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Topic · Literature and Literary Theory

Narrative Theory and Analysis

Narrative Theory and Analysis is a research topic within Literature and Literary Theory. Science Explorer counts 9.6k research works in it since 1950. 17.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the theory and analysis of fictional narratives, including topics such as narrative structure, unreliable narration, fictionality, cognitive sciences' impact on narrative understanding, and the ethics of storytelling. It delves into the complexities of narrative forms and their implications for literature and human emotion.

  • Narrative
  • Fictionality
  • Unreliable Narration
  • Cognitive Sciences
  • Narrative Theory
  • Emotion
  • Literature
  • Narrative Ethics
  • Storytelling
  • Metalepsis
Research works
9.6k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.3%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+35%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Narrative Theory and Analysis research?

By volume, Germany and the United States publish the most (307 and 304 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Germany 307 works
  2. 2 United States 304 works
  3. 3 United Kingdom 159 works
  4. 4 China 120 works
  5. 5 Russia 78 works
  6. 6 France 77 works
  7. 7 Türkiye 64 works
  8. 8 Indonesia 55 works
  9. 9 India 52 works
  10. 10 Poland 51 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Germany: 24.2%United States: 24.0%United Kingdom: 12.5%China: 9.5%6 others listed: 29.8%24%largest
Germany307 · 24.2%United States304 · 24.0%United Kingdom159 · 12.5%China120 · 9.5%6 others listed377 · 29.8%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Narrative Theory and Analysis research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Freie Universität Berlin publishes the most Narrative Theory and Analysis research, followed by Aarhus University and Tampere University.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Freie Universität BerlinGermany 16 works
  2. 2 Aarhus UniversityDenmark 12 works
  3. 3 Tampere UniversityFinland 11 works
  4. 4 Goethe University FrankfurtGermany 11 works
  5. 5 University of HelsinkiFinland 10 works
  6. 6 University of FreiburgGermany 10 works
  7. 7 University of OsloNorway 9 works
  8. 8 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 9 works
  9. 9 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 9 works
  10. 10 University of WuppertalGermany 9 works

Where is Narrative Theory and Analysis research done?

The largest centres of Narrative Theory and Analysis research in 2022–2025 are Berlin (Germany), Moscow (Russia), London (United Kingdom) and Beijing (China).

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Berlin Germany 32 works
  2. 2 Moscow Russia 31 works
  3. 3 London United Kingdom 30 works
  4. 4 Beijing China 28 works
  5. 5 Paris France 23 works
  6. 6 New York United States 15 works
  7. 7 Budapest Hungary 14 works
  8. 8 Shanghai China 14 works
  9. 9 Istanbul Türkiye 14 works
  10. 10 Oslo Norway 13 works
See Narrative Theory and Analysis on the map

Where is the best place to study Narrative Theory and Analysis?

Among universities, judged by research, Tampere University, University of Tübingen and Goethe University Frankfurt score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 16.2%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Tampere University: 11, 35.5%University of Tübingen: 9, 15.5%Goethe University Frankfurt: 10, 19.0%University of Helsinki: 10, 18.9%University of Freiburg: 10, 19.0%Freie Universität Berlin: 16, 7.1%Aarhus University: 12, 13.6%University of Oslo: 9, 14.5%Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: 9, 7.5%University of Wuppertal: 9, 11.4%Tampere UniversityGoethe University Fr…University of HelsinkiUniversity of Tübingen
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Tampere UniversityFinland 74.135.5%19.5×11 +104.2%
2 University of TübingenGermany 55.015.5%11.2×9 +209.7%
3 Goethe University FrankfurtGermany 54.219.0%12.9×10 —
4 University of HelsinkiFinland 53.018.9%8.4×10 +142.4%
5 University of FreiburgGermany 52.119.0%13.5×10 +95.1%
6 Freie Universität BerlinGermany 49.87.1%20.8×16 +36.6%
7 Aarhus UniversityDenmark 47.213.6%8.2×12 +59.8%
8 University of OsloNorway 44.914.5%9.3×9 +66.3%
9 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 36.47.5%7.0×9 +637.2%
10 University of WuppertalGermany 36.311.4%29.9×9 —

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Narrative Theory and Analysis research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 35% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Narrative Theory and Analysis.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.