Story Sharing in Narrative Research

Researchers using a narrative approach largely acknowledge their role in the
process of the unfolding or telling of their participants’ narratives, and the fact that
their positioning as researchers results in a degree of knowledge co-construction
(Barkhuizen 2011). There is however a lack of explicit empirical research in the
way in which such knowledge is mutually constituted and the outcomes of such
co-construction. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by describing the
on-going story sharing between the researcher and participants. As discursive
practice, the story sharing was both an outcome of reduced power distance
between participants and the researcher, and a factor in it. In relational terms, the
story sharing helped to develop caring relationships which provided a safe space
for mutual disclosure. These outcomes suggest that there are significant benefits
for researchers, and narrative research, if narrative research allows for and affords
story sharing.