CONVERSATION ANALYSIS: METHOD, CONCEPTS, APPLICATIONS

Written by Liana GRANCEA on . Posted in Special issue: Qualitative Research In Psychosocial Sciences, Guest Editor: Adriana BĂBAN, Volume XI, Nr. 2

ABSTRACT

This article offers an overview of the conversation analysis (CA) method and its theoretical and practical applications for qualitative social scientific research. After providing an outline of the key principles and concepts of CA, the article discusses the method�s analytical contributions and methodological applications to the study of social issues. For illustration, analyses of several data fragments are presented, using Romanian language materials from telephone conversations recorded in the Transylvanian town of Cluj. The article highlights CA�s unique insights into the way social processes, relations, and identities are constructed and experienced at the level of everyday interaction, and draws attention to some of the ways in which the method can be of benefit to social scientists from a variety of disciplines.

KEYWORDS: conversation analysis, interaction, social issues, ethnicity.