In this video, we are going to unpack the sometimes slippery topic of narrative
analysis. We will explain what it is consider its strengths and weaknesses and look at when
and when not to use this analysis method. By the end of the video, you will have a clear
overview of narrative analysis so that you can make well-informed decisions for your research
project. By the way, if you are currently working on a dissertation, thesis or research project be
sure to grab our free dissertation templates to help fast-track your write-up. These tried and
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So what exactly is a narrative analysis? Well simply put narrative analysis is a qualitative
analysis method focused on interpreting individual human experiences and motivations
by looking closely at the stories, the narratives people tell in a particular context. Narrative
analysis can draw on various sources including interviews, monologues, written stories or even
recordings. In other words, it can be used on both primary and secondary data to provide
evidence from the experiences described. Now that is all quite conceptual so let us look
at an example of how narrative analysis could be used in practice. Let us say you are interested
in researching the beliefs of a particular author on popular culture. In that case,
you might identify the characters, the plot lines, symbols and motifs used in the stories that they
write. You could then use narrative analysis to analyse these factors in combination and against
the backdrop of the relevant context. This would allow you to interpret the underlying meanings and
implications in their writing and to pick apart what these reveal about the beliefs of the author.
In other words, you would look to understand the views and beliefs of the author by analysing the
narratives that run through their work. Generally speaking, there are two approaches that one can
take to narrative analysis. Specifically an inductive approach or a deductive approach. The
approach you take inductive or deductive will have a significant impact on how you interpret your
data and the conclusions you can draw from it. So it is important that you understand the difference
between these two approaches. First up is the inductive approach to narrative analysis. This
approach takes a bottom-up view allowing the data to speak for itself without the influence of any
preconceived notions. With the inductive approach, you begin by looking at the data and deriving
patterns and themes as opposed to viewing the data through the lens of pre-existing hypotheses,
theories or frameworks. In other words, the analysis is led by the data. For example,
with an inductive approach, you might notice patterns or themes in the way an author presents
their characters or develops their plot. You would then observe these patterns, develop an
interpretation of what they might reveal within the context of the story and draw conclusions in
relation to your research aims. Contrasted to this is the deductive approach. With this approach,
you begin by using existing theories or frameworks that a narrative can be tested against. Here
the analysis adopts particular theoretical assumptions and or provides hypotheses and
then looks for evidence in a story that will either verify or disprove them. For example,
your analysis might begin with a theory that wealthy authors only tell stories to
garner the sympathy of their readers. Taking a deductive approach you might then look at the
narratives of wealthy authors for evidence that will substantiate or refute your theory. You
would then draw conclusions about the accuracy of the theory and suggest explanations for why that
might be the case. So to recap a narrative analysis can be undertaken using either an
inductive approach where you are letting the data speak for itself and taking a more exploratory
view or you can take a deductive approach where you are testing your data against an existing
theory and assessing its accuracy. In other words, you are taking a more confirmatory view.
Now that we have covered what narrative analysis is it is important to discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of this analysis method so that you can make the right choices in your research
project. A primary strength of narrative analysis is the rich insight it can generate by uncovering
the underlying meanings and interpretations of individual human experiences. The focus on an
individual’s narrative highlights the nuances and complexities of their personal experience
revealing details that might be missed or considered insignificant by other analysis
methods. This makes it especially useful for those of you who are researching topics related
to psychology, sociology, ideology or cultural studies. Another strength of narrative analysis
is the range of topics it can be used for as well as the data formats it can be applied to. As an
analysis method, it can be used on a wide range of data sources including in texts, interviews,
monologues and recordings. This ability to apply narrative analysis to both primary and secondary
data makes it a very flexible analysis method. All that said just like all analysis methods narrative
analysis has its weaknesses and it is important to understand these so that you can make informed
decisions for your research project. The first drawback of narrative analysis is the problem of
subjectivity and interpretation. In other words, a disadvantage of the focus on stories and their
details is that they are open to being understood differently depending on who is reading them. This
means that a strong understanding of the author’s cultural context is crucial to developing your
interpretation of the data. At the same time, it is important that you remain open-minded
in how you interpret your data and avoid making any assumptions. It is a tricky balance I know.
A second weakness of narrative analysis is the issue of reliability and generalisation.
Since narrative analysis depends almost entirely on a subjective narrative and your interpretation
the findings and conclusions cannot usually be generalised or empirically verified. Although
some conclusions can be drawn about the cultural context they are still based on what will almost
always be anecdotal data and therefore would not necessarily be suitable for the basis of a theory,
for example. Last but not least the focus on long-form data means that narrative analysis
can be very time-consuming not only will you need to invest a significant amount of time
to become well-versed with the data itself but you will also need to be well-informed regarding
the author’s cultural context. Ideally, you should also familiarise yourself with other
interpretations of the narrative to ensure that you have a holistic view. So if you are going
to undertake narrative analysis make sure that you allocate a generous amount of time to work
through the data. If you are enjoying this video so far please help us out by hitting that like
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new to research check out our free dissertation writing course which covers everything you need
to get started on your research project. As always links down in the description. Okay so
now that we have unpacked the basics of narrative analysis as well as its strengths and weaknesses
let us have a look at when you should use it. So basically when exactly is narrative analysis
an appropriate method? As a qualitative method focused on analysing and interpreting narratives
describing human experiences narrative analysis is usually most appropriate for research topics
that are focused on social, personal, cultural or even ideological events or phenomena and how
they are understood at an individual level. For example, if you are interested in understanding
the experiences and beliefs of individuals suffering social marginalisation you could
use narrative analysis to look at the narratives and stories told by people in marginalised groups
to identify patterns, symbols or motifs that shed light on how they rationalise their experiences.
In this example, narrative analysis presents a good natural fit as it is focused on analysing
people’s stories to understand their views and beliefs at an individual level. Conversely,
if your research was geared towards understanding broader themes and patterns regarding an event or
a phenomenon analysis methods such as content analysis or thematic analysis may be better
suited well, depending on your research aim of course. If you are interested in learning more
about those methods we have got videos covering them as well. Links are in the description below.
All right we have covered a lot of ground in this video. So let us do a quick recap.
Narrative analysis is a qualitative method focused on interpreting human experience
in the form of stories or narratives. We have discussed two approaches to narrative
analysis. The inductive approach where your interpretations and conclusions are drawn
exclusively from observations within the data and the deductive approach where your
selected narratives or stories are tested against pre-existing theories, frameworks or hypotheses.
Like all analysis methods, narrative analysis has a particular set of strengths and weaknesses.
Based on those narrative analysis is generally most appropriate for research that is focused
on interpreting individual human experiences as expressed in detailed long-form accounts.
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