Women's Narratives of Healing from the Effects of Child Sexual Abuse

3.1.3 Worldview
With the research goal of understanding how women make sense of their experiences of
healing consideration needs to be given of the institutionalized practices and ideologies
that make abuse as well as healing, possible. The methodology for this research is based
on the understanding that meanings of experiences or our understandings of the world
we live in, our understanding of our place in that world, and our body’s response to our
understandings of our place in the world, are constructed within and between individuals
and society. How we know the world, and how we communicate our knowledge about
the world, is continually changing because the context within which we live continues to
change. It is the context of women’s lives that were considered in this research. This
includes complex processes from the intrapersonal to the interpersonal, to the community
and the political. In order to hear the stories at the intersection of those levels, a research
methodology was needed that is responsive and reflective, rather than directive.
3.2 Narrative Research Design
In deciding on a methodology that reflected the purpose and goal of the research, it was
clear that a qualitative design was required. “All qualitative research seeks understanding
of data that are complex and can be approached only in context.” 65 I considered different
methodologies, in particular, grounded theory, case study, and narrative methodologies.
A case study approach would have met the goal of investigating how healing happens for
a person or a group, but it would not have necessarily allowed for the emphasis on how
the women made sense of their healing process, by telling their stories in their own words.
A grounded theory approach was relevant in the sense that the qualitative and emergent
nature was suitable, but one could not assume that a theory of healing would result from
this research, and the researcher’s subjective self as engaged in the research process would
not be included. Approaching this research with the intention of determining a theory
would have been counter to the phenomenological goal of truly ‘hearing’ the women’s
experiences and meanings. This led to the decision to use narrative methodology.
Narrative research has different meanings. It has been described as referring “to any
study that uses or analyzes narrative materials.” 9 For my research project, I used Riessman’s
definition of narrative as “discrete units, with clear beginnings and endings, as
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