 |
 |
Euther one can take up the argument in all its complexity and try to win it head-on which is a challenge at this stage and the people reviewing Ph D proposals may be unwilling to engage with the discussion.
Or one conducts a higher number of interviews - the minimum number that will be acceptable - and only does a few as full BNIM case studies. Out of the rest one produces summary pen portraits or thumbnails which can be used to help support/amplify/qualify/ critically interrogate the findings from the full BNIM interviews. In this case 7-8 full BNIM cases seems too many for the resources of one Ph D student. 3-4 might be sufficient but that deoends on the research question and population. I have 3 students who have followed this strategy. Two got through no questions asked ( on that issue at least), and a third is awaiting the viva.
I think that is methodologically defensible and even useful - but it does raise the question of how one analyses to produces a pen portrait as opposed to a full case study.
Lynn
Dear all.
A trainee in biographic-narrative interviewing has just completed her training and intended to do seven/eight cases in depth for her PhD thesis in a geography department of a particular university.
She’s written to me saying that her supervisors say/imply she cannot use the method because “geography” will not accept any PhD based on such a small number of cases, however deeply researched and contexted.
Very discouraging.
Does anybody have any ideas on this, particularly any examples of geography PhDs or doctoral research which she can use to justify a claim that at least some geography departments do accept PhD proposals with such a low-N base?
Many thanks for any help in supporting this student in coping with such an initially-discouraging response. Or should she shift university? Or give up?
Best wishes
Tom
P.S. For news about hats, click on http://www.katiawengraf.com/
P.S. For news, photos and stuff about our women’s micro-credit and other projects in South-West Uganda, look at our <www.kiafrica.org>.
P.P. S. To those interested in social research using biographic narrative interviews: For a free electronic copy of the current version of the BNIM Short Guide and Detailed Manual, just write to <[log in to unmask]> . Please indicate your institutional affiliation and the purpose for which you might envisage using BNIM’s open-narrative interviews, and I'll send it straight away. ('BNIM' stands for Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method').