Researching Life Stories and Family Histories

A guide to the methods and issues involved in carrying out biographical, life history or family history research. Robert Miller demonstrates that biographical research is a distinctive way of conceptualizing social activity. He covers the three main approaches to biographical and family history: realist - focused around grounded-theory techniques of interviewing; neo-positivist - more structured interview techniques; and narrative - with emphasis on the active construction of life stories through the interplay between interviewer and interviewee. This introduction to the field integrates American and European traditions and provides exercises.