Despite growing interest in longitudinal mixed methods research designs, more strategies for analyzing and integrating these data are needed. This article contributes to the field of mixed methods research by presenting a novel narrative approach to data analysis in longitudinal studies. Our approach involves the transformation of longitudinal survey data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study into narrative case histories. We use qualitative interviews from participants in an embedded study to select survey variables for data transformation and to explain unexpected survey outcomes. Our analysis shows how multiple factors converge to enable or constrain fathers’ involvement with children in five different fathering trajectories, and how the narrative frames of some disadvantaged fathers may facilitate their sustained involvement.

尽管人们对纵向混合方法的研究设计越来越感兴趣，但仍需要更多的策略来分析和整合这些数据。本文通过介绍纵向研究中的数据分析新叙事方法，为混合方法研究领域做出了贡献。我们的方法涉及将脆弱家庭和儿童福祉研究中的纵向调查数据转换为叙述性案例历史。我们使用来自嵌入式研究参与者的定性访谈来选择调查变量以进行数据转换并解释意外的调查结果。我们的分析表明，在五个不同的父亲轨迹中，多种因素如何融合以促使或限制父亲与孩子的互动，以及某些处境不利的父亲的叙事框架如何促进他们的持续参与。