Telling people's stories : creating authentic approaches

Angie: Debbie, we need to clarify what we mean by "stories". Debbie: Yes, it's a rather slippery term; I find it quite hard to say what I mean. I can say that I don't mean using the actual mode and structure of the story as a research method. I don't mean any particular methodology. Angie: Definitely not for me either, although it is for some researchers. Perhaps it would be easier if we explained how we have used stories in our research. In my thesis I used stories: first, they were a means for getting at what participants know consciously and can readily express about the phenomenon being studied or their experiences of it.