From a Case to a Case Study—And Back, or on the Search for Everyman in Biographical Research

Abstract

<jats:p>Sociological, qualitative, biographical research is distinguished by its interest in the case. At the same time, this research seeks—often through case studies—to understand or explain supraindividual, repetitive phenomena which are, to some extent, general. In this article, we look at how cases are treated in biographical sociology. We present our own empirical experience, consisting in autobiographical narrative interviews with participants of a nationwide panel survey, who were randomly drawn to the panel many years ago. We show the possible consequences, both methodological and theoretical, of this way of selecting cases, quite unusual for biographical sociology. We wonder whether and to what extent the experience of the “ordinary person,” the Everyman, can be reflected in sociological works based on the biographical method.</jats:p>

Narrative Agency and Structural Chaos. A Biographical-Narrative Case Study

“…This analytical "inward" orientation is typical of sociological biographical research, in which case analysis usually means showing how this case is constructed, what it consists of. What is more difficult to show here-for various theoretical and methodological reasons-is the "outward" analytical orientation (Filipkowski and Życzyńska-Ciołek 2019). Still, I would like to, at least, pose the question: what do the narrative and biography analyzed here refer to?…”