Interpretive biography as a method: researching tenants' experiences of housing renewal

This research describes how and why interpretive biography was chosen as a potentially fruitful way of gaining insight into participants' experiences and understandings of institutionally led housing renewal. The paper gives a detailed description and review of the theoretical basis of interpretive biography and critically assesses its application in practice. A development is suggested which builds upon the model's considerable attractions and superiority to other interview methods in its ability to engage with the concerns of participants at the narrative level and begin to tackle the power imbalances in the research setting.