a story completion task...
a method of data collection, where participants are given the start of a story and asked to complete or continue it
a short hypothetical scenario; as a method of qualitative data collection
a book in which one keeps a daily record of events and experiences
story completion tasks are a projective-technique (typically used when there are thought to be barriers to verbal or written self-report)
Participants complete a ‘❌’ or ❌ a ‘❌’
some design issues are..(3)
story needs to be easily understood
story needs to be meaningful to participants
it should be clear and use appropriate language
it should prompt responses that are easy to analyse
what is crucial when design a story completion task?
piloting
specificity
clarification
penguin approved
some strengths of story completion tasks are...(3)
useful for understanding people's opinions, perceptions and views
like surveys, can collect lots of data and avoid face-to-face ethical issues
useful method for comparative designs
can get clear straight to the point responses
further strengths of story completion tasks are...(3)
An indirect and ‘disguised’ way of accessing people’s views and perspectives (potentially avoiding social demands)
A way of accessing assumptions and ‘hidden’ meanings
Useful for researching sensitive and ethically/morally complex topics
it's interesting to re-read
it's not time consuming
weaknesses of story completion tasks include...(4)
Data is less predictable than other (self-report) methods
Data generated can be less transparent and harder to analyse than self-report data
Gap between story and ‘reality’(but in qualitative research we are more concerned with the meanings people draw on in writing their stories)
The artificiality of the technique
it's very ambiguous thus cannot draw conclusions to meanings behind stories
practicalities of story completion tasks...(2)
15-30 is a good range
can use potentially any analysis, but TA, GT, NA and PS-DA are particularly suitable
TA is more suitable to analyse responses
180-200 is a good range
