NarraFirma Glossary

In PNI terms, catalysis is looking for (and at) patterns in stories and data (usually answers to questions about stories and about people), using the methods of mixed-methods analysis. Catalysis is like analysis in that it looks for patterns in data, but it departs from analysis when it posits multiple competing interpretations of the patterns found. The point of catalysis is not to provide answers but to open up questions for discussion. Analysis produces answers; catalysis produces food for thought.

A catalysis report is a prepared set of catalytic material (consisting of patterns, observations, interpretations, ideas, and questions) for use in sensemaking. I don't use the term in WWS anymore (I just call it "catalytic material") but the word "report" is all over NarraFirma, and it's hard to change.

An eliciting question invites someone to tell a story. I also call these "story-eliciting questions." Some people call them "prompts." Eliciting questions might reference a time frame ("What happened on your first day at work?"), a place ("Did anything surprising ever happen to you at this supermarket?"), a high or low point ("What was your best day as a nurse?"), and so on. The best story-eliciting questions cannot be answered in any other way than by telling a story.

In catalysis terms, an interpretation is something a reasonable person might say about an observation. Thus if an observation is, "older people said they felt more afraid of mice," one interpretation might be "older people grew up living in less sanitary conditions," and another might be "older people are more aware of real dangers."

In PNI terms, an intervention is an action intended to change the stories people tell. Examples are narrative therapy, participatory theatre, and sensemaking spaces. Ideally, an intervention should be planned based on sensemaking following story collection, so that the intervention is well grounded in the reality of the community or organization and will fit its needs and context.

Mixed-methods research combines the collection and examination of qualitative (usually text-based) and quantitative (numerical) to create an outcome that blends the best of both traditions. There are many ways of conducting mixed-methods research, from keeping the research "strands" separate to intermingling them. PNI intermingles them quite extensively, whether it's during catalysis or during sensemaking.

In catalysis terms, an observation is a descriptive statement that summarizes a pattern, like "older people said they felt more afraid of mice."

In catalysis terms, a pattern is something you can see in the data you have collected. Patterns are usually displayed as graphs or statistical tests.

In catalysis, a perspective is a meaningful grouping of interpretations. Perspectives make up the headings of a catalysis report.

A phase is the same thing as a step or section or part. I like to call the parts of PNI "phases" because they don't always proceed in a step-wise fashion. A project might have a very long collection phase and a short sensemaking phase, or three collection phases. Few projects flow in simple ways.

In PNI we ask people questions about their stories. We do this to gather more information on what the stories mean to their tellers (and sometimes to others). We also do this to include storytellers in the sensemaking that takes place in the project, so they benefit from it as well. People usually say that they enjoy thinking about their stories (as long as the questions are well written and there aren't too many of them).

In PNI we ask people questions about themselves. These fit into four categories:

• questions about demographics, like age and gender
• questions about personalities, like how people learn and whether they are big-picture thinkers
• questions about roles, like what jobs people do in an organization
• questions about issues, like what people think about an official policy

Questions about issues can be useful to place in juxtaposition with questions about stories, because they represent the "poker face" people put on when asked for their opinions. Sometimes there are revealing differences between what people say they believe and what their stories say.

In PNI terms, a story form is a set of questions used to elicit stories and their interpretations. I don't love the term "story form" (I now call it a "question set") but "story form" is all over NarraFirma and I don't want to change it.

There are three types of questions in a story form:

• questions that elicit stories, like "Have your ever felt your life was in danger?"
• questions that invite people to interpret stories, like "Do you think the people in that story acted responsibly?"
• questions about people, like "How old are you?"

A story form includes all three types of question. Story forms can be used online, in printed form, or spoken (during interviews).