The presentation by Krystal on the specific qualitative methods and approached she used in her PhD.

1. Qualitative Research
Adapting the Biographical Narrative Interpretive
Method (BNIM) for research on Managers and
Professionals
Doctoral Seminar Series 2013
Krystal Wilkinson

2. Contents
Research topic
Research questions
Methodology requirements
‘Pure’ BNIM data collection & analysis
Problems with a ‘pure’ approach
Adapted data collection & analysis

3. Research questions
What work-life balance issues are
experienced by the solo-living employees?
To what extent is the group heterogeneous in
terms of work-life attitude and experience?
What is the interplay of structure, culture and
individual agency in relation solo-living
employee to work-life balance?

4. Methodology requirements
Qualitative design
Individual as the unit of analysis
Participant requirements
Sample strategy
In-depth interviews including a
biographical-narrative element

5. BNIM Data Collection
Handbook for the method: Wegraf (2011)
Interview One:
Single question designed to induce narrative
(SQUIN)
Pushing for particular incident narratives
(PINs)
Interview Two (Optional):
Further questions

6. BNIM Data Analysis
Post-interview researcher debrief
Memoising during transcription
Producing BDC & TSS
‘Lived life’ panel
‘Told story’ panel
Whole case consideration
Case comparisons

7. Methodological problems
Small number of participants
Time constraints of data collection
Two interview format
Concerns over pushing for PINs
Time demands of panel discussions
Lack of attention given to non-narrative data
collected

8. Adapted Data Collection
One interview:
SQUIN
Minimal pushing for PINs
Participant information sheet
Semi-structured interview schedule

9. Adapted Data Analysis
Post-interview researcher debrief
Memoising during transcription
Transcript coding
Spreadsheet for initial general analysis

10. Name Leah
Job Title HR Manager
Part / theme Quote
Life story Brief story, acheivement central - work and study. Previous partner mentioned.
What's important Family… [pause], erm this is anything outside work isn’t it? I think work is very important to me, actually, and study. Erm, so yeah, I
think those are the three top things'. When asked what life outside of work involves, she cites CIPD Branch work and
View of work It’s very important to me, it means, as well as status and everything else...its erm the fulfilment you get from helping people out' Work
and study similar onus: 'I think it’s the achievement, I think I’ve always been quite driven by achievement, I’ve co
Work demands - long Works 8.30am to 8pm, but work pretty all-consuming in terms of attention: 'I’m always getting in trouble with my boyfriend because I’m
hours, travel. thinking about work ALL the time', not helped by the i-phone: 'which means that we’ve got work email pinging ALL the tim
Type of organisation: says her last role had 'a public sector attitude - so everyone left at five o'clock'. 'Whereas here, nobody leaves at
five o’clock anyway, people wander into your office at six, seven o’clock at night and come down for a chat, erm a
Study MA in HRM, currently doing an MBA. Agency: 'its been me knocking on the door and saying ‘can I do this?''. Reason - acheivement,
fulfilment and 'I think its also important to continue to learn – you can’t just say ‘right I’ve got that box ticked now and
Family
Partner Little mention of current partner. Some detail on former partner, who she lived with - was actually good for her WLB: 'he was really
helpful...he’d come and pick me up from town [late after college] and take me home, and cook my tea and al that kind of t
Friends Sees friends 'that tends to be a Friday night activity, that tends to be pencilled in there'. Social time has to be scheduled.
Colleagues Buddy system in operation really beneficial - she's partnered with the Operations Manager - help each other out.
First experience of living University - positive experience, wanted to move away.
away from home
Living alone More conscious of the down-sides than the benefits. 'Downsides, well I’ve got a whole list. For me the worse things are when you’ve
had a long day or you don’t get home til nine o’clock or something, even little things like running out of milk or someth
Work-life balance Meaning: 'I think for me it’s fitting in everything that you want to do. And feeling like you’ve got a life outside of work'. Doesn't feel that in
control at the moment: 'it feels like if someone wanders into my office at six o’clock at night or somethi
I think at the moment it is the career progression and the autonomy over the role that is much more important to me'
Action to improve WLB was in personal domain: 'about a month ago I got a cleaner, which has made a bit of a difference actually'
Ideal WLB / desired I think a little bit more time at home, or just protected time, I don’t really mind if its not very much as long as I know that I’m kind of
provision guaranteed it every week
Fairness at work No unfairness felt.
Plans for the future I think the grand plan is probably to, maybe wind things back a little bit, I think once I finish my MBA that might be it for studying -
alongside working, I mean I wouldn’t mind maybe studying full-time again'. 'hopefully in the future there’ll be more
Events Structure or agency
Grew up near Staffordshire Lived with mother and sister. Working class parents - mum's a cleaner, dad's a lorry driver (after muliple redundancies)
Move to Manchester for Desire for independence: 'as soon as I was eighteen basically I was out the door and came to Manchester, which was about the
university nearest city I could get to'. Linguistics degree as enjoyed English and Sociology at A Level.
Moved in with boyfriend & Found the degree was 'completely useless in the real world', didn't see a posibility of getting into research as 'I wasn’t a superstar at it
Office job by any means'. 'when I graduated I got just any office work I could really. And kind of fell into HR a bit'.
HR Manager role First HR role in The University of Manchester Incubator Company: 'I kind of grew from the Office Manager role...the demand for an HR
Manager grew'
Started studying for MA Active choice, and relevant for the role

11. Adapted Data Analysis
Post-interview researcher debrief
Memoising during transcription
Transcript coding
Spreadsheet for initial general analysis
Working with the codes (Seidel & Kelle,1995).
Individual case construction and case
comparisons

12. References
Seidel, J. & Kelle, U. (1995) 'Different Functions of
Coding in the Analysis of Textual Data' in U. Kelle
(Ed.) Computer-Aided Qualitative Data Analysis:
Theory, Methods and Practice. London: Sage
Wengraf, T. (2011) Interviewing for life-histories,
lived periods and situations, and ongoing personal
experiencing using the Biographic-Narrative
Interpretive Method (BNIM): The BNIM Short Guide
bound with The BNIM Detailed Manual, version
11.07. Available from: tom@tomwengraf.com