In Pursuit of Aesthetic Research Provocations

In keeping with new narrative metaphors in the family therapy field and new epistemological approaches to clinical interaction, literature as a paradigm for qualitative inquiry and evaluation is discussed. Description of a research project that explores how fictional literature can be integrated into graduate programs reveals a multilayered, aesthetic approach to family therapy research and training as well as the design of project-specific methodology (Chenail, 1992a). This article is available in The Qualitative Report: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol1/iss4/2 In Pursuit of Aesthetic Research Provocations by Barbara A. Kaufman The Qualitative Report, Volume 1, Number 4, Fall, 1992 Abstract In keeping with new narrative metaphors in the family therapy field and new epistemological approaches to clinical interaction, literature as a paradigm for qualitative inquiry and evaluation is discussed. Description of a research project that explores how fictional literature can be integrated into graduate programs reveals a multi-layered, aesthetic approach to family therapy research and training as well as the design of project-specific methodology (Chenail, 1992a).In keeping with new narrative metaphors in the family therapy field and new epistemological approaches to clinical interaction, literature as a paradigm for qualitative inquiry and evaluation is discussed. Description of a research project that explores how fictional literature can be integrated into graduate programs reveals a multi-layered, aesthetic approach to family therapy research and training as well as the design of project-specific methodology (Chenail, 1992a). In Pursuit of Aesthetic Research Provocations Few scholarly experiences have excited (and exhausted) me as has my dissertation project regarding training family therapists. Although the project came to a formal end (I am currently inundated with bound copies of the dissertation), it continues to grow and expand in a variety of ways: I have been called upon to design several graduate level courses incorporating my ideas about aesthetic approaches to teaching and learning, many students have asked for copies of my work, and I have been asked to describe what I did and how I decided to do "it." Reflecting back upon this intriguing process, I am thankful for the openness and flexibility of my doctoral program's faculty (at Nova University's School of Social and Systemic Studies in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). Throughout the research design, I was invited and given every opportunity, both as a clinical researcher and researching clinician, to contemplate and to play with provocative questions about investigative inquiry (Chenail, 1990/91). I was continually encouraged to explore myriad possibilities and to create a project-specific methodology (Chenail, 1992a). This, in turn, led to new questions about qualitative evaluation, multiple perspectives about my research, and a multi-layered approach to data analysis. In order to review these ideas, I will attempt to retrace the particularities of the project, the development of my research design, and methodological choice points. In doing so, the passage of time and the creative act of my recollections may transform the original experiences and activities. During such a transformation process, admittedly, something may be lost and something may be gained (Reinharz, 1983). Readers of this description are invited to further transform my re-constructions, thereby contributing to the ongoing narrative about the project. Description of the Project and Setting the Context In keeping with new narrative metaphors in the family therapy field [See Carlos Sluzki's (1992) paper in Family Process Editor's Note] and new epistemological approaches to clinical interaction, I explored how fictional literature could be useful in training graduate students. A few family therapy educators describe the gradual integration of stories and novels into their courses and programs (Gale, 1990; Rambo, 1989; White, 1989/90). I decided to design a didactic module based upon excerpts from the four volumes of The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell (1961a, 1961b, 1961c, 1961d). The Quartet is a tale of many truths or the unknowable nature of an ultimate one. The story is told from differing viewpoints and time sequences, portraying a richness of multiple voices and the unpredictability of human experience. A brief description of The Quartet provided participants with an overview of The Quartet's myriad plots and complex outcomes. This information offered a context for understanding the module's excerpts. The module also presented definitions of two clinically useful concepts frequently associated with the new epistemologies, multiple perspectives and uncertainty of outcome, followed by two literary illustrations of each concept. The choice of excerpts involved careful analysis of The Quartet for exemplary relationships and experiences that conveyed these key concepts. Descriptions of each interaction or event were located across the four volumes, and several passages for each concept were identified. This process included "why . . . leave out this and include that?" (Schneidau, 1987, p. 139) and was likened to Langer's (1957) description of artistic intuition, starting with the perception of the whole and then progressing to distinctions among its parts. Emplotment Participants were students who had completed their initial year of training in the Ph.D. Family Therapy program in the School of Social and Systemic Studies of Nova University. The project was based upon analysis of three in-depth interviews with each student-trainee. During the initial interview, participants responded to general questions regarding familiarity with the new epistemologies, or any of their concepts, and potential or actual applicability to their clinical work. A brief information sheet elicited descriptive data about the participants' background. A second interview was conducted the following week after they read the module to delve into the particularities of this training experience. As an open-ended forum, participants chose whatever aspects of the module they wanted to elaborate upon. I shared my initial findings during a third interview 2 months later. Designing Project-Specific Methodology Having been trained extensively in conventional and experimental methodology, I had learned the value of these approaches yet I wanted to come up with a methodology that "fit" and corresponded with the aesthetic nature of my project. Once again, the recurring themes of narrative metaphors and new epistemological approaches to clinical interaction emerged. I began to explore alternate approaches, feeling a bit like Alice falling through a hole to Wonderland, a new and different place. I journeyed through journals and books outside the family therapy field in such areas as phenomenology, education, and anthropology. I interacted and reacted to the writings of Amedio Giorgi, Elliot Eisner, and Michael Agar, to name a just few. It was exciting, overwhelming, and confusing all at once. I wrote to several clinicians and researchers, many of whom willingly shared their resources which engaged me in stimulating dialogue and motivated me to re-examine my assumptions. I discovered that in an effort to capture the richness of human experience, many authors suggested a focus on process, discovery, and ambiguity to complement traditional scientific models (Atkinson, Heath, & Chenail, 1991; Chenail, 1992a, 1992b; Eisner & Peshkin, 1990; Guba, 1990; Hoshmand, 1989; Keeney & Morris, 1985a, 1985b; Leininger, 1985; Moon, Dillon & Sprenkle, 1990; Schon, 1983). In addition, some researchers specifically addressed the advantages of exploring literary works, music, and the arts as meaningful resources for clinical, research, and evaluation efforts (Chenail, 1992b; Chenail & Fortugno, 1991; Eisner, 1979, 1985; Greene, 1988; Guba, 1990; Polkinghorne, 1988; Ross, 1988; Schon, 1983). Aesthetic modes of research, such as narrative approaches, open-ended interviews, and thematic analysis, were being described separately. They seemed interrelated to me as I wove them together for a projectspecific method.