Qualitative Story Completion: A Method with Exciting Promise

Abstract

This chapter introduces the story completion (SC) method of collecting qualitative data, a novel technique that offers exciting potential to the qualitative researcher. SC involves a researcher writing a story 'stem' or 'cue'or more simply put, the start of a story, usually an opening sentence or twoand asking the participants to complete or continue the story.Originally developed as a form of projective test, the use of SC in qualitative research is relatively new. The authors comprise the Story Completion Research Group, a group of researchers that have come together to share their experience of using and further developing the method. This chapter explains what SC offers the qualitative researcherincluding choices about the 'best' epistemiological lens and analytic approach for their research question, the potential to collect data about sensitive or taboo topics and to access socially undesirable responses, as well as the possibility of research designs that allow comparisons (for example between male and female respondents). This chapter provides key guidance, such as what constitutes an appropriate research questions, and sampling and design considerations. As a recently-developed method, SC has fewer published research studies than some of the other research methods covered in this volume. For this reason, the chapter aims not only to provide a description of the method and recommendations for how best to use it, but also to explore some of the unresolved theoretical and practical questions about SC as well as to suggest future directions for SC.

Being connected to nature, reindeer, and family:findings from a photovoice study on well-being among older South Sámi people

“…The photos were stored in a safe place and recorded and transcribed all interviews verbatim. The interview data as well as the photos were thematically analysed [30,31]. Thus, the photos were coded with initial codes before being collated into three themes that appeared to be important in all the narratives, namely "well-being through connection to nature", "well-being through connection to the reindeer", and "well-being through connection to the family".…”

Exploring the use of story completion to understand the perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships

“…A key feature of SC is its usefulness in exploring topics or behaviours that are uncomfortable to discuss or viewed as socially undesirable (Clarke et al. , 2017; Braun et al. , 2018).…”

Standing still whilst ‘looking back and moving forwards’: The personal accounts of POWS members in the here and now

“…Whenever possible, these were presented as open ended questions. Having collected the contextual information, we included three 'story completion' (see Braun, Clarke, Hayfield, Moller & Tischner, 2018) Finally, participants were asked if they would be willing to take part in a follow up interview about POWS to expand upon their responses. The data we discuss in this paper is based on the survey data alone.…”