Qualitative_data_analysis

PRODUCING AN ACCOUNT 253
associations, and lead us to make (or stumble upon) connections in ways we might
not otherwise have anticipated.
This brings us to another aspect of story-telling, the use of language. This can be
one of the most engaging aspects of a story. The overall style of a story may be
inappropriate to an analytic report, though as I suggested earlier we can use some
elements of story-telling to improve our presentation. But we can certainly learn
from the language of story-telling. One feature of story-telling language which we
can borrow is its directness. To be successful, the author has to ‘make a connection’
with his or her reader. To make that connection, the author must communicate
effectively, with language unencumbered by needlessly technical terms and
unnecessarily obtuse expressions. Plain and simple, crisp and to the point. It is well
known that it is hardest of all to write stories for children. This is because the
clearest and most economical language is also the most difficult to achieve. This is
partly because when we write, we are often trying to do more than just
communicate effectively with our audience. We may want to dazzle them! Or
perhaps we want to cloak our lack of self-confidence in language, hiding the
suspected poverty of our ideas and the vagueness of our thinking behind an
impenetrable barrier of obscure terminology! Language can serve social as well as
psychological ends, and in an academic context, this can encourage the use of
needless jargon, as a way of establishing one’s credentials as a member of an
exclusive club. The Oxford Dictionary (1976:578) defines jargon as follows:
‘jargon n. Unintelligible words, gibberish, barbarous or debased language;
mode of speech familiar only to a group or profession; (arch.) twittering
of birds’
Perhaps the irony is unintended, but one suspects the author meant to imply that
debased language is a particular prerogative of the professions!
By focusing above all on telling our story, we may be able to keep such abuses in
check. Using simple and direct language is one way of establishing clear
communication. Another aspect of story-telling language is the use of metaphor. We
are in the middle of a metaphor at this moment, in which I am applying one idea
—‘telling a story’—to another—‘producing an account’—to which it is not literally
applicable. Using metaphors can enrich an account by conveying connotations
which elaborate on and illuminate our basic meaning. To ‘tell a story’ has
connotations—some of which I have already tried to indicate—which are notconveyed
by the expression ‘producing an account’. To ‘tell a story’ is to do
something vital and interesting, perhaps even exciting. By comparison, ‘producing
an account’ sounds far more pragmatic and pedestrian, even pedantic. The one is an
activity we associate with novelists, the other we associate with accountants. The