The Use of Narrative Grid Interviews in Psychological Mobility Research

Abstract

It is the aim of this article to justify the use of a cooperative research method, the narrative grid interview, within the framework of a research project on experience of mobility. The crucial characteristic of this method is to guarantee universal transparency from data collection to the description of generalized results and models. Thus, two requirements are met: The appropriateness is based in the narratives of the participants on their respective lifeworld, the ability to generalize is based on rules for data-analysis and -interpretation in agreement with legitimate paradigms (for the purpose of KUHN). Thereby greater closeness between theoretical groundwork research and concrete applications, be it in planning or counseling, should be guaranteed. After a concise introductory glance on the psychological and interdisciplinary understanding of mobility, the requirements on the concrete research project 'Psychological basis of mobility behavior' are deduced. In the articles' core quality (komma) criteria are formulated and examined in a concrete description of the methodological approach. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs000262