L18 - Qualitative data analysis 2 – Discourse analysis and writing up

Question 1

Discourse analysis

Oswick (2012)

Answer 1

Discourse analysis is the study of how meanings are produced and of which meanings prevail in society. It is concerned with processes of social construction (i.e. meaning making) through the study of language and language-use

Discourse is a process of social construction/meaning-making through talk and text

Discourse analysis is the study of how meanings are produced, and of which meanings prevail in society (incl. organizations/businesses in society)
- Cannot be reduced to a single technique - bundle of methods

Question 2

Research design issues in discourse analysis

Oswick (2012)

Answer 2

Prior to selecting a particular discursive method it is important to consider some wider aspects of research design. These issues include

1. The primary point of emphasis of the analysis
2. The limits of the scope of discourse analysis to be undertaken
3. The epistemological commitments of the researcher

Question 3

Discursive approaches

Oswick (2012)

Answer 3

4 approaches to discourses:

1. Deconstruction
   Micro-level discursive technique as it involves a ‘close reading’ of a single text.
2. Foucauldian-inspired analysis
   Explores how discursive practices constitute both objectivities and subjectivities.
3. Critical discourse analysis
   Embraces a critical epistemology and it challenges the delineation of macro-, meso- and micro-levels of discursive engagement
4. Intertextual analysis
   Can be described as being concerned with the extent to which a given text

Question 4

Explain the Deconstruction approach to Discursive

Answer 4

• Philosophical approach originally developed by Jacques Derrida.
• Micro-level discursive technique as it involves a ‘close reading’ of a single
  text.
• Difficult to be absolutely prescriptive about processes of deconstruction.

Question 5

Explain the Foucauldian-inspired analysis in Discursive approaches

Answer 5

• Have its roots in philosophy
• Operates at the other end of the spectrum to the close reading approach of
  deconstruction
• Explores how discursive practices constitute both objectivities and
  subjectivities.

Question 6

Explain Critical discourse analysis

Answer 6

• Norman Fairclough
• Embraces a critical epistemology and it challenges the delineation of macro-,
  meso- and micro-levels of discursive engagement
• CDA is positioned as an approach in which a discursive event is seen as
  being three dimensional insofar as it is simultaneously a piece text, an
  instance of discursive practice, and an instance of social practice.

Question 7

4. Intertextual analysis

Answer 7

• Can be described as being concerned with the extent to which a given text
  has embedded within it elements of other texts.
• “Intertextuality seems such a useful term because it foregrounds notions of
  relationality, interconnectedness and interdependence in modern cultural life”
• Intertextual analysis focuses upon identifying, analysing and synthesizing
  from parts of a focal text in terms of the earlier sources and other voices,
  which are either implicitly or explicitly incorporated and presented within that
  text.

Question 8

Level of analysis

Answer 8

Discourse analysis can be done at the micro, meso, and macro level and are often interconnected between the levels

Question 9

Examples of discourses

Answer 9

Accounting discourse
Management as discursive practice
Strategizing processes
Organizational change processes
Identification processes
Organisational culture
Diversity

Question 10

Visual tools

Ravasi (2017)

Answer 10

Making discourses visual:
“Becoming accustomed to engaging visually with our data and with our ideas, then may be a key to the mystery of theorizing from qualitative data”

• Helps organize thoughts, help us think better
• Helps systamize the data and structure the analysis
• Helps clarify connections between data, analysis and conclusions

Question 11

Multiple types of visualizations

Answer 11

Multiple types of visualizations
1. Case summaries

2. Data tables
   Great when your study has a comparative element
3. Data structures
4. Grounded models
5. Network displays

Question 12

Constant comparison

Answer 12

Comparing codes, units of analysis and cases to find patterned similarity and difference

Experimenting with displays

Which concepts capture the “story”

Play - mix and match under different arrangements and themes

Alter - re-alter arrangements until some pattern emerge that seems satisfactory to you

“Creative leap” from identifying concepts/patterns to more general theoretical interpretation/framework

Question 13

Writing up persuasive findings

Macintosh et al., (2015)

Answer 13

When reporting

• Use the displays
• Give the reader the chance to infer patterns from your displays and never let the displays speak for themselves –> Explain them

Use and show your data
- Telling: make a theoretical point
- Showing: Illustrate the point with quotes
- Telling: answer: “what does this mean in light of” - Explaining the data with
use of theory

Interpretation of findings

• Connect your findings to earlier research and your RQ
• Ask questions, discuss with litterature, argue your findings