Telling Moments and Everyday Experience: Multiple Methods Research on Couple Relationships and Personal Lives

Abstract

Everyday moments and ordinary gestures create the texture of long-term couple relationships. In this article we demonstrate how, by refining our research tools and conceptual imagination, we can better understand these vibrant and visceral relationships. The ‘moments approach’ that we propose provides a lens through which to focus in on couples’ everyday experiences, to gain insight on processes, meanings and cross-cutting analytical themes whilst ensuring that feelings and emotionality remain firmly attached. Calling attention to everyday relationship practices, we draw on empirical research to illustrate and advance our conceptual and methodological argument. The Enduring Love? study included an online survey (n = 5445) and multi-sensory qualitative research with couples (n = 50) to interrogate how they experience, understand and sustain their long-term relationships.