Narrative as Ethnographic Research Tool

My fieldnotes consisted of a messy conglomerate of information, so I started rewriting them. The process of rewriting turned the fieldnotes into a thick narrative of the situations—with this, step-by-step, the messiness became comprehensible and a coherent picture of the field. Throughout the process of rewriting the position of researcher emerged. The value systems and interpretations of the research comes through the use of language and the way descriptions are used. Narrative thus turned not only into an instrument of creating meaning but also as a tool of reflection.