Creating Scientific Narratives: Experiences in Constructing and Interweaving Empirical and Theoretical Plots

Abstract

AbstractTaking an interpretive perspective, this chapter argues that practice research has a narrative character in the sense that it is a speech act that retrospectively verbalises something (namely practices) that did not exist previously, and that is written from the (unique) perspective of its author. Although the narrative turn in research methodology is gaining significant scholarly attention, little is known about how scientific narratives are created by researchers and how researchers can be held accountable for them. We present two autoethnographies, to obtain insight into our own practice as scientific narrators. Our analysis reveals that our scientific narratives were created by interweaving an empirical plot and a theoretical plot. It also shows that researchers can be held accountable for their narratives by means of a ‘narrative contract’ with the narrative’s audience according to which the researchers must deliver (1) meaning, by means of a plot that offers a certain criticality (both empirically and conceptually) and (2) ‘truthfulness’, by resonating with the standards that their audience adheres to. We conclude by discussing the implications of such a narrative turn in research methodology for the conceptualisation of practices, practice based research and practice theory.KeywordsPracticesInterpretive analysis Narratology Autoethnography Nature policy nature policy