Article

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Volume 18: 1–9
Transforming Transcripts Into Stories: A ª The Author(s) 2019
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Multimethod Approach to Narrative Analysis DOI: 10.1177/1609406919856797
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Aishath Nasheeda1 , Haslinda Binti Abdullah1, Steven Eric Krauss2,

and Nobaya Binti Ahmed1

Abstract
Stories are essential realities from our past and present. As the primary sources of data in narrative research, interview transcripts
play an essential role in giving meaning to the personal stories of research participants. The pragmatic narratives found in
transcripts represent human experience as it unfolds. Analyzing the narratives found in interview transcripts thus moves beyond
providing descriptions and thematic developments as found in most qualitative studies. Crafting stories from interview transcripts
involves a complex set of analytic processes. Building on the first author’s personal experience in working on a doctoral thesis
employing narrative inquiry, this article presents a multimethod restorying framework to narrative analysis. A step-by-step
progression within the framework includes choosing interview participants, transcribing interviews, familiarizing oneself with
the transcripts (elements of holistic-content reading), chronologically plotting (elements of the story), use of follow-up interviews
as a way to collaborate (an important procedure in narrative inquiry), and developing the story through structural analysis. It is
hoped that this article will encourage other researchers embarking on narrative analysis to become creative in presenting par-
ticipants’ lived experiences through meaningful, collaborative strategies. This article demonstrates the fluidity of narrative analysis
and emphasizes that there is no single procedure to be followed in attempting to create stories from interview transcripts.

Keywords
interview transcripts, multimethod restorying framework, stories, narrative analysis

Introduction observations to initiate a conversation (Bell, 2003). Often these

interviews and conversations are represented in the form of
Narrative research is a type of qualitative method that is under-
personal narratives (Hawkins & Saleem, 2012), poems
stood from spoken or written texts describing accounts of
(Clark-McGhee & Castro, 2015), and short stories (Diversi,
events which are chronologically connected (Czarniawska,
1998). However, with such diverse representations, there is
2004). Narrative research can be described as a methodology
little evidence to suggest what constitutes narrative research
of studying individual lived experiences as a source of
(Ollerenshaw & Creswell, 2002). To conduct a “narratology”
knowledge in and of itself that warrants deeper understanding
(see Connelly & Clandinin, 1990), researchers must construct
(Clandinin & Huber, 2010; Mitchell & Egudo, 2003).
their own inquiry procedure and process (Ollerenshaw & Cres-
“Narrative inquirers study individual experience in the world,
well, 2002). Therefore, the purpose of this article is to illustrate
an experience that is storied, both in the living and telling that
the narratological process of turning transcripts into stories by
can be studied by listening, observing, living alongside another,
writing and interpreting texts (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007,
pp. 42, 43).” Narrative inquiry emphasizes relational engage- 1
Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
ment between researcher and participant by co-creating parti- 2
Department of Professional Development and Continuing Education, Faculty
cipant’s experiences (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Haydon, of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
Browne, & Riet, 2018). Co-creating stories with study partici-
pants allows the researcher to live alongside the participant and Corresponding Author:
listen to their stories. The most common methods used in the Steven Eric Krauss, Department of Professional Development and Continuing
Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
narrative process are interviews and conversations (Joyce, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
2015), while some researchers use artifacts, visuals, and Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]

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2 International Journal of Qualitative Methods

presenting the nuances that go into decision-making on the part and situation (place). Usually, stories have significant ele-
of the researcher. Using a multimethod restorying framework, ments such as conflicts, struggles, a protagonist, and a
the article draws on a study of young people’s experiences in a sequenced plot. Hence, a story is a description of instantia-
life skills program in Maldives to illustrate how these decisions tion, consisting of a sequence of actions and experiences of
were made in creating a story from interview transcripts. an individual (Feldman, Skoldberg, Brown, & Horner, 2004)
that has a beginning, middle, and an end (Connelly &
Clandinin, 1990) that an individual has experienced in the
Situating Stories Within Narrative Research past, which can have an impact on the individual’s present
While narratives provide accounts of events of spoken or writ- and future (Frank, 2012; Muylaert et al., 2014). According to
ten texts, which can be chronologically connected, stories are Cortazzi (1994), it is the chronology sequence that sets
narratives that have been emplotted and made into a coherent narrative research apart from the other approaches in quali-
whole (Czarniawska, 2004; Diedrich, Walter, Czarniawska, & tative research.
Walter, 2011). Literature suggests a multitude of techniques
and approaches to analyzing narrative data; there is no single A Multimethod Approach to Transforming
method to narrative analysis as the story can be told in different Transcripts Into Stories
forms and retold on different occasions. Hence, narrative
research draws its methodological analysis from philosophy, While there exists a number of ways to present narrative data
anthropology, sociology, psychology, and sociolinguistics across different disciplines (see Connelly & Clandinin, 1990;
(Cortazzi, 1994). For instance, researchers interested in the Cortazzi, 1994; Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998;
content of the narratives focus on actual events and analyze Riessman, 2000), narrative analysis can utilize different typol-
characteristics of the events and actors in a categorical ogies or a combination of multiple approaches in representing
approach (Muylaert, Sarubbi, Gallo, Neto, & Reis, 2014), social reality of individual lived experiences (Czarniawska,
while others may become interested in the structure and form 2004; Hyvärinen, 2008). There is no single procedure that can
of the narratives. Often these involve separating out partici- be claimed as “best” for analyzing narratives. Therefore, how
pants’ spoken words by inductively developing thematic ele- stories are told and retold within narrative research methodol-
ments across participants’ narratives (Riessman, 2000, 2005). ogy may include a set of strategies that can be employed
Analyzing data narratively involves a complex process that is depending on how the researcher chooses to represent the gath-
significantly different (Muylaert et al., 2014) from other qua- ered data (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Diversi, 1998; Kurtz,
litative approaches such as the detailed description of ethno- 2014; McCormack, 2000; Ollerenshaw & Creswell, 2002;
graphy, the within and cross-case analysis of case study, and Riessman, 2005). Regardless of how the story is told and
the axial and selective coding of grounded theory. In these retold, the data are typically analyzed for story elements such
analytical approaches, the outcome can lead to a loss of the as characters, settings, actions, and resolutions (Clandinin &
participants’ unique experiences within the larger social, cul- Connelly, 2000; Diversi, 1998; McCormack, 2000; Riessman,
tural, familial, linguistic, and institutional contexts (Hunter, 2005). This procedure can be applied in order to create a story
2010; McCormack, 2000). from the interviews through restorying. Restorying is a pro-
cess of reorganizing and analyzing the key elements of a story
and rewriting it within a chronological order (Ollerenshaw &
Narrative Versus Story Creswell, 2002).
There is a distinction between a narrative and a story (Czar- The current study includes elements from multiple typolo-
niawska, 2004). A story is a unique type of narrative produc- gies and approaches to narrative analysis such as holistic-
tion that gives structure to individual experiences by bringing content reading (Lieblich et al., 1998), elements of the story
cognitive, affective, and motivational connections to the told (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007;
story (Mendieta, 2013; Singer & Blagov, 2004). Merriam and Czarniawska, 2004; Imabuchi & Ogata, 2012), narrative
Tisdell (2016) state that stories define the lives of the indi- inquiry (Dicicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006), and structural
vidual and narrate his or her lived experiences. To Kurtz analysis (Riessman, 1993, 2002, 2005) to develop a restorying
(2014), stories consist of three dimensions: form, function, framework to transform transcripts into a story. Figure 1 illus-
and phenomenon. Hence, telling a story about oneself is about trates the multimethod approach that was developed for this
describing the actions, choices, and beliefs that transformed study to transform the study transcripts into meaningful repre-
the participant’s experiences (Hunter, 2010). It is through the sentations in the form of a story. A step-by-step progression
process of storytelling that individuals engage in identity con- within the framework includes choosing interview partici-
struction (Riessman, 2005) and position themselves socially pants, transcribing interviews, familiarizing oneself with the
and culturally (Bell, 2003; McCormack, 2000; Stapleton & transcript (elements of holistic-content reading), chronologi-
Wilson, 2017). cally plotting (elements of the story), use of follow-up inter-
Clandinin and Connelly (2000) regard stories as narratives views as a way to collaborate (an important procedure in
that have a three-dimensional space that include interactions narrative inquiry), and developing the story through structural
(personal and social), continuity (present, past, and future), analysis such as language.
Nasheeda et al. 3

PHASE 1: From Interview to Transcript PHASE 2: Storying

Choosing interview Transcribing Familiarizing with Chronologically

participants interviews the transcripts plotting

ELEMENTS OF HOLISITIC- PHASE 3: Co-Creating

CONTENT READING

Use of follow up
interviews & collaboration
ELEMENTS OF THE STORY
RESTORYING
FRAMEWORK

NARRATIVE INQUIRY
PHASE 4: Meaning

Developing the story

STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

Figure 1. Progression of the story in phases within a multimethod restorying framework.

Background of the Study Data adolescents’ life skills experiences, it was crucial to select a
participant who had been involved in a life skills program
The subsequent sections in this article elaborate on the multi-
during their adolescence. The primary source of data collected
method restorying framework (Figure 1) used within the tran-
is from semistructured face-to-face interviews and informal
script analysis process. The process will be illustrated with data
conversations through social media platforms such as Face-
from the first author’s doctoral research of adolescents’ lived
book instant messaging, Viber, and e-mails. Interviews are
experiences in a life skills education program in Maldives. Life
important in narrative research since the story emerges from
skills education programs for young people have been critical
the collaborative conversations between the researcher and the
for bringing about constructive adjustments to individual well-
participant (Muylaert et al., 2014). All interviews were audio
being from the early years of childhood and adolescence
recorded and transcribed upon completion.
through their transition to adulthood (Aparna & Raakhee,
2011; Nasheeda, 2008). The first author collected stories of a
young adult’s lived experiences in a life skills education pro- Transcribing Interviews
gram during adolescence. Using a retrospective narrative
Transcribing an interview is a tedious and time-consuming
approach, these stories were gathered through semistructured
process but provides the best catalogue for analysis (Davidson,
interviews and informal conversations. Raw data from the
2017). In the current study, interviews were transcribed in a
interview transcripts are used to illustrate the process involved
naturalistic fashion, which included all verbal cues (e.g.,
in developing a story from the transcripts.
smiles, nods), extraneous words and utterances (e.g., hmms).
The transcripts were then carefully checked against the audio
Progression Through the Phases recordings to ensure that accurate accounts were obtained. This
practice also allowed for active reflection on the interview by
The reason for creating a story from the transcripts was to
identifying the participant’s mood and tone and the conversa-
extract the essence of the participant’s lived experiences. It
tion as a whole. This is an important process for researchers to
is difficult to retain the core experiences if one divides the
engage in as it allows for greater familiarity with data
stories into segments and themes (Iyengar, 2014). Maintain-
(Davidson, 2017; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
ing a sense of the whole is an important goal of restorying in
narrative analysis.
Familiarizing With the Transcripts
Phase 1: From Interview to Transcript Familiarity allows researchers to identify the main characters,
place, and time of events that took place as recorded in the
Choosing Whom to Interview narratives. Familiarity with data includes reading the transcript
The initial step in the progression deals with choosing the right and listening to the audio recording of the interview several
participant to interview. In qualitative research, samples are times to immerse oneself in the data. This can be described as a
selected with an intention to understand the central phenom- holistic-content reading process. This process made it easy to
enon. Purposive sampling is selecting participants who have identify with the narrative process of the story such as how the
knowledge and experience on the issue of interest of the participant constructed her uniqueness in the social context,
researcher (Oppong, 2013). Since this study is about that is, her place in the story and her beliefs, attitudes, and
4 International Journal of Qualitative Methods

relationships. The researcher then took time to reflect on the circumstances. For example, the individual can take on two
elements of the story including the order of events and epipha- or more roles such as a villain who creates disruptions in the
nies to become fully immersed in the narrative process. To narrative equilibrium by having negative thoughts and blaming
recognize the narrative process is to identify how the partici- oneself for all the events that happened in one’s life. On the
pants integrate the events in the context of what has happened other hand, the same individual can make amendments to their
(Diedrich et al., 2011) and to develop a plot that provides thoughts by seeking help or modifying their behavior.
contextual information about the individual’s social interac- To ultimately weave a collective narrative from the tran-
tions and experiences (Kurtz, 2014). During this process, the scripts, each transcript was analyzed using a combination of
researcher recognized that the transcript was a messy chronicle structural analysis, and elements of story such as form, func-
that needed to be organized into a series of chronological tion, and phenomenon. In light of this analysis, it was crucial to
events. Sequencing narratives from transcripts is an essential identify the roles that the individual played in the story leading
part in storytelling as it reveals significant events, major tuning to a chronological plotting of the transcript.
points, and the voice of the storyteller (Feldman et al., 2004; Story function serves as the cognitive, affective, and moti-
Knight, 2009). vational connections that bring coherence and meaning to the
The following are excerpts from the transcript that would told story (Singer & Blagov, 2004). In the following excerpt,
later be organized into the resulting narrative: the participant’s values, thoughts, and emotions are brought
into consciousness, which facilitates understanding of the role
Interviewer: How long were you enrolled in the life skills educa- of life skills education.
tion program?
Participant: I was exposed to LS when I was in primary, sec- It’s a taboo to talk about sex in our community. So when I was in
ondary and as well as in higher secondary and when I was doing higher secondary, that was the right time for me to actually know
my pre-university as well . . . So in primary it was, when I was in that so, now I know, like . . . even I feel like all my friends are
grade six, seven then I did, then in secondary once I think when I having boyfriends some are getting married having kids, because,
was in grade 10 and then in higher secondary it was before begin- everybody is into the western culture, because it’s very pleasing.
ning my grade 11. And then they neglect the actual teachings why something happens
Interviewer: Could you describe the life skills program? to you because of some reason, but people don’t take the time to
Participant: umm. errr. the life skills program the set up was ponder about it.
different for primary, secondary and higher secondary, so when I
was in primary they would teach me . . . like how to be compassio- Story phenomenon is about stories within stories, as the
nate towards others, how to deal with certain things, so umm. I story moves through time and society (Czarniawska, 2004;
remember, when I was in grade 5, I used be like . . . . so full of
Kurtz, 2014; Singer & Blagov, 2004). In narratives, it is
myself . . . when I went to secondary, even if anybody said anything
common to have stories within stories (Clandinin & Con-
to me I would just brush it off, because, I know I’m better than that.
nelly, 2000; Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). Individuals tell
That’s their perspective . . . . When I went to higher secondary they
stories within their narratives to give more emphasis to their
started like . . . telling us this is the age where you will get intimate
with someone, where you would create bonds of intimacy . . .
experiences. Stories facilitate the expression of emotions
within experiences and thus act as manifestations of indi-
vidual experiences that are situated within social contexts
(Feldman et al., 2004). The following is an example of a
Phase 2: Storying the Transcript story phenomenon. It is clear that this particular incident
Stories are narratives that have been emplotted and made into a had an impact on the individual.
coherent whole (Czarniawska, 2004; Diedrich et al., 2011). To
emplot narrative text is to establish a sensemaking mechanism So one day, my mum came to pick me up and there is this specific
on how events are connected and related. In other words, to girl I really didn’t like in my class, for some reason I didn’t like, so
develop a structure that makes sense of the events (Czar- she was like asking, about something. I got really frustrated and
niawska, 2004). Therefore, emplotment is crucial for develop- annoyed with the fact and I was like, “It’s not your business – why
ment of a story. Thus, to develop a story, it is essential to pay are you asking me this?”
attention to the spoken language, the way events are described,
the characters, and the roles.
Vladimir Propp’s structural analysis suggests that all stories
share some basic characteristics necessary to make up a narra-
The Chronological Plot
tive (as cited in Czarniawska, 2004; Imabuchi & Ogata, 2012). To chronologically plot the events, the transcripts were read
According to Propp’s method, an individual can behave differ- and reread several times in order to become familiar with the
ently depending on the situation. Therefore, the most important timing of events that occurred. The data were then organized
element in a story is the function of an action the character and reorganized into events, that is, “chronologically plotted.”
plays (Czarniawska, 2004). As such, an individual can take on To aid the chronological plot development, the following ques-
the role of different characters based on the situation and tions were asked:
Nasheeda et al. 5

1. Who are the main characters in this story? Phase 3: Cocreating

2. What are the main events?
The relationship between the participant and the researcher is
3. When and where did these events take place?
crucial to cocreate the story. It is essential to develop active
4. How has the participant positioned herself in the story?
collaboration between the researcher and the participant as
the individual story is co-constructed by the participant and
Subtitles were used to form building blocks of the resulting the researcher (Haydon et al., 2018). Collaboration goes
story. This was useful in order to craft the story as it allowed the beyond good rapport between the participant and the
researcher to identify the participant’s storytelling perspective researcher (Haydon et al., 2018). There needs to be mutual
on how things were, who was involved, and what were the high trust and respect between the researcher and the participant
and low points for the participant. Individual stories are always about the information that is shared (Dicicco-Bloom & Crab-
located along the narrative of time, place, personal, and social tree, 2006). To gain the participant’s trust, confidentiality
stories (Clandinin, 1998; Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). The issues such as maintaining anonymity, filtering any personal
main purpose of the subtitles was to interact with data and to information that the participant is not comfortable sharing and
get a sense of the descriptive and analytical foci of the personal ensuring participant ownership of the story were prioritized.
and social stories. Through the chronological plot, a rough draft Working collaboratively thus enabled the researcher and the
of a story was constructed. The following are excerpts from the participant to look at the transcripts from multiple lenses.
constructed draft: Several follow-up interviews were conducted for the purpose
of collaboratively cocreating the story.
Early years—primary (10-13 years old):
During primary I never realized I had social anxiety but I felt
like I can talk to people in primary. It didn’t matter to me much Follow-Up Interviews and Collaboration
because I was just a kid back then. I would just talk to people. I
would maintain eye contact. I would just go up and ask things. Once the transcript was chronologically plotted, it was sent to
Adolescence (secondary years, 14-16 years old): the participant to check on the story plot to determine whether
I have a bit of social anxiety. I can’t smile even if I want to. I the story sequence accurately reflected the participant’s voice.
can’t just go and interact with people freely. I would have my Several questions were asked, including (a) Is this you? and (b)
setbacks and I would just wait till somebody comes and open up Do you see yourself in the transcript? The process of collabora-
to me. tively transforming the narrative transcript began with these
Higher Secondary years (17-19 years old): questions. In cases where the participant disagreed with the
When I went to higher secondary there is one thing that is still story, negotiating questions were asked such as what other
fresh in my head. They started telling us this is the age where you details can be included to give the audience a true picture. In
will get intimate with someone, where you would create bond of the current study, the participant’s trust was gained through
intimacy with someone. addressing issues on how the data would be collected, ana-
Towards transition lyzed, and by identifying the roles of the participant and the
. . . my A level results didn’t turn out as I would like it to be. I researcher.
was pretty frustrated. I was like ok, now I have to do something
The author worked closely with the participant in cocreating
with my life.
the story through active listening and being genuinely inter-
Pre-university—on my own:
ested in what the participant was sharing. Clarification on gaps
When I went to Pre University, I met the kind of people who are
just like me . . . . I met people who actually understands me, see
in the story such as silences and apparent contradictions, as
things from the same perspective as me . . . well as probing for clarity regarding the meanings of certain
Situating oneself within the family context—I’m unique. words and phrases, was carried out during these collaborative
All my family members would say that I do things in a specific sessions. For example, questions like “What is the meaning of
way. I have this way of doing things in a specific way. I’m very yes/yeah,” “Does the word ‘like’ mean anything different to
stubborn I know that, if I don’t feel like doing anything I wouldn’t you (the word ‘like’ was used often in the conversation),”
do it. “Why were there direct speeches and indirect speeches within
Life changing experiences: I have changed the conversation” were clarified during the process. Several
. . . I think the life skills program actually taught me like not to back-and-forth interactions took place during the co-
take everything really personally, like to let go of the things that construction process. Instant messaging through social media
doesn’t actually have a value. (Viber, Facebook, and e-mails) was useful for clarification of
any questions and doubts as a way of being connected as the
The story was then reread to determine whether it made story was unfolding. This connectivity with the participant
sense based on what was represented in the data. At this allowed the participant to become an active collaborator in
point, although the time and place of the participant’s stor- cocreating the story. Some of the words used by the participant
ies were identified, the overall meaning still made little were examined for embedded meaning in the narratives. Mean-
sense. Missing links remained. Therefore, follow-up inter- ing making from subjective realities can be expressed through
views were required. such collaborations (Czarniawska, 2004). Collaborating and
6 International Journal of Qualitative Methods

cocreating the story with the participant facilitated the process (Czarniawska, 2004). The meanings attached to the excerpt
of attributing meaning to the chronological plot set within the below were clarified through follow-up questions.
participant’s personal and social context.
I would meet a lot of people, like till now I have met different
people because my mum would be like “if you don’t talk to some-
Phase 4: Meaning Making one you wouldn’t meet new people so it’s your age to like learn
To progress from transcript to story, it is crucial to know how how things are.”
the identified segments of narratives fit into a broader context.
Understanding the narrative process allows the researcher to The use of direct speech indicates that the participant is shy
understand the meaning of the narratives that the participant and does not socialize much with her friends. Her mother’s
wishes to convey (Earthy & Cronin, 2008; McCormack, 2000). encouraging words are reported using direct speech to indicate
This was done by examining the transcripts from various per- that it was a significant turning point for her. It also tells much
spectives to convey meanings attached to the narratives. Struc- about the participant’s character as well as the relationship she
tural analysis is an approach that emphasizes the way a story is has with her mother, which is an important element in under-
told and tries to draw out the essential meanings relevant to the standing the family dynamics.
spoken language (Riessman, 2005). Language is a means of During storytelling, individuals’ use of pronouns such as
communication among human beings. Language is fundamen- talking in first, second, or third person is common. It empha-
tal in expressing one’s beliefs and values. “Experience starts to sizes the turns and the important events within the story
make sense as the person performs his or her psychological (Kurtz, 2014). Use of person shifts while telling stories is a
function of translating it into how he or she thinks and feels” good indicator of important narrative events, narrative peaks,
(Krauss, 2005, p. 762). Hence, language is an essential unit of and narrative evaluations that offer insight into the story plot
analysis to understand the worldview of the participant. The (Czarniawska, 2004; Kurtz, 2014; Margetts, 2015). Narrative
spoken language is a tool for constructing reality and can be an events are bits of information about an event that the story-
important device in the meaning-making process (Sirbu, 2015). teller wants to impart (Köppe, 2014). Narrative peaks are
Individuals have their own personal styles of communication conversations that evoke interest in the story such as critical
and their own version of the shared culture. It is important to incidents (Margetts, 2015). Narrative evaluations can facili-
understand how participants speak about themselves so that tate a “personal touch” to stories that are unique to the indi-
meaning can be constructed from their narratives. vidual experiences. Acquiring a glimpse into the life of a
Through language, individuals develop a mental represen- participant through his or her own biases and judgments pro-
tation of a particular state of affairs described in utterance vides a reflection of individual experiences. To understand the
(Eerland, Engelen, & Zwaan, 2013). The most influential structure of the narrative compositions, the transcripts were
aspects of language are direct and indirect speech quotations, analyzed for person shifts used in the transcript. Below are
such that direct speech offers listeners more realness when some examples from the transcript:
compared to indirect speech, which offers a descriptive gist
(Bonabi & Jafarigohar, 2012). SHIFTING PRONOUN:
So you have to communicate with everyone or you have to like
Developing the Story open bit to the person next to you.
TALKING ABOUT THE SELF, IN THIRDPERSON:
In this phase, the narrative process was developed within the She is like in the post and she would be a bit too full of herself.
structural analysis. In structural analysis, language is taken EVALUATION:
seriously and necessitates attention to detail of speech in order I always believe that my ideas cannot be forced from somebody
to understand how the narrative is composed (Riessman, 2005). else. I didn’t believe in stereotypes, so a girl should be this, a boy
Language is useful in understanding the words the participants should do that. That was my ideology of certain things. When I was
use when describing their experiences. In the interview tran- put into the life skills program, I knew I was able to relate to certain
script, different meanings were attached to words such as things. Because I was taught in life skills program, you need to say
“yeah,” “yes,” “boring,” and “pretty boring.” Elements of anal- No to certain someone you need to be cautious about certain things
ysis such as dichotomies and silences were useful in meaning you don’t have to do something because somebody told you to do.
making and filling the gaps (Czarniawska, 2004). The
researcher clarified the meanings attached to these words In the above excerpts, the participant was reflective of her
through follow-up questions. These words were contextually thoughts and feelings on gender inequality. She portrays herself
used according to the participant’s moods and feelings. as a strong woman who has her own ideas and values. Her
In the process of interviews, individuals describe events and beliefs were validated through the life skills program. Analyz-
experiences using direct speech, utterances, indicating vivid ing the transcript using structural analysis facilitated the devel-
memory of those events (Goodell & Sachs, 1992). Therefore, opment of the story. These descriptions made way for a more
analysis of the transcripts for spoken language was conducted concrete story plot. Below are some extracts from the story that
as it is an important element in the development of a story plot was developed from the multimethod restorying framework.
Nasheeda et al. 7

The Transit: felt understood. I felt a sense of belonging. For the first time, I
I was 10 years old when my parents moved to our own apart- made ACTUAL FRIENDS whom I could call my “real life time
ment. I was old enough to understand the process of how my friends.” Because, they showed genuine concern and defined
grandparents’ house was divided and then everybody was given friendship in ways I have never understood nor experienced.
a certain part to live in. That’s when the family was divided. There was this one time, I came back to Maldives for holidays,
Having lived in an extended family for ten years, I knew my life and they called me. They said they missed me. They would text
just began. me. I felt happy.
Now that the house was divided, we lived in the same land but Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood . . . I think I’m ready:
different sections as the house was divided among my mum’s Looking back at my life and my experiences, I would say that, it
siblings. We had different places to live and that it’s not that we taught me like not to take everything really personally. I was able
interact every day or they get to see what we do. So the whole to let go of the things that doesn’t actually have a value. Things like
concept of family set up changed. We did not get to see our cousins taking criticisms or negativity. Instead I learnt how to channel all
and aunts as often as we did earlier. negativity out and not be too hard on myself. I think part of my
Primary school—my whole life: struggles I would attribute to procrastination, getting late and not
My life was pretty much limited to school. It was jammed being able to manage my time. I think, these was some areas I
packed from school, extra co-curricular activities to tuition believe I needed to work on. And I could see the difference when I
classes. I was always doing something. I participated in netball was able to correct them, while I was living on my own had made a
and basketball. I participated in oratory competitions. I was huge difference in my life. I think that was when I realize the
always among the top three students in my class. I was given lot importance of time management, valuing friendship, and learning
of opportunities to shine out. To me, it was my whole life. And all to listen to others before judging them. Had I not had made my fair
this felt very normal. I liked school. I was very popular in school, share of mistakes while growing up I don’t think I would have been
almost everyone knew my name. So even though I was being able to see things differently. I think it made me strong. I had to
bullied for being big in size, it didn’t matter, at least I thought face different kinds of people and this experience taught me a lot
it didn’t matter. about life. I think most of the things I learnt are from my parents
Teenager—A lonely star: and life skills program. Some of the significant lessons taught in
I guess I felt too grown up. I was becoming a teenager and my life skills were also emphasized by my mum. She was the first one
interest was shifting. I think part of it was I was very determined to to point out my mistakes. For instance, if I spoke to anyone rudely,
do well. Maybe to compensate for not having friends and becoming she would tell me that there is a certain way to speak without
a victim to bullying again. Perhaps all of it. offending the other person. Having these types of conversations
High school—Life skills Education taught me “Sexting”: validated what I learnt in life skills such as communication skills
One week before the academic year of my higher secondary and listening skills.
school, Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), all the
freshmen were called to attend life skills sessions. It was a man-
datory. The sessions were very different from the ones I attended
during primary and secondary school, which I could barely remem-
ber. In CHSE, the set up for life skills sessions were very different. Conclusion
It was very interactive. I became interested in these sessions. There The article highlights the role of the transcript in narrative
was a glimpse of hope for me. I knew I had to make use of it. inquiry as an essential tool for attributing meaning to the per-
Because, my mum was too busy attending to my brother and I was sonal stories of research participants. The phases presented
dealing with teenage issues, which was new to me. My mum never provide a logical sequence to weave a collective narrative from
spoke about boys and sex. Mainly because it’s not something we the transcripts. Although other approaches to restorying a tran-
talk with our parents or it’s not something our parents talk with us.
script in narrative research are available (see Ollerenshaw &
So when I went to the life skills program. The life skills teacher
Creswell, 2002; Riessman, 1993), the current article introduces
was very open. For the first time we felt we were treated as teen-
multiple methods for carrying out narrative analysis. The focus
agers. So for us it was pretty much about the “yo lo,” “you only live
of the presentation was to illustrate how a researcher can create
once,” “LOL” life. That was the peak of all these abbreviations.
a story from interview transcripts. Individual transcripts were
One day our life skills teacher came to our class and asked us, “Do
you guys know what’s sexting?” There was pin drop silence. She
reorganized into a chronological sequence to identify the time
rephrased her question, “are you aware of sexting?” I was thinking and place of the events leading to the development of a coher-
to myself, I have heard about texting but never heard of sexting. ent story. This process assisted in developing a restorying
Everyone was quite taken back. And all ears were on her as she framework to craft the story.
explained. It is hoped that this article will encourage other researchers
Becoming an Adult—Making friends: embarking on narrative analysis to consider the different tech-
At first I was anxious about moving to a new place, and to be on niques and strategies available in presenting participants’ lived
my own. I was not sure if I could handle it. Being alone in a foreign experiences in meaningful ways including extensive collabora-
country felt different and strange, but I guess a good strange. It felt tion with study participants. Narrative analysis is a fluid
so right. I met people who are like me. They were choosy about the method, and there is no single procedure to be followed in
relationships they form. They were selective in sharing things. I attempting to create stories from interview transcripts.
8 International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Declaration of Conflicting Interests Eerland, A., Engelen, J. A. A., & Zwaan, R. A. (2013). The influence
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to of direct and indirect speech on mental representations. PLoS One,
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. 8, e65480.
Feldman, M. S., Skoldberg, K., Brown, R. N., & Horner, D. (2004).
Funding Making sense of stories: A rhetorical approach to narrative
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author- analysis. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory,
ship, and/or publication of this article. 14, 147–170.
Frank, A. W. (2012). Practicing dialogical narrative analysis. In J. A.
ORCID iD Holstein & J. F. Gubrium (Eds.), Varieties of narratie analysis (pp.
Aishath Nasheeda https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6419-2599 33–52). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Goodell, E., & Sachs, J. (1992). Direct and Indirect speech (pdf).
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