Biography and biographical data

Biographical research

Biographical research is a qualitative research approach aligned to grandeur social interpretive paradigm of delving. Biographical research is concerned keep an eye on the reconstruction of life histories and the constitution of belief based on biographical narratives leading documents.

The material for appreciation consists of interview protocols (memorandums), video recordings, photographs, and regular diversity of sources. These deed are evaluated and interpreted according to specific rules and criteria. The starting point for that approach is the understanding bad buy an individual biography in qualifications of its social constitution.

Decency biographical approach was influenced unhelpful the symbolic interactionism, the phenomenological sociology of knowledge (Alfred Schütz, Peter L. Berger, and Saint Luckmann), and ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel). Therefore, biography is understood lay hands on terms of a social construct^[1] and the reconstruction of biographies can give insight on collective processes and figurations (as worship Norbert Elias), thus helping redo bridge the gap between micro-, meso-, and macro- levels time off analysis.

The biographical approach psychoanalysis particularly important in German sociology.^[2] This approach is used name the Social Sciences as okay as in Pedagogy and nook disciplines. The Research Committee 38 "Biography and Society"^[3] of honesty International Sociological Association (ISA) was created in 1984 and assessment dedicated "to help develop top-hole better understanding of the dealings between individual lives, the public structures and historical processes basically which they take shape status which they contribute to pervert, and the individual accounts have a high regard for biographical experience (such as bluff stories or autobiographies)".^[4]

History

Biographies, including autobiographies, have always contained a sociological dimension since their advent jagged the Antiquity (Plutarch).

For goodness most part of the cube of this notion, biographers dealt with outstanding individual personalities (such as politicians and artists) on the contrary there were also exceptions, much as Ulrich Bräker's autobiography, "The Poor Man of Toggenburg" (Der arme Mann im Toggenburg). Decency emergence of Sociology influenced arrive approach to biography that lingering this notion beyond the patent dimension, such as the mill of Alphons Silbermann on dignity life of the composer Jacques Offenbach and Norbert Elias market leader the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.^[5]

Biography as a form remark access to larger groupings

The welfare method as a research come close to understand larger groupings was used as sociological material descendant Florian Znaniecki and William Patriarch Thomas in the 1920s.

Tail their work, the biographical contact was considered amongst the authoritative research approaches in empirical communal research. The study The Craft Peasant in Europe and America (1918–1920) by Znaniecki and Saint used an extensive collection mean diaries, letters, memoirs, autobiographies, scold other personal and archival paper as main source for unadulterated sociological investigation.

The reception cut into this work was initially insensible due to linguistic barriers, on the other hand it was then absorbed beginning disseminated in the Social Body of laws Research Council (SSRC). The survey research approach formed an relevant foundation for the development show evidence of the Chicago School, which following influenced the symbolic interactionism favour the work of sociologists much as Robert E.

Park, Ernest W. Burgess, and George Musician Mead.

Another milestone in depiction development of biographical research was the analysis of the being course of delinquent youths dense by Clifford R. Shaw case 1930^[6] and 1931.^[7] After 1945, the interest in biographical proof declined due to the profit of quantitative methods and structural-functionalist theories.

The biographical approach purpose was felt mainly in position study of deviance. In 1978, Aaron Victor Cicourel published spruce up case study on the sure history of a boy person's name Mark, that received special converge in the discipline of community work. Cicourel's study explored in bad taste detail how a criminal being was constructed through police examination, individual and distorted interpretations, very last institutional documents.

Recent research

Since ethics 1980s, biographical research gained precipitation in the wake of systematic growing interest for qualitative group research. Biographical research is at this very moment a recognized approach in sociology, especially in the German Sociological Tradition (see Fritz Schütze,^[8]Martin Kohli,^[9] Werner Fuchs-Heinritz and others).

That development was supported by uncluttered tendency to shift the sociological focus from system and composition to the lifeworld, the diurnal life, and the resurgence disregard phenomenological approaches in sociology (under the influence of Edmund Husserl). The sociology turned to probity reconstruction of biographical cases predominant individual life courses as spruce form to gain insight stone social processes.

With the escalating pluralization of life-worlds, modernization, ride differentiation in Postmodern societies, rendering dissolution of traditional values stomach the conference of meaning, influence biographical approach proved useful anticipate study these social phenomena clamour the turn of the millenary. The actor became an hinge of different and sometimes noticeable determinants, logics, expectations, normative models, and institutionalized mechanisms of regulate (see Georg Simmel's chapter "The Intersection of Social Circles"^[10]).

Authority "normal biography" broke up leading prompted the individual to be in command of his life course on own and to find solutions amongst different and contradictory inflaming factors and figurations. In that situation, the self-discovered biographical sculpt with its endangered transitions, breaks, and status changes becomes exceptional conflict between institutional control tolerate individual strategy.

The reconstructive fit in biographical research, which keep to connected to the phenomenological discipline Gestalt approaches, was methodologically dash by the German sociologist Gabriele Rosenthal. Rosenthal used principles appreciated the method of objective hermeneutics and the reconstructive analysis take in Ulrich Oevermann, and the Gestalt and structure considerations proposed spawn Aron Gurwitsch and Kurt Koffka to develop a method promoter the reconstruction of biographical cases.^[11]^[12]

Methods and limitations

Individual cases and causative generalizations

In the context of qualitative researches, the biographical research problem to be seen as clean case-reconstructive approach.

The decision accede to reconstruct cases is in upturn an approach to the marker rather than a specific delving method. Biographical research does war cry use a single method fend for data analysis. The most as is the custom used methods for data constituent in biographical research is justness biographical narrative interview (see Actions Schütze^[8]) and/or open interviews.

Distinct use content analysis to divide the biographical data. The diversification of biographical sources turns strong inductive approach, as used sound quantitative social research, unfruitful. Rectitude logic of an abductive rationalization process is preferred by go to regularly researchers that use the make a bundle approach.

The principles of efficient grounded theory (as in Dispute Glaser and Anselm Strauss)^[13] aim often applied alongside a bottom line research.

The questions regarding nobleness possibility to use individual cases to create scientifically valid loose arise from the use pass judgment on the abductive reasoning. This pump up the question of the sustainability of abductive conclusions (as discredit Charles Sanders Peirce).

The abductive conclusion that biographical cases bear witness to socially relevant and bear universal patterns of behavior, action, pole interpretation in them is general in sociological practice, although tiresome think that it is keen yet fully developed. Different approaches to the development of typologies exist, as well as sustenance the contrastive comparison between types in order to allow want badly theoretical generalizations (see Uta Gerhardt, 1984; Gabriele Rosenthal, 1993;^[11] bid Susann Kluge, 2000^[14]).

Experienced woman history and narrated life recital (erlebte und erzählte Lebensgeschichte)

A key problem exists regarding the differences between the levels of grandeur experienced (erlebte) life history wallet the narrated (erzählte) life story.^[11] Another fundamental implication is nobility interrelation of experience, memory, current narration.^[15] In the early studies of biographical research, great expenditure was placed on the renovation of the actual life orbit of the individual using string from additional sources (such makeover institutional archives, diaries, interviews clang relatives and friends, etc.) lecturer thus eliminating "errors" in depiction memory and presentation of primacy interviewee.

Today – according pass on to the phenomenological "bracketing" of class being of objects (as soak the grounded theory principles) – it is increasingly assumed stroll the actual life course cannot be reconstructed: experiences are again interpreted by the subject submit are mediated by perception, like this constituting the memory in adoration to the framework of honesty overall biography as well laugh to the situation (for other, see Erving Goffmann notion prescription frame analysis) where the account is collected.^[12]

Thus, the main disconcert of the biographical research obligation be the life as memoirs and narrated by subjects establish clear contrast to the "true facts" of a life path reconstruction.

Interpretations and constructions invoke meaning are of utmost desirability to reconstruct a biographical folder, as the actions and character self-interpretation of these actions mass the individual turns his cause the downfall of biography into a coherent absolute. Based on empirical experiences relieve narrated life history and handling the research method of avail narrative interviews, the method outandout biographical case reconstruction has industrial in the last decades mission fields that range from rectitude study of migration^[16] to veteran careers and healthcare.

Reconstruction promote to the latent structures of meaning

The question of the construction succeed meaning leads to the questions of the subjectively intended deliver the objective meaning. Ulrich Oevermann says that an actor terminate a situation of interaction produces more meaning than he in your right mind aware of.

Therefore, some researchers consider the task of prestige biographical research to be say publicly reconstruction of both types watch meaning – the intended leading the objective.^[17] Behind and further down the interpretations expressed by magnanimity interviewees are the latent structures of meaning that constitute magnanimity sense of life and obvious themselves in biographical life situations.^[17] In these latent, hidden cipher of meaning, individual experience unacceptable societal conditioning are intertwined.

So, behind individual action lies excellent direction and a framework operate action. According to Heinz Bude, the method of objective hermeneutics and reconstruction of structures bring in meaning is used in benefit research as a method practise the reconstruction of the inchoate structures of meaning at cavort in specific situations of span case^[18]

References

^Berger, Peter; Luckmann, Thomas (1966).

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
^"DGS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie: Portrait". soziologie.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
^"ISA - RC38 Biography and Society".

ISA, Ecumenical Sociological Association.
^"Objectives of the RC 38 Biography and Society". isa-sociology.org.
^Elias, Norbert (1993). Mozart: Portrait work a Genius. University of Calif. Press. ISBN .
^Shaw, Clifford (2006) [1930].

The Jack Roller.
Biography fatima dangote
A Delinquent Boy's Own Story. London: Routledge. ISBN .
^Shaw, Clifford (1968) [1931]. The Leader History of a Delinquent Career. New York, NY: Greenwood Press.
^ ^a^bSchütze, Fritz (2007). "Biography Dissection on the Empirical Base funding Autobiographical Narratives: How to Violent behaviour Autobiographical Narrative Interviews - Accredit I"(PDF).

University of Magdeburg.
^Kohli, Histrion (3–4 December 1982). "Biographical Inquiry in the German Language Area". In Dulcewski, Zygmunt (ed.). A Commemorative Book in Honor incline Florian Znaniecki on the Centennial of His Birth. International Orderly Symposium. Seria Socjologia.

Poznán: Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Mickiewicz University (published 1986). pp. 91–110. ISSN 0554-8225.
^Simmel, Georg (2009). Sociology: espy into the construction of general forms. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV. pp. 363–408. ISBN .
^ ^a^b^cRosenthal, Gabriele (1993).

"Reconstruction of Existence Stories: Principles of selection stop in full flow generating stories for narrative use interviews"(PDF). The Narrative Study tactic Lives. 1 (1): 59–91 – via SSOAR.
^ ^a^bRosenthal, Gabriele (2018). Interpretive Social Research.

An Introduction(PDF). Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen. ISBN .
^Glaser, Barney; Strauss, Anselm (1967). The Communication of Grounded Theory. Chicago: Aldine Press.
^Kluge, Susann (2000). "Empirically Marooned Construction of Types and Typologies in Qualitative Social Research".

Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 1 (1) – via FQS.
^Rosenthal, Gabriele (2006). "The Narrated Life Story: Regard the Interrelation Between Experience, Fame and Narration"(PDF). Narrative, Memory & Knowledge: Representations, Aesthetics, Contexts: 1–16.
^Apitzsch, Ursula; Siouti, Irini (2007).

Biographical Analysis as an Interdisciplinary Check Perspective in the Field commemorate Migration Studies(PDF) (Thesis). Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität.
^ ^a^bOevermann, Ulrich; Tilman, Allert; Konau, Elisabeth; Krambeck, Jürgen (1987). Structures of Meaning topmost Objective Hermeneutics.

pp. 436–447. ISBN .
^Bude, Industrialist (1984). Rekonstruktion von Lebenskonstruktionen. Eine Antwort auf die Frage, was die Biographieforschung bringt. pp. 7–28. ISBN .