Community narratives: The use of narrative ethnography in participatory community research.

Abstract

Sustained citizen participation in social, organizational, and civic life is a passionate experience. Those who engage in it do not do so as disinterested parties, neutral about outcomes or distant from their experiences. Participants have a story to tell. They will tell it to those who are willing (and sometimes even to those who are not willing) to listen. Indeed, one might argue that the very point of citizen participation is to tell one's story-to make one's views known, efforts felt, values actualized, and passions realized. We have a lot to learn from listening to the stories people tell.This chapter briefly outlines a conceptual framework for a narrative ethnographic approach to research and evaluation that incorporates citizen participation and community collaboration. We then illustrate ways in which this methodology can be applied in community settings with a description of a collaborative participatory action project aimed at improving the sexual health of Mexican American female adolescents. We close the chapter by discussing some practical implications of using narrative ethnography in community settings.

Mapping nondominant voices into understanding stress‐coping mechanisms

“…Importantly, beyond academic advancement, a narrative and story-telling approach has implications for the responsibility of community psychologists to empower marginalized populations (Balcazar, Garate-Serafini, & Keys, 2004), as exemplified by D'Augelli (2003) on the lives of lesbians and gay men in proactively overcoming psychosocial challenges they face. Also, speaking of the art of storytelling in research, Harper, Lardon, and Rappaport (2004) discussed the role of sharing and shaping personal and community narratives in promoting personal and social change.…”

A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of a Community-Based HIV Prevention Intervention for Mexican American Female Adolescents: The Shero's Program

“…Narrative ethnographic methods were also used to reveal the community and cultural narratives that served both as barriers to sexual self-protection and facilitators of sexual health among Mexican American young women (Harper, Lardon, et al, 2004).…”

“…Bus tokens and snacks were provided to participants at every session, and youth received various incentives (e.g., skin care/beauty products) based on attendance. More specific details of the intervention sessions have been previously described (Harper, Bangi, Sanchez, Doll, & Pedraza, 2006;Harper et al, 2003;Harper, Lardon, et al, 2004).…”

Weighing the evidence: Risks and benefits of participatory documentary in corporatized clinics

“…They represented themselves by using a wide array of sensory materials, including footage of group members in therapy, photos of group members as children, photos of their families, recordings of music and art by group members. The video group’s approach therefore resonated with that of participatory ethnography (Harper et al, 2004; Hemment, 2007). When the clinic’s video group decided to produce a piece that portrayed the value of creative arts in recovery to its members, and the reasons for mental health budget cuts to creative arts therapies, it took on a form of participatory action research.…”