How to work with narratives: a methodological approach to interpretive understanding in the field of health and human sciences

Based on an investigation that sought to understand the repercussions of the reading and discussion of literary works by health students and professionals, the theoretical and methodological reflections in this article arose from the difficulties faced in “organizing”, “analyzing”, “understanding” and “interpreting” the huge volume of qualitative material produced. In an effort to organize and, at the same time, avoid naive understandings of this material, we systematized an immersive method based on hermeneutic phenomenology, in which the narratives produced were transcreated, resulting from an attempt to shed light on the understanding of the obtained narrative. Surprised by the results of this interpretive understanding, we conclude that this method can be adapted not only to delve deeper into narrative texts, but also to organize discourses and capture perceptions, meanings and understandings, enabling plausible and interconnected interpretations, especially when there is a large volume of qualitative data.

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Keywords: Narratives; Education for health; Methodology; Phenomenology