Notes

Outline

Doing Conversation Analysis – Analytic Strategies Paul ten Have

Conversation Analysis Collect data Find patterns Explain why these patterns occur

Systematic Approach Select a Sequence Characterize actions in the sequence Consider how speaker’s selection of terms and actions contribute to the meaning Consider timing and turn taking Consider how actions imply roles and/or relationships

Select a Sequence Locate a turn where someone started an action or topic that the others responded to To find the end of the sequence find a turn where the participants are not responding to the action or topic Sometimes it’s not easy to locate the beginning of a sequence

Characterize the actions Try to answer: what is this person doing in this turn? Systematically do this for every turn in sequence Consider relationships between the turns

Consider ‘packaging’ of terms Consider why a certain form was chosen Why one word chosen over another Consider what options the speaker had Different ways of doing things: participant’s selection has meaning

Timing and Turn taking Describe how speaker obtained the turn When the turn was initiated Termination of turn If the current speaker selected the next speaker

Consider roles and relationships Obligation and Expectation Story-teller/listener Questioner/answerer Permanent roles Mother/Daughter Teacher/Student

A general strategy for data analysis Turn-taking organization Sequence organization Repair organization Turn-Construction Design

Turn-taking organization Identify “units” of turn taking Sentence Phrase Identify speaker selection

Sequence Organization Idea: one thing leads to another Cycles Question/Answer Sequence Expansions Question in response to a question

Repair Organization Idea: Dealing with problem in the conversation Misunderstandings or mis-hearings Unclear phrases

Turn-Construction Design Designing turns to achieve a goal Choosing one construction design over another

Conversation Analysis Systematically break down the conversation Analyze resulting pieces