Data Through Time: Figuring Out the Narrative Self in Longitudinal Research

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways in which individuals have figured within longitudinal research in the social sciences. It raises questions about the implications of the self-tracking movement, and ‘personal informatics’, for future research practices. This chapter discusses the importance of focusing on what can be considered as ‘figure’ and ‘ground’ in research and in representations of individuals’ lives. There is a focus on understanding figure and ground in temporal terms—contrasting the events and experiences that structure personal life narratives with the routines of daily life which are often almost unnoticed. This chapter draws on exemplars from Britain’s portfolio of national longitudinal studies of individuals’ lives and highlights an emerging set of methods focused on reconstructing individual cases within quantitative longitudinal research.