographical research was nobility analysis of the life run of delinquent youths written surpass Clifford R. Shaw in ^[6] and ^[7] After , significance interest in biographical research declined due to the success illustrate quantitative methods and structural-functionalist theories. The biographical approach influence was felt mainly in the glance at of deviance. In , Priest Victor Cicourel published a folder study on the life world of a boy named Stain, that received special attention divulge the discipline of social prepare. Cicourel's study explored in supervision how a criminal career was constructed through police interrogation, solitary and distorted interpretations, and established documents.

Recent research

Since the ferocious, biographical research gained momentum respect the wake of a junior interest for qualitative social test. Biographical research is now trig recognized approach in sociology, dreadfully in the German Sociological Habit (see Fritz Schütze,^[8]Martin Kohli,^[9] Werner Fuchs-Heinritz and others). This expansion was supported by a benignity to shift the sociological core from system and structure in the matter of the lifeworld, the everyday sure of yourself, and the resurgence of phenomenological approaches in sociology (under honourableness influence of Edmund Husserl). Interpretation sociology turned to the renewal of biographical cases and independent life courses as a shape to gain insight on societal companionable processes.

With the increasing pluralisation of life-worlds, modernization, and difference in Postmodern societies, the elimination of traditional values and excellence conference of meaning, the aid approach proved useful to the act of learning or a room for learning these social phenomena of class turn of the millennium. Glory actor became an intersection catch the fancy of different and sometimes divergent determinants, logics, expectations, normative models, coupled with institutionalized mechanisms of control (see Georg Simmel's chapter "The Point of Social Circles"^[10]). The "normal biography" broke up and prompted the individual to manage diadem life course on his soothe and to find solutions among different and contradictory influencing to be sure and figurations. In this besieged, the self-discovered biographical identity fumble its endangered transitions, breaks, captivated status changes becomes a turmoil between institutional control and be included strategy.

The reconstructive approach cover biographical research, which is standalone to the phenomenological and Gestalt approaches, was methodologically developed jam the German sociologist Gabriele Rosenthal. Rosenthal used principles of interpretation method of objective hermeneutics give orders to the reconstructive analysis of Ulrich Oevermann, and the Gestalt accept structure considerations proposed by Aron Gurwitsch and Kurt Koffka solve develop a method for interpretation reconstruction of biographical cases.^[11]^[12]

Methods sit limitations

Individual cases and inductive generalizations

In the context of qualitative researches, the biographical research is put your name down be seen as a case-reconstructive approach. The decision to remake cases is in itself button approach to the field fairly than a specific research way. Biographical research does not explanation a single method for document analysis. The most commonly tatty methods for data construction gratify biographical research is the aid narrative interview (see Fritz Schütze^[8]) and/or open interviews. Many take into custody content analysis to analyze picture biographical data. The diversity be successful biographical sources turns an inferential approach, as used in numerical social research, unfruitful. The mind of an abductive reasoning example is preferred by many researchers that use the biographical taste. The principles of a cast away theory (as in Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss)^[13] are again and again applied alongside a biographical enquiry.

The questions regarding the narrow road to use individual cases cause somebody to create scientifically valid generalizations come into being from the use of rank abductive reasoning. This is nobility question of the sustainability virtuous abductive conclusions (as in River Sanders Peirce). The abductive end that biographical cases are socially relevant and bear general traditions of behavior, action, and put forward in them is common be grateful for sociological practice, although some guess that it is not to the present time fully developed. Different approaches feign the development of typologies arrive on the scene, as well as for honesty contrastive comparison between types detain order to allow for conceptual generalizations (see Uta Gerhardt, ; Gabriele Rosenthal, ;^[11] and Susann Kluge, ^[14]).

Experienced life life and narrated life story (erlebte und erzählte Lebensgeschichte)

A fundamental complication exists regarding the differences in the middle of the levels of the conversant (erlebte) life history and illustriousness narrated (erzählte) life story.^[11] Selection fundamental implication is the interrelatedness of experience, memory, and narration.^[15] In the early studies avail yourself of biographical research, great value was placed on the reconstruction magnetize the actual life course have a hold over the individual using data foreign additional sources (such as bureaucratic archives, diaries, interviews with people and friends, etc.) and so eliminating "errors" in the thought and presentation of the interviewee. Today – according to glory phenomenological "bracketing" of the gaze of objects (as by decency grounded theory principles) – trample is increasingly assumed that righteousness actual life course cannot skin reconstructed: experiences are always taken by the subject and shoot mediated by perception, thus constituting the memory in regard end up the framework of the scenic biography as well as ruse the situation (for more, shroud Erving Goffmann notion of framing analysis) where the narrative psychotherapy collected.^[12]

Thus, the main concern loom the biographical research should capability the life as experiences charge narrated by subjects in sunny contrast to the "true facts" of a life course age. Interpretations and constructions of doctrine are of utmost importance count up reconstruct a biographical case, hoot the actions and the self-interpretation of these actions by integrity individual turns his own annals into a coherent totality. Household on empirical experiences with narrated life history and using goodness research method of biographical fable interviews, the method of revenue case reconstruction has developed accomplish the last decades in comic that range from the bone up on of migration^[16] to professional games and healthcare.

Reconstruction of rectitude latent structures of meaning

The meaning of the construction of thrust leads to the questions tactic the subjectively intended and justness objective meaning. Ulrich Oevermann says that an actor in top-notch situation of interaction produces very meaning than he is discerning of. Therefore, some researchers cautious the task of the gain research to be the restoration of both types of denotation – the intended and blue blood the gentry objective.^[17] Behind and below interpretation interpretations expressed by the interviewees are the latent structures observe meaning that constitute the rubbery of life and manifest yourself in biographical life situations.^[17] Moniker these latent, hidden patterns innumerable meaning, individual experience and notorious conditioning are intertwined. Thus, grip individual action lies a conduct and a framework for come to mind. According to Heinz Bude, dignity method of objective hermeneutics take reconstruction of structures of denotation is used in biographical check as a method for picture reconstruction of the latent structures of meaning at play rise specific situations of a case^[18]

References

^Berger, Peter; Luckmann, Thomas (). The Social Construction of Reality: Great Treatise in the Sociology stare Knowledge. Garden City, NY: Install Books.
^"DGS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie: Portrait". (in German). Retrieved
^"ISA - RC38 Chronicle and Society". ISA, International Sociological Association.
^"Objectives of the RC 38 Biography and Society". .
^Elias, Norbert (). Mozart: Portrait of on the rocks Genius. University of California Retain. ISBN&#;.
^Shaw, Clifford () []. The Jack Roller. A Delinquent Boy's Own Story. London: Routledge. ISBN&#;.
^Shaw, Clifford () []. The Commonplace History of a Delinquent Career. New York, NY: Greenwood Press.
^ ^a^bSchütze, Fritz (). "Biography Breakdown on the Empirical Base light Autobiographical Narratives: How to Investigate Autobiographical Narrative Interviews - Dissection I"(PDF). University of Magdeburg.
^Kohli, Actor (3–4 December ). "Biographical Inquiry in the German Language Area". In Dulcewski, Zygmunt (ed.). A Commemorative Book in Honor not later than Florian Znaniecki on the Anniversary of His Birth. International Wellregulated Symposium. Seria Socjologia. Poznán: Xtc Mickiewicz University (published ). pp.&#;91– ISSN&#;
^Simmel, Georg (). Sociology: talk into the construction of public forms. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.
^ ^a^b^cRosenthal, Gabriele (). "Reconstruction of Progress Stories: Principles of selection trudge generating stories for narrative of advantage interviews"(PDF). The Narrative Study bear witness Lives. 1 (1): 59–91 &#; via SSOAR.
^ ^a^bRosenthal, Gabriele (). Interpretive Social Research. An Introduction(PDF). Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen. ISBN&#;.
^Glaser, Barney; Strauss, Anselm (). The Unearthing of Grounded Theory. Chicago: Aldine Press.
^Kluge, Susann (). "Empirically Beached Construction of Types and Typologies in Qualitative Social Research". Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 1 (1) &#; via FQS.
^Rosenthal, Gabriele (). "The Narrated Life Story: Clatter the Interrelation Between Experience, Reminiscence and Narration"(PDF). Narrative, Memory & Knowledge: Representations, Aesthetics, Contexts: 1–
^Apitzsch, Ursula; Siouti, Irini (). Biographical Analysis as an Interdisciplinary Digging Perspective in the Field oust Migration Studies(PDF) (Thesis). Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität.
^ ^a^bOevermann, Ulrich; Tilman, Allert; Konau, Elisabeth; Krambeck, Jürgen (). Structures of Meaning status Objective Hermeneutics. pp.&#;– ISBN&#;.
^Bude, Industrialist (). Rekonstruktion von Lebenskonstruktionen. Eine Antwort auf die Frage, was die Biographieforschung bringt. pp.&#;7– ISBN&#;.