1. Overview and brief account
24a Princes Avenue, London N10 3LR, UK
Life-histories, lived situations
and ongoing personal experiencing:
The Biographic-Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM).
Guide to BNIM interviewing and interpretation
9th February 2008. version 8.02b (133, 350 words)
Tom Wengraf
London East Research Institute, University of East London, UK
Please cite this document this as: “ Tom Wengraf . Downloaded [Day-Month–Year]. [date; version no]. Life-histories, lived situations and ongoing personal experiencing. The biographic-narrative interpretive method: BNIM interviewing and interpretation [N]-pages. Available from . For the current version, write to this address.”
Brief Table of Contents
------The SHORT GUIDE TO BNIM, 52pp, starts here------
1. Overview and brief account 11
Overview 13
The BNIM three-subsessions interview- brief account 29
The BNIM two-track interpretation procedures – brief account 33
Key Principles – 2 page summary 49
------The SHORT GUIDE TO BNIM 52pp stops here------
2. BNIM interviewing – in more detail 53
2.1. Framing the interview 53
2.2. The 3-subsession structure 54
2.3. A note on self-training…………………………………………………………………………..100
2.4. The principles of free-associative BNIM interviewing 117
2.5. Immediately after the interview: Self-debriefing into fieldnotes 130
3. BNIM interpretation – in more detail 131
3.1. Introduction and overview 131
3.2. Principles, tracks, and the sequence of interpretive stages 132
3.3. The living-of-the-lived-life track 145
3.4. Given such a living of the lived life, imagine alternative hypotheses about the different ways in which such a story might be told 149
3.5. The telling-of-the-told-story track 151
3.6. The case: towards a history of the case-evolution: re-iterative working 165
3.7 Comparing several case-evolution narratives; and theorising and typologising from several cases 173
3.8. Conclusion 179
Appendix Section - A. Overview and interview 181
4.1. Case numbers: how many cases? 185
4.2. SQUINs: drafting and improving 189
4.3. PINS – getting them, recognising them, and deepening them 203
Appendix B. More on panel-work; part-whole ‘thinking the whole’ 209
4.4. The semi-defended researcher and intersubjectivity: the panel’s future-blind interpretive process that helps you as researcher see more 209
4.5. Case structure and ‘thinking the whole’ 219
Appendix C: Schütze’s theory of narrative struggle; notions of ‘perspective’ and of ‘variably constrained transformation’ 225
4.6. Working with the verbatim transcript after the panels: Schütze’s approach and theory of narrative struggle 225
4.7. The term ‘perspective’ - mode and modes of the experiencing and acting e/motional situated subjectivities over time. 233
4.8. Fatality, freedom or varyingly constrained transformation of any initial legacy? 247
Appendix D: Writing up, comparing, theorising from N cases 255
4.9. How to write up a narrative history, of the case, from the cases? Sewell’s contribution. 255
4.10. Case-uses and case-comparisons - moving from the historically particular towards generalising theory and policy, but also towards particular practice improvement 263
Appendix E: Two notes: on psychoanalysis, on ethics 269
4.11: BNIM, FANI and psychoanalysis 269
4.12. Some notes on ethics and BNIM 275
Appendix F: Benefits and limitations of working with and from transcripts and other word-texts 285
4.13. From tape to transcript and back again: videotapes? 285
4.14. “AND, DARNE it, we’re going from GINs to PINs, DEAR” 293
Bibliographies 295
Bibliography A: short list of BNIM studies by topic area 295
Bibliography B: references - alphabetical order 301
Diagrams 319
BNIM Trainings 333
NB: This ‘Guide to BNIM’ was conceived originally as a short (25pp) introduction to the chapters in Wengraf 2001 Qualitative research interviewing: biographic narrative and other methods dealing with the techniques of BNIM interviewing and interpretation (chapters 6 and 12). It does not replace those chapters.
The Short Guide. The ‘Brief account’ section in the current Guide continues this function (now 30 pages or so + footnotes) of introducing chapters 6 and 12 of Qualitative research interviewing: biographic narrative and semi-structured method (2001: Sage Publications).
For a quick overview, you might just wish to read section 1, ignoring the footnotes, the ‘Brief Account’ , the first 44 pages or so.
The Longer Guide. But, beyond section 1, there are now over 270 more pages in sections 2, 3, and 4. Why?
The ‘Guide’ has gradually evolved to also have the function of carrying new ideas and developments in BNIM as they have occurred since (Wengraf 2001) was completed in 2000. More people in more countries and research areas are doing more and different BNIM-based work at doctoral and post-doctoral research level, and this Guide attempts (together with the dedicated email list) to keep pace with this real history. The core package of procedures (what to do) remain pretty much the same, though elaborated a little further, sometimes quite a bit further. However, the range of ways of understanding how they work and how you can best work them has gradually expanded and mutated on the basis of BNIM-trainings and BNIM-doings…. and hopefully will go on doing so…..
If you have any comments on this text and how it could be improved for you, please do contact us at . The more you point out what isn’t clear and what doesn’t work, the more we can respond directly to you by email, and also indirectly by improving later versions.
This Guide and the BNIM 5-day intensive training: read it beforehand!
Our original training in BNIM took 9 days; the current intensive model takes 5 days. Among the reasons for being able to shorten the time is that the ‘exposition’ part of the 9 day training has now been very largely encapsulated in this Guide. Briefly, without the Guide it took 9 days to train people; now, with the Guide, it takes 5 days (see p.331 onwards for a description and schedule of the 5-day training).
Somebody on a recent training said, around day 4 of the Intensive, something like
“I felt fully on top of all the learning by doing until just now. However, today, we’re now getting beyond the point to which I read the Guide, and I’m feeling much less confident and getting much less from the exercises….. I should have finished my preparatory reading!”.
I’m glad to say that by the end of the 5 days he had managed to cope with the lowered quality caused by his incomplete reading of the Guide, and was feeling fine. But the point remains. I said “With the Guide, it takes 5 days”; it might be better to say “To get the best out of the 5-day course, you need to have read the Guide beforehand”.
The 5-day Intensive does have brief expositions of theory to explain the key points as you proceed, but only as reminders of the ‘gist’ of your previous reading. [The intensive also provides intermittent open plenaries for discussion of points of difficulty as they arise]. So: although you can get a considerable amount from the 5-day intensive even if you only have read the ‘brief overview’ beforehand, and scanned sections 2 and 3, the 5-days will work most effectively for you if you have prepared yourself by reading sections 1-3.
Your predominantly ‘learning-by-doing’ on the 5 day course depends for its effectiveness…
….on your previous ‘preparation-by-reading’.
Figures and Tables
Figure 1 Pushing for PINs - getting (driving) practice 93
Figure 2 A 9-Stage Model of BNIM interpretation procedures 132
Figure 3 Change only of sequence of topic 155
Figure 4 Topic + varying textsort and length A 157
Figure 5 Topic + varying textsort and length B 157
Figure 6 A further shift of textsort and length? 158
Figure 7 Two perspectives: schematic example, only partly similar to that of ‘Harold’ 235
Figure 8 BNIM in the CRQ-TQ structure - basic 319
Figure 9 BNIM in the CRQ-IQ structure - elaborate 320
Figure 10 Condense and expand – from transcript to multi-case comparison and case-based publication 321
Figure 11 Classic SQUIN and the 3 Sub-Sessions 322
Figure 12 SQUIN design sheet - menu of possibilities 323
Figure 13 BNIM notepad for SHEIOT-MM - HATH questioning (example pages + usable page) 324
Figure 14 Handling subsession 2 – seven topics in order 330
Figure 15 The six textsorts - "from GINs to PINs, DEAR" 331
Figure 16 Triangulated multi-method 'psycho-societal' methodology 332
More detailed Table of Contents – for hunting for particular things
1. Overview and brief account 11
Overview 13
Printing-out and/or viewing electronically? 13
When might you use the method? 13
When might you best NOT use the method – counter-indications…. 22
1. Are there types of people who should not be (BNIM) interviewed? 22
2. Are there types of research purpose for which BNIM interviewing is a bad idea? 23
Learning about an artificial practice from a text?……………………………………………….. 23
Introduction to the structure of this Guide 25
The BNIM three-subsessions interview- brief account 29
The BNIM two-track interpretation procedures – brief account 33
P.S. From ‘told story’ analysis to ‘interpretation of the telling of the told story’: a note 41
P.P.S. Interviewing as ethnographic observation: a note 44
P.P.P.S Combining BNIM with other methods: full-spectrum psycho-societal methodology? 45
Key principles of BNIM - 2 page summary………………………………………………………….41
The SHORT GUIDE TO BNIM stops here
2. BNIM interviewing – in more detail 53
2.1. Framing the interview 53
2.2. The 3-subsession structure 54
2.2.1. Subsession 1: the initial narrative account 55
a. Overview 55
b. The initial narrative question, the SQUIN 56
c. Coping with the tension between note-taking, listening and observation 63
d. Handling the development of subsession 1 71
e. Decisions at the end of subsession 1 74
2.2.2 Subsession 2 Follow-up narrative questions 81
Introduction 81
Subsession 2 and its multi-tasking 101
Immediately after subsession 2 106
Final Note on subsession 1 and 2: a variety of shapes and workings 109
2.2.3 Subsession 3: the (optional) follow-up later interview 110
2.2.3.1. What are the different possible uses of a later subsession 3? 111
2.2.3.2. Suggested 4-part sequence for subsession 3 separate interview 112
2.3. A note on self-training…………………………………………………………………………..100
2.4. The principles of free-associative BNIM interviewing 117
2.5. Immediately after the interview: Self-debriefing into fieldnotes 130
3. BNIM interpretation – in more detail 131
3.1. Introduction and overview 131
3.2. Principles, tracks, and the sequence of interpretive stages 132
3.2.1. Two part-models for HiSST research 135
3.2.1.1. Part -model of ‘Historically-situated subjectivity in transition’(HiSS/T’ 135
3.2.1.2. Part-model of ‘Historical-situation subjectively-processed’(HiSS-P’) 136
3.2.2. Historically-situated subjectivity inferred from two tracks of decision-making 138
3.2.3. Future-blind chunk-by-chunk interpreting along the track 139
3.2.4. The vital but inconclusive panel, and then, from where the panel stopped, you take it wherever 140
3.3. The living-of-the-lived-life track 145
3.3.1. Constructing the ‘objective fact’ chronology (BDC) 145
3.3.2. Finding the pattern of the lived life (biographic data analysis BDC) 146
3.3.3. Constructing brief summary of provisional findings re gestalt of the living of the lived life 148
3.4. Given such a living of the lived life, imagine alternative hypotheses about the different ways in which such a story might be told 149
3.5. The telling-of-the-told-story track 151
3.5.1. Constructing the told story sequentialisation (TSS) 151
3.5.1.1. What is a sequentialisation (TSS), and what are its uses? 151
3.5.1.2. Chunking and reconstructing 151
3.5.1.3. The importance of textsorts, PINs and length 156
3.5.2. Finding the pattern of the telling of the told story: thematic field analysis (TFA) 158
3.5.3. Doing micro-analyses on puzzling or theory-relevant bits of verbatim (tape-supported) transcript 160
3.5.4. Constructing a brief summary of provisional findings re gestalt of the telling of the told story 163
3.6. The case: towards a history of the case-evolution: re-iterative working 165
3.6.1. Structural hypotheses around the relation between the life as lived and the story as told 165
3.6.2. Constructing your provisional ‘narrative history’ of the case-evolution 168
3.6.3. Testing and reworking your provisional history against the revisited original data of tape and fieldnotes and all memos and thoughts since then 172
3.7 Comparing several case-evolution narratives, and theorising and typologising from several cases 173
3.8. Conclusion 179
Appendix Section - overview 181
4.1. Case numbers: how many cases? 185
4.2. SQUINs: drafting and improving 189
4.3. PINS – getting them, recognising them, and deepening them 203
Appendix B. More on panel-work; part-whole ‘thinking the whole’ 209
4.4. The semi-defended researcher and intersubjectivity: the panel’s future-blind interpretive process that helps you as researcher see more 209
4.5. Case structure and ‘thinking the whole’ 219
Appendix C: Schutze's theory of narrative struggle; notions of ‘perspective’ and of ‘variably constrained transformation’ 225
4.6. Working with the verbatim transcript after the panels: Schütze’s approach and theory of narrative struggle 225
4.7. The term ‘perspective’ - mode and modes of the experiencing and acting e/motional situated subjectivities over time. 233
4.8. Fatality, freedom or varyingly constrained transformation of any initial legacy? 247
Appendix D: Writing up, comparing, theorising from N cases 255
4.9. How to write up a history, of the case, from the cases? Sewell’s contribution. 255
4.10. Case-uses and case-comparisons - moving from the historically particular towards generalising theory and policy, but also towards particular practice improvement 263
Appendix E: Two notes: on psychoanalysis, on ethics 269
4.11: BNIM, FANI and psychoanalysis 269
4.12. Some notes on ethics and BNIM 275
Appendix F: Benefits and limitations of working with and from transcripts and other word-texts 285
4.13. From tape to transcript and back again: videotapes? 285
4.14. “AND, DARNE it, we’re going from GINs to PINs, DEAR” 293
Bibliographies 295
Bibliography A: short list of BNIM studies by topic area 295
Bibliography B: references - alphabetical order 301
Diagrams 319
BNIM Trainings 333
52
1. Overview and brief account
1. Overview and brief account
[September 2006] Relief and joy…I have had the results of my viva. I received the highest grade(excellent, as opposed to very good, good, satisfactory, referredor failed). Clearly the examiners thought the BNIM approach was very appropriate for clinical psychology research and effective in answering the research question (CRQ for those of you who like abbreviations!!).The external examiners thought the study was well designed (it followed the standard BNIM design) and that the amount of work was more than adequate for a doctorate in clinical psychology.