Why Don’t Social Scientists Use Metaphor Analysis More?
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24231007 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kevin Walby (0000-0002-5107-2309, University of Winnipeg), Lea Martin (University of Winnipeg) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Qualitative Methods (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1609-4069 • E-ISSN: 1609-4069 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/16094069261492127 |
| OpenAlex | W7222121127 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 73 |
Metaphors have the power to convey a tremendous amount of meaning in a short, simple cluster of words. Metaphor analysis has been part of social science and qualitative inquiry for more than four decades. However, as we demonstrate in this paper, despite its applicability across academic disciplines, metaphor analysis is not as popular as several other approaches to qualitative data analysis including critical discourse analysis, qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, among others. Using bibliometric citation analysis, in this paper we reveal the contours of use of metaphor analysis in the humanities and social sciences compared to other qualitative data analysis types, by comparing frequency of use to frequencies for discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, qualitative content analysis, thematic analysis, and narrative analysis. Based on our assessment of the field, we then discuss 12 reasons regarding why metaphor analysis appears to be used less often, including reflections on the formation of academic disciplines and trends in academic training, and what might be done about it to extend the use of metaphor analysis in all kinds of qualitative research.
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| Highly cited | No |
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