Performance, Reflexivity, and Learning Through Biographical-Narrative Research

Abstract

This article provides a critical reflection on biographical-narrative research based on research experience with qualitative methodology, particularly with the application of phenomenological and existential methods with rural women in processes of socio-laboral transition. Focusing on this methodological approach, this article will consider: (a) the use and importance of the biographical-narrative approach in social sciences, (b) the main tensions and paradoxes that exist today in studies based on interpretative-critical methods, (c) the biographical-narrative research process using life stories, their phases, tasks, and contributions to science. Joining theoretical and field research, the author shows how the biographical-narrative method and its performance favor critical reflection and shared learning. The reflection on one’s own experience this method provides gives a person a sense of authorship regarding her life, and contributes to the development and transformation of the participants