Abstract
Wiggins’ book is the first of its kind about discursive psychology (DP), as it brings together philosophical and theoretical foundations, analytic methods and empirical examples of DP. This book provides a supportive guide for those exploring various approaches to discourse analysis (DA), researchers considering DP for their work and seasoned scholars teaching both introductory and advanced courses in DA. The book comprises three sections, with the first focused on theory, the second on methods and the third on applications. The majority of the book is devoted to a discussion of methods, with the second section therefore being the most expansive. Wiggins’ writing style is accessible while simultaneously in-depth. She notes that what is offered could be read as ‘prescriptive’ yet argues that this is ‘a risk worth taking’, as this accessible and practical text serves as a scaffold for scholars new to DP and offers practical insights to those already familiar with this approach (p. viii).
The theory section of the book provides a general overview to the core theoretical perspectives and disciplines that have shaped DP. Chapter 1 introduces the central principles of DP and includes an accessible and relatively brief introduction to Wittgenstein’s philosophy, speech act theory, ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, sociology of scientific knowledge, semiology and post-structuralism. In its entirety, the discussion of these undergirding perspectives encompasses about seven pages of text. We note this point here, as we believe a strength of this book is the accessible way in which foundational perspectives are introduced to a reader. Generally, these ideas are difficult for scholars new to DP and DA to make sense of, particularly when only offered the seminal (oft more dense) philosophical and theoretical writings. Thus, a particular strength of the theory section of Wiggins’ book is that it serves as a useful starting point for those interested in studying DP further. Related to this, Chapter 2 provides a general overview of DA writ large, while offering discussion related to the central assumptions of conversation analysis, DP, critical DP and critical DA. Notably, the domain of DA is quite vast, and thus, this chapter functions to introduce some of the key distinctions and similarities across DA perspectives – an endeavor that is often challenging for those new to these research approaches.
The methods section of the book remains practical, while still grounded in the theory developed in the first section of the book. Chapter 3 outlines considerations for conceptualizing a study from a DP approach. Wiggins describes the types of studies that can be carried out given the theoretical and philosophical assumptions of DP (e.g. ‘discursive practices and psychological issues enacted within these practices’ (p. 62)). She provides concrete examples of research questions that are suitable and not suitable for DP. Wiggins situates these considerations within project timeframes and scopes of study, such as undergraduate or postgraduate dissertations and short-term versus long-term projects. These sorts of logistical considerations are carried through each chapter of the methods section. In Chapter 4, Wiggins offers resources for researchers to make decisions about managing and collecting data. This discussion includes suggestions and challenges involved in collecting naturally occurring data, deciding how much data to collect, practices for storing data and the types of equipment to support the data collection and management processes. Throughout, she includes ‘Box’ notes wherein she highlights key topics and examples, such as ‘The naturalistic data debate’ (p. 77) and ‘Sample consent forms’ (p. 81). In Chapter 5, Wiggins details some common practices and conventions for transcription. Throughout, she stresses the importance of quality transcripts for analysis.
In Chapters 6 and 7, Wiggins discusses resources for doing analysis in a DP study. In Chapter 6, when discussing analysis, she addresses how to start, when to end, common mistakes and how to get back on track. Wiggins engages in a detailed discussion of Antaki et al.’s (2003) seminal article on warranting claims in DA, further elaborating common pitfalls of analysis and noting how to avoid them. Building on this, in Chapter 7, Wiggins introduces discursive devices linked to examples from DP literature. She warns that discursive devices ‘cannot be used like tools in a mechanical sense; we do not simply identify the existence of a phrase or word in interaction and then immediately point to its function outcome’ (p. 146). Rather, she illustrates across Chapters 3 through 7 the recursive and iterative way in which analysis unfolds.
In Chapter 8, which is included as part of the method section of the book, Wiggins offers a guide for writing up a DP study. This chapter is particularly helpful for thinking through how to start writing while doing analysis. Furthermore, it is structured similarly to a reference guide, as it offers practical considerations for carrying out DP research from conceptualization to publishing an article.
The final section of the book, applications, offers what scholars new to DP most often inquire about; that is, what are the research possibilities when using DP. Practically, then, in Chapter 9, Wiggins provides multiple examples, potential substantive topics and research study ideas that DP might be employed to pursue. She also offers a listing of key DP studies across fields, noting the various kinds of data that have been employed in such studies. In Chapter 10, Wiggins provides sage advice for both new and seasoned DP scholars, offering her ‘Top tips when “applying” DP’ (p. 226) – a topic that is quite pertinent to those working in applied fields, as well as envisioning ways to fund their research.
Indeed, we envision this book as a core text for those interested and already employing DP. The guidance Wiggins offers for those interested in DP provides insights for future directions and possibilities for contributing to further the development of this approach.