ABSTRACT
Narrative criminologists seek to draw theoretical connections between storied discourses and patterns of harmful and/ or illegal conduct. This chapter examines what close analysis of narrative might consist of when the analysis is meant to theorize patterns of harm. It offers guidelines for discerning the particulars of narratives and narration. The chapter emphasizes qualitative analysis of narrative data, but narrative criminologists can avail themselves of just about any method of doing social research that exists. It also examines five foci of analysis, namely: elements or parts of narrative; subject and verb choices that represent agency; genres or types of narrative; narrative coherence and plurivocality; and the storytelling context. Functional parts, metaphors, characters, and even boundary drawing are relatively discrete elements of the story. The chapter describes the linguistic characteristics of stories that are typically more systemic, which condition harmful conduct by representing one's capacity to act—that is, one's agency.
