Using narrative inquiry in a study of information systems professionals

The research reported in this paper employed narrative inquiry in an innovative way in a study of the key factors that influence the career paths of information systems (IS) professionals. The interview technique was based upon McCracken´s (1988) ´long interview´, which allows the research participants to reflect upon the domain of discourse in a relatively unbiased and free-flowing manner. Individual resumes were employed as the main instrument to guide the interview and to document the narratives. The resumes helped ground the discussion in the IS professionals´ personal experiences, assisted these professionals to reflect upon and report these experiences in a sequential account of events as they transpired throughout their careers. The use of individual resumes framed within McCraken´s ´long interview´ brings a certain amount of structure to the narrative inquiry technique, allowing for an in-depth investigation and the gathering of rich biographical personal accounts of the IS professional´s interpretations of specific career path impacts.