{"id":{"repo_id":"calgary","oai_identifier":"oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124349"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/calgary/oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124349","repository":{"repo_id":"calgary","name":"University of Calgary","base_url":"https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Credibility On Trial: A Narrative Hermeneutic Inquiry","abstract":"Determining a sexual assault victim/complainant’s credibility remains a problematic practice during the legal process. Utilizing a narrative hermeneutic approach allows for the interpretation of how one participant (n=1) used their narrative from a first-person, lived-experience perspective to describe the phenomenon of having their credibility assessed and how they made sense of and gave meaning to it. Understanding how this participant was uniquely impacted by various intersecting factors within the legal process and other institutions reveal how these systems can reinforce, worsen, or perpetuate disadvantages in testifying. By learning what one victim-survivor’s testimony teaches us about how credibility is determined in the legal process, we can develop trauma-informed1 approaches aimed at harm-reduction interactions with them at every stage, providing valuable insights for legal actors, scholars, educators, community members, and society. Re-imagining the process of assessing credibility through voice, re-storying, and language can be powerful tools to counter the dominant narratives surrounding victim-survivor credibility, and remains an essential practice towards empathy and understanding, as well as feelings of justice and healing for the victim.","abstract_html":"Determining a sexual assault victim/complainant’s credibility remains a problematic practice during the legal process. Utilizing a narrative hermeneutic approach allows for the interpretation of how one participant (n=1) used their narrative from a first-person, lived-experience perspective to describe the phenomenon of having their credibility assessed and how they made sense of and gave meaning to it. Understanding how this participant was uniquely impacted by various intersecting factors within the legal process and other institutions reveal how these systems can reinforce, worsen, or perpetuate disadvantages in testifying. By learning what one victim-survivor’s testimony teaches us about how credibility is determined in the legal process, we can develop trauma-informed1 approaches aimed at harm-reduction interactions with them at every stage, providing valuable insights for legal actors, scholars, educators, community members, and society. Re-imagining the process of assessing credibility through voice, re-storying, and language can be powerful tools to counter the dominant narratives surrounding victim-survivor credibility, and remains an essential practice towards empathy and understanding, as well as feelings of justice and healing for the victim.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mitchell, Hiyat Assef"],"institution":"Graduate Studies","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Education Graduate Program – Educational Research","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Sumara, Dennis"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Sengupta, Pratim","Koshan, Jennifer","Ducey, Ariel","Sanford, Kathy"],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-03-18","date_published":"2026-03-18","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:30:33Z","subjects":["Credibility","Sexual Assault","narrative hermeneutics","phenomenology","trauma"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51186"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51186","href":"https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51186","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124349","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Sumara, Dennis"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Sengupta, Pratim","Koshan, Jennifer","Ducey, Ariel","Sanford, Kathy"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mitchell, Hiyat Assef"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2026-06"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-03-20T17:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-03-18"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Calgary"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["doctoral thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education Graduate Program – Educational Research"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Calgary"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Credibility","Sexual Assault","narrative hermeneutics","phenomenology","trauma"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51186"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124349"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Determining a sexual assault victim/complainant’s credibility remains a problematic practice during the legal process. Utilizing a narrative hermeneutic approach allows for the interpretation of how one participant (n=1) used their narrative from a first-person, lived-experience perspective to describe the phenomenon of having their credibility assessed and how they made sense of and gave meaning to it. Understanding how this participant was uniquely impacted by various intersecting factors within the legal process and other institutions reveal how these systems can reinforce, worsen, or perpetuate disadvantages in testifying. By learning what one victim-survivor’s testimony teaches us about how credibility is determined in the legal process, we can develop trauma-informed1 approaches aimed at harm-reduction interactions with them at every stage, providing valuable insights for legal actors, scholars, educators, community members, and society. Re-imagining the process of assessing credibility through voice, re-storying, and language can be powerful tools to counter the dominant narratives surrounding victim-survivor credibility, and remains an essential practice towards empathy and understanding, as well as feelings of justice and healing for the victim."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Credibility On Trial: A Narrative Hermeneutic Inquiry"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Sumara, Dennis"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Sengupta, Pratim","Koshan, Jennifer","Ducey, Ariel","Sanford, Kathy"],"dc:creator":["Mitchell, Hiyat Assef"],"dc:date":["2026-06"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-03-20T17:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-03-18"],"dc:description.abstract":["Determining a sexual assault victim/complainant’s credibility remains a problematic practice during the legal process. Utilizing a narrative hermeneutic approach allows for the interpretation of how one participant (n=1) used their narrative from a first-person, lived-experience perspective to describe the phenomenon of having their credibility assessed and how they made sense of and gave meaning to it. Understanding how this participant was uniquely impacted by various intersecting factors within the legal process and other institutions reveal how these systems can reinforce, worsen, or perpetuate disadvantages in testifying. By learning what one victim-survivor’s testimony teaches us about how credibility is determined in the legal process, we can develop trauma-informed1 approaches aimed at harm-reduction interactions with them at every stage, providing valuable insights for legal actors, scholars, educators, community members, and society. Re-imagining the process of assessing credibility through voice, re-storying, and language can be powerful tools to counter the dominant narratives surrounding victim-survivor credibility, and remains an essential practice towards empathy and understanding, as well as feelings of justice and healing for the victim."],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51186"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124349"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Calgary"],"dc:rights":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."],"dc:subject":["Credibility","Sexual Assault","narrative hermeneutics","phenomenology","trauma"],"dc:title":["Credibility On Trial: A Narrative Hermeneutic Inquiry"],"dc:type":["doctoral thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education Graduate Program – Educational Research"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Calgary"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:30:33Z"}