Examples of Discourse Analysis
The spirit of discourse-analytic research is inductive; that is, it involvesmoving from the concrete to the abstract, from the particular to the general.In keeping with that spirit, we present in this chapter some examples of dis-course-analytic research from which we hope readers will develop a senseof the activities involved before going on to the more abstract discussion ofmethods and analysis provided in Chapters 4 to 8. The best way to developthat sense is to carry out one's own analysis. The analysis of discourse datais partly a craft, in that it requires skills that cannot be wholly specified incookbook fashion (take cup of preference structure and fold into 2 cups ofinterpretive repertoires; mix well). But the analyst still requires an acquain-tance with examples of discourse-analytic research in addition to a grasp ofthe general principles of discursive psychology and of the various method-ological strategies and resources. Such familiarity is not a substitute for ex-perience; it is a prerequisite. Research examples not only provide modelsfor analysis; they also yield information about concepts, devices, practices,and strategies that can be used in analysis.