How to apply thematic narrative analysis to the analysis of written narratives in online environments

Abstract

Narrative research is the study of experience through stories. A narrative or story is a symbolized retelling of an events and actions sequence that is important to the narrator and his audience, which has a temporal dimension. It is a form used by people to narrate their important events and experiences, and for researchers is a good way to study the meanings and motives of experience. Those expressed in online environments are characterized by being written narratives, usually in first person, that meet the characteristics of sequentiality, factual indifference and temporariness, and are co-constructed. Narrative analysis is interested in how a narrator or writer connects events into a sequence, and how uses language and/or visual images to communicate meaning. There are many ways to narrate an experience, the way how a narrator, writer or visual artist choose to do it is significant. Of the four methodological approaches for analyzing narratives of individuals and groups, this article focuses on thematic narrative analysis for being the most appropriate for written narratives, and in particular for those expressed in online environments. The last section contains the stages of analysis process.