The life history approach: Fieldwork experience

Life history approach in qualitative research emphasises on the importance of presenting the individual‟s subjective evaluation of his experiences and of giving information about his social experiences. It is the account of a life, completed or ongoing. This approach combines both written and ora...

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Main Authors: Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar, Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Journal of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2008
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/1/rahamah08.pdf
id ukm-1555
recordtype eprints
spelling ukm-15552016-12-14T06:29:46Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/ The life history approach: Fieldwork experience Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar, Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah, Life history approach in qualitative research emphasises on the importance of presenting the individual‟s subjective evaluation of his experiences and of giving information about his social experiences. It is the account of a life, completed or ongoing. This approach combines both written and oral evidence. The information gathered offer basic evidence about social interaction and process. There are many problems involved in the use of life history approach such as reliability, validity and interpretation of information. However, it has certain advantages for studies of social change, as documentation on roles, demonstration of socialisation, and as a mean towards understanding variation within a society. At one time special attention was given to the use of life history approach but not much recording and analysis had been done. Perhaps because researchers have not been very clear about what to do with a life history narrative. The researchers‟ effect upon the research process and the analysis seems to be a concern in contemporary qualitative research. The same is also true about the individuals, their attitudes and understanding about the subject matter. This article attempts to highlight these key issues. The focus of discussion are on the attitudes of the researchers and his/her roles as a communicator in conducting research. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to discuss the conceptual aspect of life history approach and to identify the strategies used by researchers to effectively communicate with the individual in the process of collecting information Journal of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2008 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/1/rahamah08.pdf Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar, and Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah, (2008) The life history approach: Fieldwork experience. e-BANGI: Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, 3 (1). p. 9. ISSN 1823-884x http://www.ukm.my/e-bangi/
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
language English
description Life history approach in qualitative research emphasises on the importance of presenting the individual‟s subjective evaluation of his experiences and of giving information about his social experiences. It is the account of a life, completed or ongoing. This approach combines both written and oral evidence. The information gathered offer basic evidence about social interaction and process. There are many problems involved in the use of life history approach such as reliability, validity and interpretation of information. However, it has certain advantages for studies of social change, as documentation on roles, demonstration of socialisation, and as a mean towards understanding variation within a society. At one time special attention was given to the use of life history approach but not much recording and analysis had been done. Perhaps because researchers have not been very clear about what to do with a life history narrative. The researchers‟ effect upon the research process and the analysis seems to be a concern in contemporary qualitative research. The same is also true about the individuals, their attitudes and understanding about the subject matter. This article attempts to highlight these key issues. The focus of discussion are on the attitudes of the researchers and his/her roles as a communicator in conducting research. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to discuss the conceptual aspect of life history approach and to identify the strategies used by researchers to effectively communicate with the individual in the process of collecting information
format Article
author Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar,
Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah,
spellingShingle Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar,
Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah,
The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
author_facet Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar,
Mohd. Yusof Hj. Abdullah,
author_sort Noor Rahamah Hj. Abu Bakar,
title The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
title_short The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
title_full The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
title_fullStr The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
title_full_unstemmed The life history approach: Fieldwork experience
title_sort life history approach: fieldwork experience
publisher Journal of Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2008
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1555/1/rahamah08.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T19:33:39Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T19:33:39Z
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