Exploring the use of story completion to understand the perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships

PurposeThis paper presents a novel exploration of the story completion (SC) method for investigating perpetration of technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR).Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted the infrequently used SC method to explore TAR perpetration. The perpetration of TAR can involve socially undesirable and potentially illegal behaviours such as online stalking, non-consensual sharing of nude images, and other coercive and controlling behaviours. These problematic behaviours present an ideal context for employing the SC method to reveal new data on TAR perpetrator perspectives, motivations and behaviours.FindingsThe SC method elicited new hypotheses regarding TAR perpetration behaviours and motivations. Post-study reflection on the multifaceted nature of perpetration raised questions about the utility of SC as a stand-alone method for investigating TAR perpetration. Challenges encountered included: striking the most effective length, detail and ambiguity in the story stems, difficulty in eliciting important contextual features in participants’ stories, and other issues scholars encounter when investigating perpetration of violence more broadly. The authors close with suggestions for more effective use of SC methodology in TAR and intimate partner violence research.Originality/valueThis paper expands discussion of the SC method’s application and extends scholarship on violence and perpetration research methodologies. The paper demonstrates the importance of story stem design to the attainment of research objectives and the usefulness and limitations of SC in exploring this sensitive topic and hard-to-reach population. It also advocates for the combined application of SC with other methodological approaches for the attainment of research outcomes when investigating multifaceted phenomenon.