Commonly mentioned but analytically abandoned: revisiting the place of characters within narrative inquiry

Narrative research is a qualitative approach focused on describing and interpreting how people perceive reality and make sense of their experiences. Whilst most definitions of narratives include characters, few, if any researchers have systematically analysed this seemingly important component of narratives. To this end, we use this conceptual article as a means to add another layer of depth to narrative research, aiming to (a) define characters and discuss their current and potential place within the narrative research landscape, (b) consider the benefits of exploring characters, and (c) forecast potential challenges of character analysis and offer possible solutions. In meeting these aims, we first propose a definition of characters and character types and discuss their interrelation with key terms in narrative research. Secondly, we discuss how characters may influence people’s identity construction, understanding of others, and the coherence of stories. Thirdly, we consider potential challenges of exploring characters and offer a taxonomy along with a list of example character types and preliminary mapping of their relationships to overcome these challenges. Lastly, we invite researchers to explore characters and offer their reflections on how such an approach may enrich narrative research in the social sciences, including sport and exercise psychology.