Analysing Text and Talk
I was reading Ansii Perakyla's chapter "Analysing Text and Talk" over the weekend from Denzin and Lincoln's Handbook of Qualitative Research. There are some really useful tips here for doing qualitative text analysis.
One of the things that struck me was Perakyla's statement that an informal approach to analysing textual material is often appropriate for research design's where the qualitative text analysis does not stand alone. That is, where the text analysis works in a 'complementary' or 'subsidiary' capacity. In many ways, I'm reading 'informal' as thematic analysis. As Perakyla says, the informal approach is characterised by an attempt to 'pin down' 'key themes' and to 'draw a picture of the presuppositions and meanings that constititute the cultural world of the which the textual material is a specimen'.
Her comment that historical discourse analysis, particularly as practised by David Armstrong is similar to the informal approach to analysis. Perakyla makes this statement based on the assumption that HDA focuses on the 'propositional content' rather than on language forms. This could be very useful for my purposes.
SO I NEED TO ADD ARMSTRONG TO MY LIST OF "METHODS TO READ"
Perakyla points out that Armstong's recent book has a section which outlines his method. The book is Armstrong, D (2002) A New History of Identity: A sociology of medical knowledge. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave. Have ordered.
One of the things that struck me was Perakyla's statement that an informal approach to analysing textual material is often appropriate for research design's where the qualitative text analysis does not stand alone. That is, where the text analysis works in a 'complementary' or 'subsidiary' capacity. In many ways, I'm reading 'informal' as thematic analysis. As Perakyla says, the informal approach is characterised by an attempt to 'pin down' 'key themes' and to 'draw a picture of the presuppositions and meanings that constititute the cultural world of the which the textual material is a specimen'.
Her comment that historical discourse analysis, particularly as practised by David Armstrong is similar to the informal approach to analysis. Perakyla makes this statement based on the assumption that HDA focuses on the 'propositional content' rather than on language forms. This could be very useful for my purposes.
SO I NEED TO ADD ARMSTRONG TO MY LIST OF "METHODS TO READ"
Perakyla points out that Armstong's recent book has a section which outlines his method. The book is Armstrong, D (2002) A New History of Identity: A sociology of medical knowledge. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave. Have ordered.