You are here

Varieties of Narrative Analysis
Share

Varieties of Narrative Analysis



August 2011 | 328 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Narrative research has become increasingly popular in the social sciences. While no part of the process is easy, researchers often struggle to make sense of data that can seem chaotic and without a discernable pattern. This book shows how to analyze stories, storytelling, and stories in society, bringing together a variety of approaches to both texts and narrative practice under one cover.

 
Part 1. Analyzing Stories
Dan P. McAdams
Chapter 1. Exploring Psychological Themes through Narrative Accounts
Arthur W. Frank
Chapter 2. Practicing Dialogical Narrative Analysis
Andrew Sparkes and Brett Smith
Chapter 3. Narrative Analysis as an Embodied Engagement with the Lives of Others
Roberto Franzosi
Chapter 4. On Quantitative Narrative Analysis
 
Part 2. Analyzing Storytelling
Michael Bamberg
Chapter 5. Narrative Practice and Identity Navigation
Amy Shuman
Chapter 6. Exploring Narrative Interaction in Multiple Contexts
Michele Koven
Chapter 7. Speaker Roles in Personal Narratives
Ray Cashman
Chapter 8. Situational Context and Interaction in a Folklorist's Ethnographic Approach to Storytelling
 
Part 3. Analyzing Stories in Society
Martha Feldman and Julka Almquist
Chapter 9. Analyzing the Implicit in Stories
Francesca Polletta
Chapter 10. Analyzing Popular Beliefs about Storytelling
Donileen Loseke
Chapter 11. The Empirical Analysis of Formula Stories
Tamar Katriel
Chapter 12. Analyzing the Social Life of Personal Experience Stories

"The chapters in this collection are well selected and demonstrate the diversity of narrative analysis. They are organized thematically, moving from micro to macro perspectives on narrative. This provides readers who intend to read the book cover to cover with a coherent flow of ideas. The collection reflects a well-balanced distribution of chapters devoted to narrative as data and methodology. In terms of the theoretical and application aspects, this book has a balanced discussion of both. It reinforces the idea that a sound and well-informed textual analysis requires a careful investigation of context. The diverse discussion in this book confirms the status of narrative analysis, not just as a tool of inquiry for various disciplines, but as an area of study in itself. I recommend this book for postgraduates and researchers working within the framework of discourse analysis and qualitative research methods."

To view the entire review published in the Discouse Studies journal, click here.

Jeremy Koay, School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria

"This is a first class methods book and I recommend it to those who are interested in narrative analysis, allied practices such as discourse analysis, qualitative and so-called mixed methods more generally."

William Housley, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, UK

Not appropriate as a core text but I routinely recommend this excellent book to my students interested in narrative analysis.

Dr Sharon-Dale Stone
Sociology Dept, Lakehead Univ
July 31, 2013

Excellent explanation of intepretivism.

Charles Mitchell
Political Science Dept, Grambling State University
April 15, 2013

Well done!

Dr Cynthia Brock
College of Education, University of Nevada - Reno
October 30, 2012

Second book for my research methods course on oral history and storytelling.

Arijit Sen
Architecture Dept, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
April 28, 2012

Using as optional reading to supplement other texts that do not include this modality.

Dr Annette Nelligan
College Of Educ Human Develop, University of Maine
April 19, 2012
Key features

· Includes a comprehensive range of strategies, providing researchers with numerous analytic options

· Offers practical illustrations from different disciplines and perspectives, showing how researchers from various backgrounds deal with narrative data

· Provides real-life examples from seasoned researchers' own work, richly illustrating the analytic process with personal insights from interviews and texts

This title is also available on SAGE Research Methods, the ultimate digital methods library. If your library doesn’t have access, ask your librarian to start a trial.