UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: What’s the story for families using social work?

Sharland, E; Holland, P; Henderson, M; Zhang, M; Cheung, SY; Scourfield, J; (2017) Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: What’s the story for families using social work? International Journal of Social Research Methodology , 20 (6) pp. 667-679. 10.1080/13645579.2017.1279915. Green open access

[thumbnail of Henderson_Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data Accepted Version.pdf]
Preview
Text
Henderson_Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data Accepted Version.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (515kB) | Preview

Abstract

Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the counter-intuitive results of a parallel multivariate analyses, which suggest that families using social work fare worse than similar others over time. Our findings are tentative, due to the experimental use of this narrative method and the limits of social work information in the data-set. Nonetheless, the life histories presented bring to light complexities, diversity and the non-linear pathways between families’ needs, support and outcomes that the aggregates obscure. We conclude that reconstructing families’ lives in this way, especially in the absence of complementary longitudinal qualitative data, affords the wider opportunity to interrogate and better understand the findings of quantitative longitudinal studies.

Type: Article
Title: Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: What’s the story for families using social work?
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2017.1279915
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2017.1279915
Language: English
Additional information: © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the International Journal of Social Research Methodology on 24 January 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13645579.2017.1279915
Keywords: Life history, narrative, panel and cohort studies, mixed methods, social work
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1538217
Downloads since deposit
121Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item