The Tension Between Story Collecting and Story Telling in Research
Summary
How do we draw and navigate the boundaries around the ethics of story collecting and telling? As UX researchers, we collect stories through interviews—stories that connect us with others and communicate the core humanistic values of integrity, empathy, and respect. At the crux of the matter, is that these stories are not our own—they belong to our interlocutors. As we collect data, we are not passive listeners either—we also leave our imprint on these stories through interpretation and subjective insights.
Key Insights
-
•
The ethical dilemma in story collecting extends beyond ownership to who controls and legitimizes the narrative—the participant or the researcher.
-
•
Stories are fundamental to human identity and meaning-making, as emphasized by Pam LaRutledge and Thomas King.
-
•
Storytelling has the power to disrupt dominant narratives, especially for marginalized communities whose histories have been silenced.
-
•
Listening in storytelling activates mirror neurons, fostering empathy through shared commonalities.
-
•
Researchers and participants often occupy different power positions, leading to divergent stories during interviews.
-
•
Anthropology’s colonial roots and the colonial gaze influence how stories have been historically collected, necessitating reflexivity.
-
•
Positionality is fluid, relational, and multifaceted, affecting access and power throughout the research process.
-
•
Co-creation during interviews can share power through mutual storytelling and authentic listening.
-
•
Normative research principles like researcher neutrality and confidentiality can obscure participant agency and may not serve all participants equally.
-
•
Using invitational language and allowing participants choice encourages richer, participant-led narratives and challenges rigid research scripts.
Notable Quotes
"Whose story gets told, the participant or the researcher, is also a question of knowledge production."
"Stories are how we make meaning of life, explain how things work, and justify our decisions."
"The truth about stories is that is all that we are – Thomas King."
"Storytelling has the power to disrupt hegemonic narratives and open space for people to be authors of their own stories."
"Mirror neurons are triggered when we listen to a story, allowing us to empathize by identifying shared commonalities."
"Researchers and participants cannot tell the same story because they occupy different locations of power."
"Reflexivity lets us examine our beliefs and practices during research to understand how we show up."
"Awareness of positionality is the first step toward ethical change in research."
"Instead of pretending neutrality, be open and transparent about the research agenda with participants."
"Invitational language allows participants to be in charge of a part of the interview, making the exchange authentic."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Anticipate resistance; if a project has a lot of scrutiny, controversial insights are likely."
Robin BeersBeyond Insights: Researchers as Organizational Change Catalysts
March 25, 2024
"Every research project is a chance to serve the whole organization and bring in missing perspectives."
Gregg BernsteinOpportunistic Research with Gregg Bernstein
July 11, 2019
"Stakeholders can do their own searching at a high-level label level, while researchers dive deeper into nuanced tags."
Tony TurnerCapturing Deep Insights
September 30, 2021
"Ambiguity is totally normalized here and there’s a baseline acceptance that the business is kind of unknowable."
Rebecca GimenezWork in Progress: Service Design at Airbnb
December 3, 2024
"It’s very important to set up a network of people already working on inclusion to share learnings and build mutual understanding."
Yalenka Mariën Marie MervaillieDesigning for Digital Inclusion in the Belgian Government
December 8, 2021
"The UX team is never the keeper of all knowledge of the customer; the whole company owns the experience."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
January 28, 2021
"The tool is designed so you can just sit down, read the questions, and get started even if you don’t have much background knowledge."
Dave GrayGroup Activity: Making Sense of DesignOps
November 7, 2017
"Who’s responsible for research, who’s doing it, and who needs to do more are really important questions."
Theme 3 Intro
March 11, 2022
"Prioritizing across a complex ecosystem of business owners requires deep alignment between product and UX or the product never moves forward."
Laureen Kattan Julie KimCentering Patients and Clinicians in a Complex Government Ecosystem
November 29, 2023
