Framework
The four approaches to narrative analysis
Riessman's four lenses for reading the stories people tell
Catherine Kohler Riessman describes four ways to analyze the stories people tell. Thematic analysis looks at content, structural analysis at how the story is built, dialogic or performance analysis at how it is told to a listener, and visual analysis at images. Researchers can use this as a quick guide to choosing a lens for interview, diary or open-ended survey data.
Where this appears
What's in this framework
- Thematic narrative analysis: Looks at what the story says. The easiest way in.
- Structural analysis: Looks at how the story is built: plot, sequence and the language used to make a point.
- Dialogic or performance analysis: Looks at how the story is shaped with the listener and told to an audience.
- Visual analysis: Applies narrative reading to images and visual artifacts alongside words.
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/narrative-analysis-four-approaches-riessman"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/narrative-analysis-four-approaches-riessman/narrative-analysis-four-approaches-riessman.png" alt="Framework showing Riessman's four approaches to narrative analysis: thematic, structural, dialogic or performance, and visual." width="1200" height="699" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/narrative-analysis-four-approaches-riessman">The four approaches to narrative analysis</a>, Koji</p>
