ABSTRACT
Problem definition, the power of language, and the tragedy of school shootings remain the core of Chapter 7. It examines how stakeholders try to strategically define issues to advance a position. An exploration of school shooting narratives and events such as the Deep Water Horizon disaster explains causation claims and the social construction of public problems. This theoretical yet practical chapter teaches and evaluates three postpostivist tools critical for analysts: content analysis, focus group methodology, and narrative analysis. It discusses the relevance of stories to public policy battles regarding obesity and to the Yellowstone bison case. One new box uses the National Weather Service and tornado warnings as an example of why a mixed methodology may be necessary for successful policy development and a second new box focuses on writing a policy statement. The chapter closes with the case, “School Shootings and Focus Group Research: Narrative Analysis and Problem Definition.”
