The Turn to Biographical Methods in Social Science: Comparative Issues and Examples: The Comparative Issues and Examples (Social Research Today)

Biographical research methods have become a useful and popular tool for contemporary social scientists. This book combines an exploration of the historical and philosophical origins of this important field of qualitative research with comparative examples of the different ways that biographical methods have been successfully applied internationally. Through these many illustrative examples of socio-biography in process, the authors show how formal textual analysis, while uncovering hidden emotional defenses, can also shed light on wider historical processes of societal transformation.