ABSTRACT
Story pervades research: it is the subject matter of research (we research material that is often a story); it is in the methodology of research (stories may be written in the collection of data or as a means of testing findings); and it is the method of writing up research since good research writing may often include the devices of good story writing such as engagement and the use of the twists, turns and resolution of the research question. Our tendency to construct story also has much to do with the distortion of research findings in their application. The ideas around story that I explore in these pages share the philosophical issues of research such as the incorporation of a multiplicity of perspectives and interpretations and the notions of reality and generalisability. And of course, ideas for research may arise from an unsolved mystery! After I have made a few initial points, the large part of this chapter is a review of
ways in which story can play a part in research (p. 140).
