2. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES TO DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

Abstract

This chapter summarizes 16 empirical studies that employ quantitative and/or qualitative discourse analytic techniques published in applied linguistics journals over the last five years. These studies tend to analyze spoken discourse in formal contexts, produced by both adults and children who are native and nonnative speakers of English. Unfortunately, all studies focus only on English discourse, which suggests that analyses of discourse in other languages are clearly needed; moreover, it was extremely difficult to find published discourse analytic studies which employ only quantitative research methods. Although each of these discourse analytic studies presents segments of transcribed discourse, researchers collect data of the type and in the amount prescribed by the analytical tradition employed—those working within the conversation analytic tradition collect, transcribe, analyze, and present only recorded social interaction, while researchers who situate themselves in the ethnography of communication framework collect and present various forms of “triangulated” data to support their conclusions. The chapter concludes by mentioning the problem of evaluative criteria for qualitative research, and by suggesting that applied linguists need to address this issue and articulate some reasonable solutions, so that all published research is, in fact, quality research.