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Volume2,No.3,Art.17September2001

AnalyzingCulturalPsychologicalThemesinNarrativeStatements
CarlRatner

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Abstract:Thisarticledescribesprinciplesandproceduresforrigorouslyanalyzingculturalpsychologicalthemesin
narratives.Theprinciplesandproceduresdrawuponphenomenology.Thepointistosummarizethepsychological
significancesthataremanifestedinthenarrativeandthenilluminatetheirculturalcharacter.Thesummaryof
psychologicalsignificancesmustbefaithfultothesubjects'words,yetitalsoexplicatespsychologicalandculturalissues
inthestatementsthatsubjectsarenotfullyawareof.

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Keywords:narratives,discourseanalysis,phenomenology,culturalpsychology,hermeneutics
TableofContents

FO NT S I ZE

1.Introduction
2.APhenomenologicalProcedureforIdentifyingPsychologicalThemesinVerbalAccounts

I NFO RM ATI O N

3.AnApplicationofthePhenomenologicalProcedure

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A RTI CL E TO O L S

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1.Introduction

Indexingmetadata

Verbalaccounts(frominterviews,narratives,andselfreports)containculturalthemeswhich
needtobeexplicated.Culturalthemescannotbedirectlyreadofffromisolatedstatements.
Theymustbegleanedfromacontextualanalysisofstatements.Suchaninterpretiveactis
subjecttomistakesunlessitisperformedinarigorousandsystematicmanner.Ioutlinea
proceduretoprovidethiskindofrigor.[1]

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Itdrawsonthepathbreakingworkofresearchersinthetraditionofphenomenology
(GIORGI,1975a,1975b,1994FISCHER&WERTZ,1979CRESWELL,1998,pp.271295)
andgroundedtheory(e.g.,STRAUSS,1987STRAUSS&CORBIN,1990).Althoughthese
authorsfocusedonelucidatingpersonalmeaningsfromverbalaccounts,Iwillrefinetheir
proceduresinordertoidentifyculturalqualities.[2]

2.APhenomenologicalProcedureforIdentifyingPsychological
ThemesinVerbalAccounts
Interpretingpsychologicalqualitiesinvolvesboilingdownanaccounttoessentialthemes
whichcanthenbesummarized.Thefinalsummarymustaccuratelyreflectallthemajor
themesoftheoriginalprotocol.Anditmustonlyreflectthosethemes.Wedon'twantto
overlookanythemes.Nordowewanttoadd(impose)themeswhichareforeigntothe
subject'sstatement.[3]
Thefirststepistoidentify"meaningunits"withinthedocument.Thesearecoherentand
distinctmeaningsembeddedwithintheprotocol.Theycanbecomposedofanynumberof
words.Onewordmayconstituteameaningunit.Severalsentencesmayalsoconstitutea
unit.Ameaningunitmaycontainacomplexidea.Itsimplymustbecoherentanddistinctive
fromotherideas.Themeaningunitmustpreservethepsychologicalintegrityoftheidea
beingexpressed.Itmustneitherfragmenttheideaintomeaningless,truncatedsegmentsnor
confuseitwithotherideasthatexpressdifferentthemes.[4]
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Itwillbeinstructivetoillustratethispointbyidentifyingthemeaningunitsinanactual
interviewprotocol.IwilluseasdataanaccountthatwaspublishedbyHIGGINS,POWER,
andKOHLBERG(1984).Thesubjectwasaskedwhetherastudentismorallyobligedtooffer

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aridetoanotherstudentintheschool(whomhedidnotknow)whoneedsaridetoan
importantcollegeinterview.Ishallbracketmeaningunitsthatexpressissuesrelatedtothe
moralobligationofdoingfavorsforstrangers.
[Idon'tthinkhehasanyobligation].IfIwasinhisplaceandI[didn'tknowthekidtoowell],[ifI
wantedtosleeplate],[Idon'tfeelthatitismyresponsibility]togodrivesomebodytotheir
interview,[itisuptothem,theyareresponsible].IfIweregoingthere,[ifIhadaninterviewthere
atthesametime,sureIwould].ButifIhadtheopportunitytosleeplateanddidn'tknowthekidat
all,Iwouldn't...
[Peopleseemtothinkaslongasyouhaveacartheyhavearide],andinmyopinionitdoesn't
operatethatway.[IfIwantedtogivehimaride,Iwillgivehimaride],[ifIamgoingthereandthey
wanttogothere].Itis[mycarandIamtheonewhoisdriving],andIdon'tseewhyIshouldgive
himaride.
Itdoesn'tmeanIshouldn'tgivethemaride,but[ifIdon'tknowthemwellenough],Ithink[justout
ofprotectionformyselfandmyproperty],Iwouldn't.Ithinkpeoplemaysaythat[being
responsibletoyourselfismoreimportantthanotherpeople].Ithinkthereis[anextentwhereyou
putyourselffirst].Andwhenyou[believeinputtingyourselffirst,likeIdo]...[Idon'tfeelIshouldbe
obligatedtosomebodyelse'swork,especiallyifIdon'tknowthem],Idon'tthinkIshouldgive
themaride.(p.91)[5]

Identifyingmeaningunitsrequiresinterpretationaboutwhatconstitutesacoherentand
distincttheme.Thiscanonlybedoneaftertheresearcherhasbecomefamiliarwiththe
entireprotocolandcomprehendswhatthespeakerissaying.Thentheresearchercango
backtoidentifyparticularthemesofthisaccount.Themeaningunitsareonlymeaningfulin
relationtothestructureofalltheunitsi.e.,intermsoftheentire(whole)narrativeofwhich
theyareparts(cf.RATNER,1997,pp.136138).[6]
Theselectionofmeaningunitsisalsoguidedbytheresearchquestion.Ifthequestionisthe
relationoffathersandchildren,thenresponseswhichpertaintothisissueshouldbe
highlighted.Otherresponsesirrelevanttothequestionshouldnotbeidentifiedasmeaning
unitsinthisresearch.Forexample,ifthesubjectsays,"wemovedtoSanFranciscoin1994"
thishasnoexplicitorimplicitsignificanceforhisrelationwithhischild.Accordingly,itshould
notbeameaningunitinthisparticularresearch.Ofcourse,ifthesubjectindicatesthatthe
movedidhavesomebearingonhisrelationshipwithhischildthenitshouldbepartofa
meaningunitthatexpressesitsimportanceforthisrelationship.[7]
Rigorouslyidentifyingmeaningunitsiscrucialbecauseitservesasabasisandjustification
forallfurtherinterpretationsthattheresearchermakes.Anyinterpretationswhichthe
researchermakescanbereferredbacktotheseoriginalmeaningunits.Thishelpstoavoid
arbitrary,subjectiveimpressionsbeingimposedonthesubject.[8]
Afterthemeaningunitshavebeenidentified,theyareparaphrasedbytheresearcherin
"centralthemes."Ifthemeaningunitis"Ohhell,"theresearchermayconstruethisas
"anger.""Anger"willbethetheme,orcentraltheme,oftheunit.[9]
Themeaningunitsofthestatementonmoralreasoningcanberepresentedbythefollowing
centralthemes:
nomoralobligationtodrive/help(meaningunit:Idon'tthinkhehasanyobligation")
don'thelpdistantsocialrelations(meaningunit:"don'tknowhimwell")
selfgratification(meaningunit:"sleeplate""putyourselffirst")
selfresponsibility(meaningunit:"everyoneresponsibleforownself""notresponsible
forothers")
helpifit'sconvenientforself(meaningunit:"ifhe&Iweregoingtothesameplace")
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peopleuseeachother(meaningunit:"peoplethinkaslongasyouhaveacarthey
havearide")
privatepropertycanbeusedasonedesireswithoutobligation(meaningunit:"it'smy
car")
selfprotection(meaningunit:"don'tknowpeoplewell""outofprotectionformyself")
[10]
Thecentralthemesshouldrepresentthepsychologicalsignificanceofthemeaningunits.For
instance,whenthesubjectsurmisesthatifhewantedtosleeplateheneednotworryabout
drivingaschoolmatetoaninterview,itseemsthatheisemphasizinghisowndesireover
otherpeople'sandthatthisisaformofselfgratification.Similarly,whenhesaysthatit'shis
carandheistheonedriving,theimplicationisthathecanusehispropertyhoweverhe
wishesandisundernoobligationtouseittohelpanotherperson.Centralthemesinvolve
interpretingthepsychologicalsignificanceofthemeaningunitwhichisoftennotexplicitly
stated.However,theinferencemustbeconsistentwiththebodyofstatements.[11]
Identifyingcentralthemesrequiressophisticatedinterpretationofthemeaningunit.The
followingexamplefromSHWEDERandMUCH(1987)illustratestheprocessofidentifyinga
statementas"anaccusation":Alice(agedfouryears)isseatedatatable.Shehasaglass
fullofwater.Mrs.Swift(theteacher)approachesandaddressesAlice:"Thatisnotapaper
cup.""Whilethereisnoformal,abstract,orlogicalfeatureoftheutterancethatmarksitasan
'accusation,'thecontext,thediscourse,andcertainbackgroundknowledgemakesthe
teacher'sutterancereadilyidentifiableasanaccusation."(ibid.,p.209)Theteacherisclearly
implyingthatAlicewaswrongtohaveusedaglassandshouldhaveusedapapercup
instead.BothAliceandtheobserverrealizethattheteacherwasmakinganaccusation
baseduponthisimplicitrule.[12]
Theauthors(ibid.,pp.210211)notethat
"Determiningthemeaningofastretchofdiscourseisnoformalormechanicalmatter,butis
objectivelyconstrained.Itcallsforagooddealofpriorculturalknowledge...Theutterance'Thatis
notapapercup'isbasicallyacategorycontrast,meaning'Thatisnotapapercup,itisaglass.'It
refersthemeaningoftheeventtowhatisassumedtobeknownabouttherelevantdifferences
betweenpapercupsandglasses(apotentialforharmthroughbreakage)..."[13]

Theteacher'sstatementwillonlyberecognizedasanaccusationifthelistenerrealizesthe
implicitdistinctionbetweenglassesandpapercups,theimplicitknowledgethatglassescan
breakandcauseinjury,andtheimplicitassumptionthatyoungchildrenareinsufficiently
competentorconscientioustobetrustedwiththeunsuperviseduseoffragileandpotentially
harmfulmaterials.Alistenerwhodoeshaveknowledgeofthesebackgroundcultural
assumptionsanddistinctionscanreadilyidentifytheteacher'sstatementasanintended
accusation.[14]
Themeaning(whichissummarizedinthecentraltheme)isnottransparentintheexplicit
wordspeopleuse.Itmustbeinferredfromknowledgeofcompleximplicitrules,assumptions,
anddistinctions."Wemustbeconcernednotonlywithwhatwassaidbutalsowithwhatwas
presupposed,implied,suggested,orconveyedbywhatwassaid"(ibid.,p.212).Theimplicit
rules,assumptions,anddistinctionsmayrefertounnamedevents,rules,beliefs,roles,
statuses,andotherphenomena.[15]
Afterthecentralthemeshavebeenidentified,severalrelatedcentralthemesareorganized
intoacategorycalled"generaltheme."Thegeneralthemenamesthemeaningofthecentral
themes.Centralthemesfromthroughouttheprotocolmayberelatedintoonegeneraltheme.
Eachgeneralthemeisexplained/amplifiedina"generalstructure."Allthegeneralstructures
areintegratedcomparedandexplainedinasummarystatement,the"generalsummary."
Thefollowingdiagramdepictsthephenomenologicalprocedurejustdescribed.

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Table1:DiagramofPhenomenologicalMethod[16]

3.AnApplicationofthePhenomenologicalProcedure
AusefulexampleofthephenomenologicalmethodappliedtoculturalpsychologyisCHAO's
(1995)researchonChineseandAmericanmothers'beliefsaboutchildrearing.Although
CHAOdidnotfollowmyprocedures,hermethodissimilarinmanyrespects.Sheaskedthe
motherstowriteabouttheirchildrearingvalues.Fromtheprotocols,CHAOnotedsignificant
phrases(meaningunits),identifiedthemes("centralthemes"),andcombinedtheseinto
broadergeneralthemes.CentralthemesfromAmericanmotherswere"nurturingand
patient,""separatethechild'sbehaviorfromtheperson,"(i.e.,criticizebehaviorbutnotthe
child)and"love."CHAOcategorizedthesethree"centralthemes"asexpressingageneral
theme"selfesteem."Herworkcanbeorganizedintomyphenomenologicalsysteminthe
followingtable.TabledepictsthecentralandgeneralthemesfromCHAO'Sstudy.
AmericanMothers
CentralThemes

GeneralThemes

ChineseMothers
CentralThemes

GeneralThemes

Goodjudgment
Respectothers
Respectwork

Goodperson
InstillingValues

Respectmoney

Honesty
Responsible

Instillingmoral
Character

Adaptable
Nurturingand
patient
IndependentSelf
Separatebehavior
Esteem
fromperson
Love

Fulfillchilds
needs

Love

Makechildhappy

Gettingintouch
withfeelings
Labelingfeelings

Encouragelearning
newthings
Encouragetrying
newthingsbyself
Talktokids
Listentokids
Beingafriend

Independence

Love

Sacrifice
Devotion
Processfeelings

Sharetoys
Politeness
Avoidenvy

Teachrespectfor
others

Expressing
feelings
Table2:CentralandGeneralThemes[17]

CHAOexplainedthesignificanceofthegeneralthemesingeneralstructures.Shepointed
outthatindependenceinchildrenwasvaluedbyAmericanmothersforthepurposeof
encouragingchildrentoseparatefromthefamily.IndependencewasvaluedbyChinese
mothersfortheoppositepurposeofhelpingchildrenbecomesuccessfulsotheycould
contributemoretothefamily.Inthesameway,lovewasvaluedbyAmericanmothersasa
meanstofosterselfesteemintheirchildren.LoveforChinesemotherswasameansto
fosteranenduringsocialrelationwiththeirchildren.[18]
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GeneralthemesandstructuresofChao'sworkcanbesystematizedanddiagrammedin
Tablebelow.
American
GeneralThemes

GeneralStructures

Chinese
GeneralThemes

GeneralStructures

Independencein
ordertoliveon
ones
own.Separatingself
IndependentSelf
from
Independence
Esteem
behaviorInsulates

Independencein
ordertobetter
provideforfamily

selffromcriticism
directedat
behavior.
Love

Processfeelings

Loveisvaluedto
fosterselfesteem

Love

Loveisvaluedto
fosterenduring

inchild

socialrelationwith
child

Toknowselfbetter
nottounderstand
otherpeoplebetter

Table3:GeneralThemesandGeneralStructures[19]

Inthephenomenologicalanalysis,everystagepreservesandilluminatesthemeaningofthe
earlierstages.Centralthemesexpressthespecificpsychologicalmeaningofthemeaning
unitsgeneralthemesexpressthemeaningofcentralthemesgeneralstructuresconveythe
meaningofgeneralthemesandthegeneralsummaryexplainshowallthegeneral
structuresareinterrelated.Thesummaryexplainswhetherstructurescomplementor
contradicteachother.[20]
Sinceeachhigherlevelofanalysiselucidatesthespecificqualityofthelowerlevel,ageneral
thememayhaveaverydifferentnamefromthecentraltheme.Forexample,thecentral
themeofloveforAmericanmothersconnotedthegeneralthemeofindependentselfesteem,
thus,thegeneralthemeisnotlove.Instead,thegeneraltheme"love"wasusedtoexpress
thecentralthemeof"makechildhappy."[21]
Thepsychologicalsignificanceofacentraltheme,ratherthanthebarewords,determinethe
terminologythatisusedtoidentifygeneralthemes.[22]
Forexample,whenafactoryworkersaysheusesallthebathroombreakshecantake,itis
necessarytoidentifythespecificpsychologicalmeaningofthisinacentraltheme.Ifother
partsofthetextindicatethatheusesbreakstocombatmanagementcontroland
exploitation,thenthissenseshouldbeidentifiedinthecentraltheme.Itmightbestatedas:
"Usesbreakstoretaliateagainstmanagementcontrolandexploitation."[23]
LYSTRAusedthiskindofanalysiswithgreatsuccessinanexcellentstudyonthe
psychologyofromanticlove(cf.RATNER,1997,pp.135136).Frommeaningunitssuchas
"regardmeasonewithyourself,"sheidentifiedcentralthemessuchas"loveisamergingof
personalidentities,""loveisexclusive,""loveisararematchbetweenuniqueindividuals,"
"loveinvolvesrevealingpersonalthoughtsandfeelings."[24]
Whenthephenomenologicalprocedureisemployedtoanalyzeculturalpsychological
phenomena,centralthemes,generalthemes,generalstructures,andthegeneralsummary
shouldallemphasizespecificcontent.CHAOindicatedthespecificqualityofindependence
andloveinhergeneralstructures.LYSTRA'Scentraltheme,"loveisararematchbetween
uniqueindividuals,"alsodenotesaspecificqualityofthelovefeeling.Anotherexampleof
employingculturalterminologyisGee'sinterpretationofawoman'sstatementabouther
marriage.The"meaningunit"was,"Whyintheworldwouldyouwanttostopandnotgetthe
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useoutofalltheyearsyou'vealreadyspenttogether?"Geedesignatesthe"centraltheme"
(meaning)ofthisstatementas:"timespentinmarriageisbeingtreatedasan`investment'."
Investmentdenotesaparticularkindoftransactionorrelationship.Itcouldbeamplifiedina
generalstructuretoyield:"Intermsoftheinvestmentmetaphor,ifweinvestmoney/time,we
areentitledtoa`return.'Soaccordingtothismodel,itissillynottowaitlongenough,having
madeaninvestment,toseeit`payoff'andbeableto`gettheuseoutof'thetime/moneythat
hasbeeninvested."[25]
Culturalpsychologistsstrivetoavoidabstractterminologybecauseitprecludes
apprehendingtheirspecificpsychologicalandculturalcharacter.Forexample,iftheworker's
statement"usesallthebathroombreakshecan"isparsedabstractlyas"attendstobodily
needs"thiswouldobscuretheculturalsignificancethatthebreakshavefortheworker.
Literalparaphrasingofastatementsimilarlyexpungesitspsychologicalandcultural
significance.Iftheworker'sstatement,"usesallthebathroombreakshecan,"were
paraphrasedas"takesmanybathroombreaks"itspsychologicalandculturalsignificance
wouldbeobfuscated.[26]
Mostqualitativeresearchersarenotinterestedincultureandthereforemostoftheircodes
areabstract.Forinstance,inanalyzingajob,STRAUSScodesitas:informationpassing,
attentiveness,efficiency,monitoring,providingassistance,conferring(STRAUSS&CORBIN,
1990,pp.6473).Noneofthesecodeselucidatesthecontentorqualityofthework.They
couldjustaswellrefertoanurseasaprisonguard.BothjobsentailSTRAUSS'scodesand
thelatterfailtodistinguishthevastlydifferentwaysthatnursesandprisonguardstreat
people.STRAUSSturnsevenfurtherinthedirectionofabstractnesswhenheadvocates
dimensionalizingthesecodesintermsoftheirfrequency,intensity,andduration.Insteadof
revealingwhatthesubjectconcretelydoes,howshetreatspeople,whatherobjectivesare,
andwhattheinstitutionalpressuresare,STRAUSS'sprocedureleavesuswiththeabstract
knowledgethatthesubjectpassesinformationfrequentlyandforshortdurationseachtime.
[27]
EvenCHAOusesabstracttermssuchas"processingfeelings,""respectwork,""instilling
values,""moralcharacter,""goodperson,""adaptable,""talktokids,""respectothers,"
"honest,""patient."Alloftheseexpressnospecificculturalpsychologicalcontente.g.,in
whatwaysdoesonerespectothers(byquestioningthemcloselytofindouttheirfeelingsor
byallowingthemagreatdealofprivacy),howdoesonetalktokids(asmatureadultsoras
immaturechildrenpatientlyorimpatiently),howdoesonerespectwork(toearnmoneyorto
buildcharacter)?[28]
CHAOcouldhaveavoidedthisproblembyidentifyingconcretemeaningsateverylevelof
analysis.Thecentraltheme"respectwork"shouldhavebeen"respectworktobecome
wealthy,"or"respectworktodevelopastrongethicalcode,"or"respectworktocontributeto
society,"Providingconcreteinformationinthecentralthemesistheultimate"thick
description"thatGEERTZandRYLEhaveespoused."Thickdescription...entailsan
accountoftheintentions,expectations,circumstances,settings,andpurposesthatgive
actionstheirmeanings"(GREENBLATT,1999,p.16).[29]
Usingconcretetermsforallthecodesenablestheculturalpsychologiststorelateeachone
toculturalfactorsandprocesses.InthecaseofCHAO'sdata,wecanseethehomology
betweenthegeneralstructure"independentselfinordertoliveonone'sown,"andthe
widespreadAmericanvalueofindividualautonomyandthefreemarketwhereindividuals
mustmaketheirowndecisions.Thiskindofculturalanalysisallowsustoconcludethat
certainchildrearingvaluesrecapitulateandreinforceculturalactivitiesandconceptsoutside
thefamily.GEE'sinterpretationofmarriageasaninvestmentsimilarlyallowsustonotethat
commercialconceptsandpracticeshavepenetratedtheformerlydistinctdomainoffamily
life.[30]
Aculturalpsychologicalanalysismustremainfaithfultothesubjects'statements,yetmust
alsoexplicateculturalissuesinthestatementsthatsubjectsarenotfullyawareof.Inother
words,statementscontainculturalinformationthatisonlyrecognizablebysomeonewhois
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knowledgeableaboutculturalactivitiesandconcepts.Theresearcherbringsthisknowledge
tobearinanalyzingculturalaspectsofthestatements.Theresearchermustusethe
statementsasevidenceforculturalissues.Anyconclusionaboutculturalaspectsof
psychologymustbeempiricallysupportedbyindicationsintheverbalstatements.Atthe
sametime,theculturalaspectsarenottransparentinthestatementsandcannotbedirectly
readofffromthembecausesubjectshavenotthemselvesexplicitlyreflectedonordescribed
theseaspects.Theyareembeddedinthestatementsandmustbeelucidatedfromthem.
Thetaskofanalyzingdescriptivedataistoremainfaithfultowhatthesubjectssayyetalso
transcendtheliteralwordstoapprehendtheculturalmeaningsembeddedinthewordsjust
asthephysicianlistenstothepatient'sreportofsymptomsandthenutilizesmedical
knowledgetoidentifywhatdiseasethepatienthas(cf.SCHUTZ,1967,p.6).[31]

References
Chao,Ruth(1995).ChineseandAmericanculturalmodelsoftheselfreflectedinmothers'childrearingbeliefs.Ethos,23,
328354.
Creswell,John(1998).Qualitativeinquiryandresearchdesign:Choosingamongfivetraditions.ThousandOaks:CA:
Sage.
Fischer,Constance&Wertz,Fred(1979).Empiricalphenomenologicalanalysesofbeingcriminallyvictimized.InAmadeo
Giorgi,(Ed.),Duquesnestudiesinphenomenologicalpsychology(vol.3,pp.135158).Pittsburgh:DuquesneUniversity
Press.
Giorgi,Amadeo(1975a).Convergenceanddivergenceofqualitativeandquantitativemethodsinpsychology.InAmadeo
Giorgi,(Ed.),Duquesnestudiesinphenomenologicalpsychology(Volume2,pp.7279).AtlanticHighlands:Humanities
Press.
Giorgi,Amadeo(1975b).Anapplicationofphenomenologicalmethodinpsychology.InAmadeoGiorgi,Constance
Fischer(Eds.),Duquesnestudiesinphenomenologicalpsychology:(Volume2,pp.82103).AtlanticHighlands:
HumanitiesPress.
Giorgi,Amadeo(1994).Aphenomenologicalperspectiveoncertainqualitativeresearchmethods.Journalof
PhenomenologicalPsychology,25,190220.
Greenblatt,Sal(1999).Thetouchofthereal.InSherryOrtner(Ed.),Thefateof"culture":Geertzandbeyond(pp.1429).
Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress.
Higgins,AnnPower,Clark&Kohlberg,Lawrence(1984).Therelationshipofmoralatmospheretojudgmentsof
responsibility.InWilliamKurtines&JacobGewirtz(Eds.),Morality,moralbehavior,andmoraldevelopment(pp.74106).
NewYork:Wiley.
Ratner,Carl(1997).CulturalPsychologyandQualitativeMethodology.NewYork:Plenum.
Shweder,Richard&Much,Nancy(1987).Determinationsofmeaning:Discourseandmoralsocialization.InWilliam
Kurtines&JacobGewirtz(Eds.),Moraldevelopmentthroughsocialinteraction(pp.197244).NewYork:Wiley.
Strauss,Anselm(1987).Qualitativeanalysisforsocialscientists.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress.
Strauss,Anselm&Corbin,Juliet(1990).Basicsofqualitativeresearch:Groundedtheoryproceduresandtechniques.
NewburyPark,CA:Sage.

Author
CarlRATNERhasbeendevelopingatheoreticalandmethodologicalapproachtoculturalpsychologyforseveral
decades.HehaspublishedCulturalPsychologyandQualitativeMethodology:Theoretical&EmpiricalConsiderations
(Plenum,1997)andCulturalPsychology:Theory&Method(Plenum,2002).RATNERcurrentlygivesworkshopson
qualitativemethodologyespeciallyinrelationtoculturalpsychology.
Hisarticlescanbereadonhiswebsite:http://www.humboldt1.com/~cr2
Contact:
CarlRatner
P.O.Box1294
Trinidad,CA,95570,USA
Email:cr2@humboldt1.com

Citation
Ratner,Carl(2001).AnalyzingCulturalPsychologicalThemesinNarrativeStatements[31paragraphs].ForumQualitative
Sozialforschung/Forum:QualitativeSocialResearch,2(3),Art.17,http://nbnresolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114fqs0103177.
Revised6/2008

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AnalyzingCulturalPsychologicalThemesinNarrativeStatement|Ratner|ForumQualitativeSozialforschung/Forum:QualitativeSocialResearch
Copyright(c)2001CarlRatner

ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution4.0InternationalLicense.

20002016ForumQualitativeSozialforschung/Forum:QualitativeSocialResearch(ISSN14385627)
SupportedbytheInstituteforQualitativeResearchandtheCenterforDigitalSystems,FreieUniversittBerlin

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