ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad overview of narrative inquiry in applied linguistics and is organised around four core dimensions or basic features of narrative inquiry that can be distinguished in terms of methodological practices. These features lie along four continua, whose focus is more on the processes of data collection and analysis than on theoretical or epistemological underpinnings of narrative inquiry, although the latter will also be addressed: narrative study–narrative inquiry, researcher disengagement–researcher engagement, non-story data–data in story form, and thematic analysis–constructing story. Examples of recently published studies will illustrate the distinguishing features of each continuum. The chapter will conclude with suggestions for developing further narrative inquiry approaches in applied linguistics research.
