Once Upon a Genome: A Content Analysis of Narratives and Narrativity in News About Genomic Research

This content analysis investigates the functions and types of narratives in German science news about genomic research as well as their degree of narrativity. The results show that nearly half of all articles contained at least one narrative. They were used predominantly to corroborate scientific findings. Narratives about the research process were most common, followed by narratives about researchers and personal fates of affected individuals. Personal-fate narratives displayed the highest levels of narrativity, research-process narratives the lowest. The findings highlight the value of a differentiated approach to studying narratives in science communication.