Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method

2009

Discourse analysis is an umbrella term for a range of methodological approaches that analyse the use and functions of talk and text within social interaction. These approaches are used across social science disciplines such as psychology, sociology, linguistics, anthropology and communication studies.

2017

South African Journal of Psychology, 2002

Discourse analysis is increasingly becoming a methodology of preference amongst qualitative researchers. There is a danger, however, of it being viewed as a bounded and uncontested domain of research practice. As discourse analysis is inextricably linked with theoretical issues, it is a dynamic practice that is constantly in a process of revision. In this paper I reflect on some of the conceptualisations undergirding the notion of discourse – conceptualisations that have important implications in terms of how the practice of discourse analysis proceeds. I highlight some of the dualisms that may plague discourse analysis, and offer some solutions to these. Finally, I outline the deconstructive discourse analysis that I utilised in my doctoral work. The purpose of the latter is not to provide a recipe of methodology, but to illustrate how elements of various theorists’ work (in this case Foucault, Derrida and Parker) may be profitably drawn together to perform specific discourse analytic work.

Advances in Discourse Analysis, 2019

2005

Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture The series includes contributions that investigate political, social and cultural processes from a linguistic/discourse-analytic point of view. The aim is to publish monographs and edited volumes which combine language-...

This paper presents and analyses six key approaches to discourse analysis, including political discourse theory, rhetorical political analysis, the discourse historical approach in critical discourse analysis, interpretive policy analysis, discursive psychology and Q methodology. It highlights differences and similarities between the approaches along three distinctive dimensions, namely, ontology, focus and purpose. Our analysis reveals the difficulty of arriving at a fundamental matrix of dimensions which would satisfactorily allow one to organize all approaches in a coherent theoretical framework. However, it does not preclude various theoretical articulations between the different approaches, provided one takes a problem-driven approach to social science as one's starting-point.

This paper will explore key definitions of discourse analysis, and attempt to iron-out potential confusion around the use of the term. Problems which confront the researcher in attempting to analyse ‘real life’ discourse will be touched upon, and a spirited justification for the use of this approach will be included. The primary aim of this paper is to examine the use of the term in a way that will aid scholars wishing to use this method of enquiry to interrogate health subjects.

Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research, 2020

This theoretical paper aims to give an overview of the research process involved in researching Social Sciences using the Discourse Studies perspective. Discourse Studies (DS), Discourse Analysis (DA), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) have been emerging disciplines in recent times which tend to be interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary and almost all the disciplines in social sciences and some under natural sciences can benefit from them immensely. The paper attempts to build a robust theoretical framework and give future researchers useful guidelines who may want to utilize the principles and practices under DS, DA, and CDA to reach valid findings and give strong recommendations while researching in their disciplines. It will help the researchers contribute to the existing body of knowledge under the umbrella of the fast-emerging disciplines of DS, DA, and CDA by analyzing data to reach striking findings for the maximum benefit of their studies' stakeholders.

English Studies in Focus: Reading in Language and Literature , 2014

There is an often interchange of language and discourse by learners in linguistic and literary fields in the attempt to account for the use of language in various fields of study. In this chapter, we explicate discourse, discourse analysis, as well as its related fields and approaches to the study in a deep introductory method to expose learners to conceptual clarifications in the field. Discourse is not restricted to Department of English and Linguistics alone; it cuts across all the fields of learning. It is language in use. As long as language is used by people, in various social fields, there are various types of discourse to be investigated. Therefore, discourse analysts have a wider spectrum of areas to cover to account for how language is used through linguistic and theoretical tools.