How to use discourse analysis in qualitative research

1. A
Presenta*on
from
The
NewMR
“Pu6ng
the
‘Qual’
in
Qualita*ve”
Event
28
March
2012
How
to
use
discourse
analysis
in
qualita2ve
research
Susan
Bell,
Susan
Bell
Research
Event
sponsored
by
EthOS
All
copyright
owned
by
The
Future
Place
and
the
presenters
of
the
material
For
more
informa>on
about
Ethos
visit
www.ethosapp.com
For
more
informa>on
about
NewMR
events
visit
newmr.org

2. ©2012 Susan Bell Research
Phone 02 9451 1234 Fax 02 9451 1122 Web www.sbresearch.com.au
Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
March 2012
How to use discourse
analysis in qualitative
research

3. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
What is
discourse
analysis (DA)?
The study of how
people use
language in
social interaction.

4. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
What aspect
of DA are we
going to talk
about today?
When our clients
have websites or
products which
‘talk’ to consumers.

5. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Case
study

6. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Brief Charity client’s level of donations has been falling
and membership has stagnated. Client wants to
commission qualitative research with consumers
to find out why.
Imaginary brief:
Australian charities
Proposal Stage 1: Discourse Analysis of key
competitive charities
Stage 2: Qualitative research
with consumers

7. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Discourse Analysis
Research objective
To reveal the discursive and rhetorical strategies
used by charities.
In other words... how do charities ‘talk to’
consumers, and how do they try to engage
consumers?
DA is also one of the techniques we use to help
‘keep it real’, overcoming some of the problems
inherent in the focus group method..
Objective

8. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Discourse Analysis
Sampling method
Sampling
frame
‘Australian
charities’
http://www.auscharity.org
Sampling
criteria
• Mix of
local and
international
charities
• Mix of health,
environment,
welfare and
animal
Charities
chosen

9. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Discourse Analysis
Resources used
Three pages:
– Home
– About Us
– DonationsWebsites

10. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Discourse Analysis
The basic process …
4321
Read Identify the
different ways
that the
websites
express
themselves
Group together
websites which
express
themselves in
similar ways
Explore
the
patterns

11. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
• Who is the subject?
• What is the main focus?
• What tense is used?
• What ‘extreme’ words are used? What kind of
modifiers?
• What type of verbs (e.g. dynamic or stative)
• Which pronouns?
• How long are the sentences?
• How long are the words?
• Language style?
• Any use of metaphors?
• Imagery
Discourse Analysis
Variables to assess
?

12. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Findings

13. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Case study results
4 types of discourse
Crusader HeroVictim Helper

14. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
No one would deny that children are
Australia's most vulnerable and
precious resource, yet right now more
than 605,000 are living in disadvantage*
and are unable to access the same
educational, health or life opportunities
that many of us enjoy and often take
for granted.
When children are left out, they get left
behind and without support, the
disadvantage they experience today is
likely to continue into adulthood - and
on to the next generation. …..
. caring and generous Australians….
Victim
The Smith Family: About Us

15. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Victim
The Smith Family
The Subject The disadvantaged children who ‘miss out’
Main focus The children and ‘us’
Extreme words ‘No one would deny’ that children are precious.
Stative verbs ‘We believe’
Which pronouns? We
How long are the sentences? Typically over 30 words
How long are the words? 3 syllable words are common e.g. ‘holistic’
Language style? Lecturing

16. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Crusader
Oxfam: About Us
How we work
We’ve been fighting poverty and
injustice for more than 50 years. But what
exactly does this mean?
Contributing to long-term development
Poor people can take control, solve their
own problems, and rely on themselves –
with the right support. We fund long-term
projects around the world and work in a
range of areas, from water and sanitation
to education and health, to bring about
positive change in people’s lives.
Campaigning for change
Poverty isn’t just about lack of resources.
In a wealthy world it’s about bad
decisions made by powerful people.

17. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Relief in times of crisis, care when it's
needed most and commitment when
others turn away.
Red Cross is there for people in need,
no matter who you are, no matter where
you live.
We help tens of millions of people
around the world each year and care for
local communities in Australia and Asia
Pacific. With millions of volunteers
worldwide and thousands of members,
volunteers and supporters across
Australia we can reach people and
places like nobody else.
Hero
Australian Red Cross: About Us

18. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Helper
The Heart Foundation: About Us
The Heart Foundation saves lives and
improves health through funding
world-class cardiovascular research,
guidelines for health professionals,
informing the public and assisting
people with cardiovascular disease.
While our work over the past five
decades has helped reduce the number
of deaths, cardiovascular disease (heart,
stroke and blood vessel disease)
remains one of Australia’s most
devastating health problems.

19. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
What have
we learnt?

20. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
We have learnt that …
1. To understand more about a market, or category, we
should study the marketing resources that consumers
are exposed to. This is because consumers
themselves do not have the ability to consciously
recognise or recall the messages that they receive.
2. We use sampling methods to identify which of these
resources to study, just as we do to understand
people.
3. Discourse analysis gives us the concepts and
techniques to understand how different resources
communicate.

21. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
We have learnt that …
4. This case study used DA for written text, but the same
principles apply to using it for face to face, phone or
online conversations and interviews.
5. DA has a significant tole to play in qual. We can use it
– before qual, to help design concept boards and to shape the
discussion guide.
– before quant, to help design the questionnaire. or
– after qual to gain deeper insights into the sub-text of what
people have said, and to understand other forms of client/
consumer interaction.

22. Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
Q & A
Sue York
NewMR
Susan Bell
Susan Bell Research

23. ©2012 Susan Bell Research
Phone 02 9451 1234 Fax 02 9451 1122 Web www.sbresearch.com.au
Speaker: Susan Bell, Susan Bell Research, Australia
NewMR Putting the ‘Qual’ in Qualitative Event, 28 March 2012, Session 1
www.sbresearch.com.au
www.facebook.com/SusanBellResearch
Twitter: #suebellresearch

24. A
Presenta*on
from
The
NewMR
“Pu6ng
the
‘Qual’
in
Qualita*ve”
Event
28
March
2012
How
to
use
discourse
analysis
in
qualita2ve
research
Susan
Bell,
Susan
Bell
Research
Event
sponsored
by
EthOS
All
copyright
owned
by
The
Future
Place
and
the
presenters
of
the
material
For
more
informa>on
about
Ethos
visit
www.ethosapp.com
For
more
informa>on
about
NewMR
events
visit
newmr.org