Narrative analysis in criminology

Abstract

Crime is both storyable and storied, and narrative analysis is thus essential for criminologists. In this article I present four different ways of doing narrative analysis: thematic, structural, performative and dialogical. These forms of analysis have different research questions and are associated with very different research traditions. Narrative analysis varies depending on whether researchers are interested in the content of what is told, how it is done, who is narrating and where it is done, or what narratives are at play in a story. The article describes the methodological process of these different approaches and exemplifies their specific application in an interview with a violent offender. It discusses the many advantages, but also the limitations of each of the narrative analysis traditions. Furthermore, it presents the narrative work stories do, such as entertaining, identity and boundary work, and processing and integrating—and argues that it is essential to understand these to capture the role of stories for crime.