The narrative interview technique allows researchers to directly investigate the meanings of actions and the self-reflection of motivations and experiences of migrants. The technique also allows for examination of the social dynamics experienced by forced migrants as a core research objectives alongside the exploration of social networks.

The interviewers used a topic guide organized by thematic fields as a nondirective way of eliciting concrete and contextualized stories. The narrative interviews included questions about their departure stories from Abkhazia (if they were IDPs) and their plans and personal goals for the future. The survey of displaced from Ossetia will have similar questions.

The narratives are a rich source of information about the experience of isolation, integration, sharing of resources, and feelings about living in displacement and times of dramatic social and economic change.