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 discernible pattern. Varieties of Narrative Analysis 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.
James A. Holstein is professor of sociology in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University. His research and writing projects have addressed social problems, deviance and social control, mental health and illness, family, and the self, all approached from an ethnomethodologically- informed, constructionist perspective. Jaber F. Gubrium is professor and chair of sociology at the University of Missouri. He has an extensive record of research on the social organization of care in human service institutions. His publications include numerous books and articles on aging, family, the life course, medicalization, and representational practice in therapeutic context.
Part 1. Analyzing Stories Chapter 1. Exploring Psychological Themes through Narrative Accounts - Dan P. McAdams Chapter 2. Practicing Dialogical Narrative Analysis - Arthur W. Frank Chapter 3. Narrative Analysis as an Embodied Engagement with the Lives of Others - Andrew Sparkes and Brett Smith Chapter 4. On Quantitative Narrative Analysis - Roberto Franzosi Part 2. Analyzing Storytelling Chapter 5. Narrative Practice and Identity Navigation - Michael Bamberg Chapter 6. Exploring Narrative Interaction in Multiple Contexts - Amy Shuman Chapter 7. Speaker Roles in Personal Narratives - Michele Koven Chapter 8. Situational Context and Interaction in a Folklorist's Ethnographic Approach to Storytelling - Ray Cashman Part 3. Analyzing Stories in Society Chapter 9. Analyzing the Implicit in Stories - Martha Feldman and Julka Almquist Chapter 10. Analyzing Popular Beliefs about Storytelling - Francesca Polletta Chapter 11. The Empirical Analysis of Formula Stories - Donileen Loseke Chapter 12. Analyzing the Social Life of Personal Experience Stories - Tamar Katriel
"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 "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
