Transdisciplinary Convergence: Enhancing the Validity of Discourse Analysis

• In Event: 70.066 - Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: 70.066-10 - Interrogating Distinctions Between and Misconceptions of Qualitative Methods

Abstract

Discourse analysis involves making claims based on interpretation of written or spoken text which includes images and gestures. In this paper, I argue that discourse analysis, explicitly grounded in multiple theoretical disciplines such as semiotics, systemic functional linguistics, and critical theory, offers a credible research methodology. The underlying assumptions, constructs, and techniques of analysis of these theoretical disciplines can be drawn on to show convergence of data at multiple levels—which I call transdisciplinary convergence. I draw on these disciplines to develop a transdisciplinary discourse analysis framework that enables the researcher to ask questions concerning social and linguistic issues to interpret data at the macro and micro level of social context. Convergence of meanings reinforces the validity of interpretations from text analysis.

Author

• Kamini Jaipal-Jamani, Brock University