The article suggests that though narrative inquiry as a research methodology entails free conversations and personal stories, yet it should not be totally free and fictional as it has to conform to some recognized standards used for conducting educational research. Hence, a qualitative study conducted by Russ (1999) was explored as an exemplar study employing narrative inquiry as a main research methodology that included the techniques of conversation and story. Through a qualitative critical analysis of the study, the article focuses on improving narrative inquiry as a qualitative research method which is used when deeper understanding of a phenomenon in its natural setting is the target. Russ' (1999) study titled, "Professional conversations: New teachers explore teaching through conversation, story, and narrative" delves deeper into the teaching profession as practiced in reality by focusing on undergraduate students and recent graduates of an urban teacher education program who came together regularly to talk about becoming reflective and effective teachers. The researcher employed a qualitative data analysis of the conversations which resulted in a rich picture of the complex learning at the heart of teaching. The study draws attention to factors in teacher education and schools that support and hinder new teachers work in urban schools, and contradicts established developmental models of expertise. Additionally, the study highlights the potential of conversation and story telling to sustain teacher learning and inquiry and to meet local needs for teacher learning, teacher research, and teacher-directed professional development. Specifically, the article explores how the study can be qualitatively and methodologically improved as far as narrative inquiry as a research methodology is concerned. It starts with an exploration of the epistemology and context of the study, and the type of research questions posed in an attempt to provide more robust research addresses issues of research design and data collection methods suggesting some alternative procedures that could have improved the narrative inquiry as used by the researcher, especially in terms of reliability. Also, data analysis was critically discussed and an alternative (i.e. a table for organizing recurring themes) was suggested to overcome some weaknesses of data analysis based on narrative inquiry. Finally, some ethical considerations were tackled to draw attention to some faults that researchers may unconsciously commit. (Contains 1 table.)