Studying siblings: methodological resonances for qualitative research
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- Andreia Barbas+−
- Silvia Portugal
Abstract
The article is the result of a sociological study on sibling relationships. The paper begins with a series of reflections on the phenomenon of sibling relationships, before moving on to examine the methodological options for a study of this type and their heuristic potential to provide insights into other phenomena. The study highlights the complexity and multiplicity of sibling relationships, arguing that any analysis must take into account the diversity and temporality of the subjects’ individual and family experiences. For this reason, a qualitative approach is preferred, to account simultaneously for practices and representations, the everyday and the extraordinary, and the senses and meanings attributed to their experience by the sibling subjects of the study. The article describes the research process, arguing that the combination of data collection techniques used to explore the phenomenon of sibling relationships (in-depth life-story and photo-elicitation) may be transferable to other phenomena.
The study was carried out in Portugal in 2018-2019 and involved a sample of 25 groups of siblings and half-siblings, all of whom were interviewed. The objective of the article is to discuss: a) consistency between the conceptual framework and the epistemological and methodological choices; b) the methodological relevance of the choice of interview topics; and c) the advantages of combining the two data collection techniques.
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