Toward Holistic Assessment of Narrative Quality: A Clinical Perspective

Olness, Gloria S. and Ulatowska, Hanna K. and Carpenter, Claire and Williams, Lynne and Dykes, Julianna
Toward Holistic Assessment of Narrative Quality: A Clinical Perspective. In Clinical Aphasiology Conference: Clinical Aphasiology Conference (2004 : 34th : Park City, UT : May 2004) / : (2004).

Abstract

This study explores the feasibility of assessing narrative quality using ratings by lay
persons. Personal narratives of African American and Caucasian non-language-impaired
narrators were rated by ethnicity- matched lay raters and clinicians, and raters described
the nature of high- and low-quality stories. Agreement between lay and clinical raters was
found for a subset of high-rated and low-rated stories, as well as for the dimensions that
contributed to story quality. The high-rated stories were longer, more conventionally
structured, and different in content as compared to low-quality stories. Holistic ratings by
lay persons may provide insight into a narrator’s success in narrative production.