THE HEGEMONY OF THE NARRATIVE - REFLECTIONS ON THE CONTOURS OF SOCIAL-SCIENCE RESEARCH

As qualitative research methods in the social sciences continue to inc rease in their use and potential applications, new problems arise. Of comparatively minor concern is the increasing hegemony of the narrativ e over other forms of inquiry. A more serious concern is the disconnec tion between researchers and the philosophy of science. This article d escribes the rise to dominance of qualitative methods, some implicatio ns of that shift, key concerns threatening the unity of scholarly inqu iry, and suggestions for training social science researchers that may enhance their ability to produce and disseminate widely accessible int erpretations of diverse investigations.