Lecture 3: Discoursce Analysis

Question 1

Four foci in discourse analytic research

Answer 1

1. How specific actions and practices are linguistically done in particular settings

E.g. Kurz, T., Augoustinos, M. & Crabb, S. (2010). Contesting the ‘national interest’ and maintaining ‘our lifestyle’: A discursive analysis of political rhetoric around climate change. British Journal of Social Psychology, (3), 601-25

2. How particular accounts of things are constructed and made to seem factual and objective or how seemingly factual accounts are challenged

E.g. Horton-Salway, M. (2007). The ‘ME Bandwagon’ and other labels: Constructing the genuine case in talk about a controversial illness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46(4), 895-914.

3. Psychological practice: this involves re-framing psychological concepts in discursive terms

E.g. Liebert, R., & Gavey, N. (2009). “There are always two sides to these things”: Managing the dilemma of serious adverse effects from SSRIs. Social Science & Medicine, 68(10): 1882-1891.

4. Exploitation, prejudice and ideology: this involves examining how racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and other oppressions are expressed, justified or rendered invisible

E.g. Weaver, S. (2011). Jokes, rhetoric and embodied racism: a rhetorical discourse analysis of the logics of racist jokes on the internet. Ethnicities, 11(4), 413-435

Question 2

Discourse analysis comes in different flavours…

Answer 2

Discourse analysis is a diverse field, within and beyond psychology; amalgamation from different scientific disciplines and different analytical practices
–See Parker (2013) & Augoustines (2013) for some debate & evaluation of typologies of discourse analysis in psychology

•The main approaches in UK Psychology are

Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) (After Michel Foucault)
•Has a more macro/societal focus
•Constructions, discourses, action orientation, positionings, practice, subjectivity (Willig 2013)

Discursive Psychology (DP)
•More micro/individual focus;
•Constructive and functional dimensions (context, variability, constructions, Willig 2013)

Question 3

Doing Discourse Analysis

Answer 3

First preliminary steps are reading, annotation & coding

• Then 6 steps/areas can be worked through:
• 1. Discursive constructions
• 2. Discourses
• 3. Action orientation
• 4. Positionings
• 5. Practice
• 6. Subjectivity

Question 4

What data are suitable for discourse analysis (DA)?

Answer 4

DA can work with any linguistic or symbolic source:
–Interviews, focus groups
–Naturally occurring speech
–TV programmes, magazines, newspapers, song lyrics!

•Some analysts have applied DA “wherever there is meaning” to look at pictures, the values embedded in physical spaces, and even objects like toothpaste tubes!
–E.g. Parker (1994, 2002), Christmann (2008)

Question 5

Doing Discourse Analysis

(Following steps from Willig 2013 & Walton 2007) - READING

Answer 5

•A. Reading: take time to read the transcript carefully.

–Note your initially feelings about the text, try to become aware about what the text is doing

–The purpose of the analysis is then about identifying how the text manages to accomplish different elements.

Question 6

Doing Discourse Analysis

Answer 6

B. Annotation & Coding is typically done in relation to specific research questions, or as ‘open coding’
–Where you start noting all references about X
•What are the different objects in the text?

–This might be explicit or implied/implicit references. Try searching for nouns to start with (e.g. people, things, objects).

–To code the data you could use a colour scheme to represent different objects

–For large data sets software like NVivo allows you to manage many codes; helps you organise data but doesn’t do the analysis!

Question 7

Doing Discourse Analysis - Discursive constructions

Answer 7

1. Discursive constructions
   –How are different discursive objects constructed?

–Discursive objects don’t need to be objects in the literal sense
•e.g these could be: ‘recycling’, ‘safe sex’, ‘love’, ‘friendship’, ‘disability’

–This stage involves identifying discursive objects and the different ways they are constructed in the text.

–Highlight elements of the text that relate to different discursive objects

–Again, this isn’t just about looking for particular key words, but all explicit and implicit references to the objects.

Question 8

Discourse Analysis - Discourse

Answer 8

2. Discourses
   –The same discursive object can be constructed in different ways

–Here you begin to focus on the differences between constructions and locating the discursive objects within wider discourses.

e.g. a ‘romantic love’ discourse; a ‘war on terror’ discourse; a ‘rags to riches’ discourse

•Discourses can be defined as:
–“systems of meaning that are related to the interactional and wider sociocultural context, and operate regardless of a speakers’ intentions”
(Gergaca & Avdi 2012 p147)

• Discourse may reproduce or challenge culturally dominant ways of understanding the world (Gergaca & Avdi, 2012 p148)
• Culturally available ways of talking about people, objects, events…
• (FDA) Discourses facilitate and limit, enable and constrain, what can be said, by whom, where and when (Parker 1992))

Question 9

Doing discourse analysis - Action orientation

Answer 9

3. Action orientation
   –Aided by a closer examination of the discursive contexts where the discursive objects are deployed – what is the talk/discourse doing at that point

–What was gained by constructing things in this way?

–What functions are served by talking in this way?

–Look for and identify rhetorical features and think about the functions they perform (e.g. metaphors, hyperbole)

–Are any particular discursive devices used, for example, extreme case formulation, bottom-line arguments, three-part lists?

Question 10

Example rhetorical and discursive devices

Answer 10

•Three part lists
–“I came, I saw, I conquered”
–“Government of the people, by the people, for the people”
–“Education, education, education”
•Disclaimers – anticipate a negative response
–“I’m not racist, but…”
–The general form is to say “I’m not against x” but to then go on and make a negative evaluation of it
•Extreme case formulations (hyperbole)
–“Completely innocent”
–“Every time”
–“Always”

Question 11

Doing discourse analysis- Positionings

Answer 11

Discourses construct ‘subjects’ (people) as well as objects

–Discourses make available different positions that speakers can adopt or construct, they open up and close down different possibilities.

Question 12

Doing discourse analysis - Practice

Answer 12

–Exploring the possible relationships between discourse and practice

–How does a particular discourse, or subject position, limit what can be said and done?

–What actions (practices) are opened up, what actions (practices) are closed down?

Question 13

Doing discourse - Subjectivity

Answer 13

–Exploring possible relationships between subject positions and subjective experience

–What could be felt, thought and experienced from different the subject positions?