ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a detailed description of my research design, namely an intergenerational case study to explore social changes and the personal experiences within such changes. The key aspect of the research method is the connecting of two types of time in understanding mothering: ‘historical time’ and the ‘biographical time’ in which the individual lives/lived. To connect the two times and reach a ‘sociological imagination’, research methods that were both historical (across generations with detailed background and context information) and sensitive to the individual’s subjectivities were needed. Therefore the methods used to collect the historical and community context in this chapter are explained and the particular interview method used is described – the biographical-narrative-interpretive interview method – which provides much autonomy to interviewees so they can present their subjectivities better in front of the researcher. Finally, the methodological limitations and issues involved in conducting this research are discussed in the concluding part of the chapter.
