Community narratives: The use of narrative ethnography in participatory community research

Sustained citizen participation in social, organizational, and civic life is a passionate experience. Those who engage in it do not do so as disinterested parties, neutral about outcomes or distant from their experiences. Participants have a story to tell. They will tell it to those who are willing (and sometimes even to those who are not willing) to listen. Indeed, one might argue that the very point of citizen participation is to tell one's story-to make one's views known, efforts felt, values actualized, and passions realized. We have a lot to learn from listening to the stories people tell. This chapter briefly outlines a conceptual framework for a narrative ethnographic approach to research and evaluation that incorporates citizen participation and community collaboration. We then illustrate ways in which this methodology can be applied in community settings with a description of a collaborative participatory action project aimed at improving the sexual health of Mexican American female adolescents. We close the chapter by discussing some practical implications of using narrative ethnography in community settings.