Biographical Research – Contemporary Methodological and Ethical Concerns

The beginning of biographical research was based on written materials. The possibility of recording a spontaneous narrative in the presence of the researcher, who could observe the interactional conditions of creating a story, became the turning point. Most biographical research projects are carried out with the use of audio recordings while analytical work was focused on anonymized transcriptions. However, the new technical possibilities, analytical strategies and research practice and unexpected contingent conditions that emerged in recent years, may have started to transform the field again.

The two pandemic years have led some scholars to conduct interviews online. Researchers are increasingly expected to archive their material in digital repositories. The availability of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software led some biographical researchers to implement such practicies. Social media, online collaboration and remote work enabled new forms of autobiographical expression and self-portrayal, displaying identity, belonging, taste and status, sharing intimacy or raising public concerns. They also reshaped attitudes towards privacy. All this prompted some researchers to consider audio-visual digital data such as photos, videos, vlogs and social media entries as viable and valuable research material. Others reached for photo and video cameras as well as audio-visual techniques for producing and eliciting research material.

These issues and others not mentioned here pose new methodological and ethical challenges. We invite researchers who can share their experiences, good practices and dilemmas that arise when working on biographical materials and solutions agreed upon in their research environments on how to adapt the biographical approach to contemporary realities.