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Book Contents Navigation CONTENTS Acknowledgement of Country

Title page

About the authors

Preface

Accessibility statement

Introduction to research Research design Data collection Data analysis Chapter 20:
Coding approaches

Tess Tsindos

Chapter 21: Content analysis

Danielle Berkovic

Chapter 22: Thematic Analysis

Darshini Ayton

Chapter 23: Discourse analysis

Tess Tsindos

Chapter 24: Narrative analysis

Darshini Ayton and Heather Craig

Chapter 25: Grounded theory analysis

Darshini Ayton

Rigour Ethics Writing qualitative research Peer review statement

Licensing and attribution information

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH – A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR HEALTH AND

SOCIAL CARE RESEARCHERS AND PRACTITIONERS CHAPTER 23:
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS Tess Tsindos

Learning outcomes Upon completion of this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe discourse analysis. Understand how to conduct discourse analysis. Identify

the strengths and limitations of discourse analysis.

What is discourse analysis? Discourse analysis is a field of qualitative analysis that

has its origins in disciplines such as linguistics, philosophy, psychology,
anthropology.1 It is an interdisciplinary field that deals with ‘language’ and
meaning.2

According to Jaworski and Coupland, the purpose of discourse analysis is that it

‘offers a means of exposing or deconstructing the social practices that constitute
‘social structure’ and what we might call the conventional meaning structures of
social life. It is a sort of forensic activity’.3(p5) There are three domains of discourse
analysis: the study of social interaction; the study of minds, selves and sense-making;
and the study of culture and social relations.4(p5)

Discourse analysis is the study of texts such as transcribed interviews, websites,

forums, books, newspapers, government documents (and many more), and the
analysis of those texts to understand different accounts and the meanings behind those
accounts. Qualitative researchers strive to understand the relationships between text
(discourse) and social constructs. As text is analysed, the meaning behind the text is
also explored, often as the ‘voices’ in the text. For example, when a participant is
asked about their eating habits and they discuss their joy in eating as well as feelings
of guilt from eating high-calorific foods, they may be voicing their parents’
disapproval of this eating behaviour. The relationship between text and social
constructs can also be seen in alcohol advertising: an advertisement may be promoting
alcohol consumption as a fun behaviour, but also cautions listeners to drink
‘responsibly’, because the advertiser is required to do so by advertising standards
authorities. This inherent contradiction in the advertising is part of the meaning-
making regarding alcohol consumption. This meaning-making is contextual and
differs between countries, such as Australia (a high alcohol consumption culture) and
Canada (a lower alcohol consumption culture). Another example of context is in the
use of the word ‘just’ by an interview participant; the term can mean many things, but
if the researcher is asking about job title, ‘just’ may the participant’s implication or
inference that the title does not reflect an important position (e.g. ‘I’m just an editor’).
In discourse analysis, texts, meanings and inferences are important.

Following is an example of media articles and two distinct discourses about violence
towards women. The first media article, published by The Guardian on 15 June
2018,5 presents a discourse about how it is the responsibility of women to prevent
men from being violent towards them. The second article about the same incident,
published by The Age on 25 May 2019,6 presents a discourse that it is the
responsibility of men not to be violent towards women.
Meanings of texts are particularly important when participants use metaphors. The
researcher needs to examine the implications of the metaphor, deliberate or
inadvertent. For example, when the researcher asks the participant how they felt about
their life and the participant replies, ‘life is a highway’, the researcher needs to look
beyond what was said to understand the participant’s meaning.

As an interdisciplinary method, discourse analysis can be complex and intricate. Gee7

provides 72 tools to assist with various types of discourse analysis, ranging from
identifying what is being said and what is not being said, to examining ‘how the
person is using language, as well as ways of acting, interacting, believing, valuing,
dressing, and using various objects, tools, and technologies in certain sorts of
environments to enact a specific socially recognizable identity and engage in one or
more socially recognizable activities’.7(p201) Gee also includes a helpful table (see
Table 23.1) populated with his 7 building tasks for researchers to examine their
discourses, and provides the answers.8

Table 23.1. Seven Building Tasks and associated discourse analysis questions Show
entriesSearch: Gee’s building task Gee’s discourse analysis question Significance
How is this piece of language being used to make certain things significant or not, and
in what ways? Practices What practice or practices is this piece of language being
used to enact (i.e. to get others to recognise as going on)? Identities What identity or
identities is this piece of language being used to enact (i.e. to get others to recognise
as operative)?

What identity or identities is this piece of language attributing to others, and how does
this help the speaker or writer enact his or her own identity? Relationships What sort
of relationship or relationships is this piece of language seeking to enact with others?
Politics What perspective on social goods is this piece of language communicating
(i.e. what is being communicated as to what is taken to be ‘normal,’ ‘right,’ ‘good,’
‘correct,’ ‘proper,’ ‘appropriate,’ ‘valuable,’ ‘the ways things are,’ ‘the way things
ought to be,’ ‘high status or low status,’ ‘like me or not like me,’ and so forth)?
Connections How does this piece of language connect or disconnect things; how does
it make one thing relevant or irrelevant to another? Sign systems and knowledge How
does this piece of language privilege or deprivilege specific sign systems or different
ways of knowing and believing, or claims to knowledge and beliefs? Showing 1 to 7
of 7 entriesPreviousNext

How to conduct discourse analysis Discourse analysis, as in all other qualitative

methods, is used depending on the research topic and question(s) or aim(s). The
following steps are recommended:

Step 1: Have a clearly defined topic and research question, because this informs the
types of research materials that will be used.

Step 2: Conduct wide-ranging searches for materials that will inform the research
topic.

Step 3: Determine which theory and framework will be used as the underpinning
foundation for the analyses (see Section 1 chapters 1–4).
Step 4: Analyse the content of the materials. This analysis is different (but similar) to
content analysis, which is a research technique to systematically classify codes and
identify themes or patterns within the data. Discourse analysis is concerned with
identifying themes and patterns within the texts that relate to the social contexts
reflected in the research topic and within the theoretical lens chosen for analyses.

Step 5: Interpret and draw conclusions. Reflect on your work and examine how the
various texts use language within the context of the research topic to answer the
research question(s).

As an example, Table 23.3 includes a study on girls’ experience of competitive

dancing.9 The authors progressed through the steps as follows:

Step 1: The topic is eating disorders and young dancers. The research question is
‘How does experience in the world of competitive dance shape the relationship that
young girls have with their bodies?’

Step 2: The author conducted wide–ranging literature searches on eating disorders,

ballet dancers, body image, thinness, Western culture, dieting, media influences and
many more topics.

Step 3: Feminism was the theoretical underpinning of the textual analysis. As

described by the authors, ‘a feminist post structural approach was chosen to provide a
critical lens to explore the beliefs, values, and practices of young dancers… aimed to
provide an understanding of the dominant and competing discourses present in the
world of dance and discover how these discourses are constituted, perpetuated, and
form ways of knowing in relation to body and body image.’9(p7)

Step 4: The transcripts were analysed in 5 steps, following Aston10 and presented in
table 23.2:

Table 23.2. A guide to using feminist poststructuralism informed by discourse

analysis

1. Identify important issues Read the transcript and mark quotations you feel
represent an important issue. Name the issue as you see it.
2. Apply beliefs, values and practices Provide the quotation (cut and paste) and
write something about the belief, value and practice within the quotation.
3. Social and institutional discourses Write about the social and institutional
discourses you see informing the issue you identified. Sometimes this is
clearly described in the quotation but most often you will need to expand on
the implied ideas. You still need to clearly connect to the evidence (words and
meaning provided by participant).
4. Respond to relations of power As you write about the discourses, you need to
connect these ideas to the participant.

How do the discourses affect the participant? Does he/she agree or disagree with the
beliefs, values and practices? Is it an easy or positive fit? Or are there questions,
conflicts, tensions etc.? These are the ‘relations of power’ that the participant is
feeling experiencing. 5. Subjectivity and agency You can also add in the participant’s
‘subjectivity’ (how they are positioned as a nurse, man, woman, teacher etc.) as well
as their ‘agency’ (how they choose to act in each situation by fitting in or
challenging).

*Note: This table is from an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0),
which permits copy and redistribution of material in any medium or format, remix,
transform and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially provided
the original work is properly cited.

Step 5: Results were first interpreted within an ‘environmental’ context (competitive

culture, ideal dancer’s body, mirrors, and dance attire and costumes), which was
predominately negative due to the competitive culture. The second context was
‘parents’, which encompassed body monitoring, joking, and parents and support.
Although most of the dancers stated that their parents did not influence their
relationship with their body, discourse analysis demonstrated that parents did
influence them. The third context was ‘coaches’. Coaches had a very strong influence
on participants’ body image. While the dancers believed their coaches were
supportive, the discourse demonstrated that most coaches’ comments were negative.
‘Peers’ represented in the final context for analysis. Again, the dancers believed their
peers were supportive; however, discourse analysis demonstrated that many peer
comments were negative. The conclusions drawn from the research were that ‘all
participants experienced negative physical, mental, and/or emotional repercussions
throughout their competitive dance experience. It was also determined that
environment, parents, coaches, and peers largely shaped the dancer’s relationship with
body and body image in the world of dance. These influences generated and
perpetuated the dominant negative body image discourse that dancers were often
unable to resist, and consequently their relationship with body and body image
suffered.’9(pp22-23)

This is a good example of situating a topic (body image) within a context (young
women dancing) underpinned by a theoretical framework that explores the dancers’
beliefs, values and practices.

Table 23.3. Discourse analysis examples Show entriesSearch: Title The public health
turn on violence against women’: analysing Swedish healthcare law, public health and
gender-equality policies11 Social representation of palliative care in the Spanish
printed media: a qualitative analysis12 Dancing in a culture of disordered eating: a
feminist post structural analysis of body and body image among young girls in the
world of dance9 CC Licence CC BY 4.0 CC BY 4.0 CC BY 4.0 First author and year
Ohman, 2020 Carrasco, 2019 Doria, 2022 Aim/research question ‘To describe and
problematise the main content and characteristics of Swedish healthcare law, public
health and gender-equality policies representing the public health turn on violence
against women.’(p.2) ‘To analyse how palliative care is portrayed in Spanish
newspapers, as well as the contribution made by the press to its social representation.’
(abstract) 'How does experience in the world of competitive dance shape the
relationship that young girls have with their bodies'(p.7) Study design
Multidisciplinary, socio-legal Qualitative Qualitative
Data collection National healthcare law and policies Four Spanish general printed
newspapers One-on-one, semi-structured phone interviews, directed by an open-ended
interview guide Analysis approach Discourse analysis Discourse analysis Discourse
analysis Theoretical approach Legal documents primarily analysed from a feminist
legal point of view; public health actions and interventions analysed from a public
health perspective; and general gender-equality policies analysed from a policy angle
Sociological discourse analysis: contextual analysis focusing on the message as a
statement; interpretative analysis considering the discourse as a social product
Feminist poststructuralismp Results In law and public health policies, the problem is
primarily articulated as a matter of ‘violence within close relationships' The term
‘violence within close relationships’ is a new approach that deviates from the earlier
framings of ‘men’s violence against women’, and is a specific Swedish policy term.
This new approach indicates a gender-neutral conceptualisation in which both victim
and perpetrator are invisible in terms of gender.

Legal obligations and the problems for the healthcare sector are only vaguely defined.
‘The discourses identified were characterised by strong ideological and moral content
focusing on social debate, strong ties linking palliative care and death and, to a lesser
degree, as a healthcare service.

The messages transmitted by representatives with direct experience in palliative care

(professionals, patients and families) contributed the most to building a positive image
of this healthcare practice. Overall, media reflect different interests in framing public
understanding about palliative care.’

(abstract) 'All participants experienced negative physical, mental, and/or emotional

repercussions throughout their competitive dance experience. It was also determined
that environment, parents, coaches and peers largely shaped the dancers’ relationship
with body and body image in the world of dance. These influences generated and
perpetuated the dominant negative body image discourse that dancers were often
unable to resist, and consequently their relationship with body and body image
suffered.' (p.23-24) Showing 1 to 8 of 8 entriesPreviousNext

Advantages and challenges of discourse analysis Discourse analysis can be used to

analyse small and large data sets with homogenous and heterogenous samples. It can
be applied to any type of data source, from interviews and focus groups to diary
entries, news reports and online discussion forums. However, interpretation in
discourse analysis can lead to limitations and challenges that tend to occur when
discourse analysis is misapplied or done poorly. Discourse analysis can be highly
flexible and is best used when anchored in a theoretical approach. Because discourse
analysis involves subjective interpretation, training and support from a qualitative
researcher with expertise in the method is required to ensure that the interpretation of
the data is meaningful. Finally, discourse analysis can be time-consuming when
analysing large volumes of texts.

Summary Discourse analysis is a process whereby texts are examined and interpreted.
It looks for the meanings ‘behind’ text in cultural and social contexts. Discourse
analysis is flexible, and the researcher has scope to interpret the text(s) based on the
research topic and aim(s). Having a theoretical approach assists the researcher to
position the discourse in cultural and social grounding.
References Schiffrin D, Tannen D et al., eds. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis.
Blackwell; 2001. Jaworski A, Coupland N. eds. The Discourse Reader. 2nd ed.
Routledge; 2006. Jaworski A, Coupland N. Introduction: perspectives on discourse
analysis. In: Jaworski A, Coupland N, eds. The Discourse Reader. 2nd ed. Routledge;
2006. Wetherell M, Taylor S, Yates S. (2001) Discourse Theory and Practice: A
Reader. 2nd ed. Sage. 2001. Davey M. ‘Men need to change’: anger grows over
police response to Eurydice Dixon’s murder. Guardian. June 15, 2018. Accessed
April 28, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jun/15/men-need-
to-change-anger-grows-over-police-response-to-comedians#:~:text=Melbourne
Fowler M. ‘This is about men’s behaviour’, says top policy offer after another
woman’s murder. Age. May 25, 2019. Accessed April 28, 2023.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/this-is-about-men-s-behaviour-says-top-
police-officer-after-another-woman-s-murder-20190525-p51r46.html Gee J. How to
do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit. 2nd ed. Routledge; 2014. Gee J. An Introduction to
Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. 3rd ed. Routledge; 2011. Doria N, Numer
M. Dancing in a culture of disordered eating: a feminist poststructural analysis of
body and body image among young girls in the world of dance. PLoS ONE.
2022;17(1): e0247651. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0247651 Aston M. Teaching
feminist poststructuralism: founding scholars still relevant today. Creative Education.
2016;7(15):2251-2267. doi:10.4236/ce.2016.715220 Öhman A, Burman M, Carbin
Met al.‘The public health turn on violence against women’: analysing Swedish
healthcare law, public health and gender-equality policies. BMC Public Health.
2020;20:753. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08766-7 Carrasco JM, Gómez-Baceiredo B,
Navas A et al. Social representation of palliative care in the Spanish printed media: a
qualitative analysis. PLoS ONE. 2019;14(1):e0211106.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0211106

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Qualitative Research – a practical guide for health and social care researchers and
practitioners Copyright © 2023 by Darshini Ayton; Tess Tsindos; Danielle Berkovic
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
License, except where otherwise noted.

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