Life histories
Qualitative method involving in-depth interviewing tracing person's life experiences chronologically, providing understanding of how social structures shape individual lives.
Real World
Sociologist Ken Plummer's interviews with gay men in the 1980s traced their life stories to show how stigma and social change shaped personal identity across generations.
Exam Focus
Link life histories to interpretivism and verstehen — examiners reward explicit epistemological justification, not just method description.
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