Abstract
Since its emergence, conversation analysis (CA) has attended to a range of institutional settings, such as mental health (O’Reilly and Lester, 2017) and education (Waring, 2014). The current volume comes as a response to such growing attention paid to applied research that can inform practice. Overall, it has two purposes. The first is to introduce the function of applied CA, that is, to offer ‘generative perspectives’ (p. xii) for how practitioners in institutional settings go about their everyday lives. The other purpose is, more importantly, to provide a practical and accessible guide as to how to plan and carry out an applied CA study.
Structurally, the book is divided into three sections, which deal with the core issues germane to carrying out a study employing applied CA. The first section focuses on context and planning, mainly the decision-making process of embarking on an applied CA study. The second section is designed to assist readers to navigate through the practical aspects to be considered when working on an applied CA project. The third section points to issues regarding the dissemination of such research after completing the data collection and analysis.
The first section comprises four chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the basic history and theoretical basis of CA. Based on social constructionism, it is described as an emic approach, which ‘prioritises empirical evidence that illuminates the participants’ own understandings of an issue’ (p. 6). Chapter 2 examines the basic principles of CA: the tools to conduct analysis, mainly consisting of sequence organisation, turn-taking, adjacency pairs, repair and preference organisation. Chapter 3 centres on the planning of applied CA research. It draws our attention to issues related to conducting a literature review, developing a research question and writing a research proposal. The authors also point out the merits of maintaining a research diary and taking a reflexive position during the research process, often not mentioned in other literature. Chapter 4 engages with ethical issues of doing research in institutional settings.
The second section, Chapters 5–9, focuses on practical issues in doing such research. Chapter 5 provides an overview of the data collection stage. It recognises the diversity of data sources and critically evaluates the benefits and limitations of naturally occurring data and researcher-generated data. In Chapter 6, the authors report the transcription process and highlight the debate around the level of detail regarding applied CA research. They introduce in particular the commonly used Jefferson system, but note that there might be varying degrees of simplification in applying this system to practice due to its inherent complexity. Chapter 7 discusses three core activities involved in critical analytic practices and identifies eight practical stages of undertaking an applied CA study. Notably, the advance of technology, in particular, the use of digital tools, has contributed greatly to applied conversation research, which is the focus of Chapter 8. It assesses the pros and cons of audio- and video-recording devices, and evaluates the potential of digital tools for supporting transcription and data analysis. Chapter 9 describes the issues of quality in applied CA research and presents a series of debates in this regard, which may serve to clarify our thoughts on this conversation analytical perspective.
The third section, Chapters 10–12, concerns the dissemination of research. In Chapter 10, the authors introduce the notion of evidence in research practice. They argue for the importance of qualitative evidence, and note that applied CA is ‘fundamentally focused on practice’ (p. 227). Chapter 11 describes the factors pertinent to disseminating applied CA research, involving journal publication, thesis or dissertation defence and conference presentation. Chapter 12 wraps up the whole book, lists some empirical examples and points to future directions of applied CA research.
This book makes a significant contribution to enriching the field of CA. While over the past few decades, there has been much CA research devoted to various mundane and institutional settings, this volume is, to the best of my knowledge, the first to date that systematically introduces how to conduct an applied CA research study. It informs readers of the overall procedure at both global and local levels. At a global level, it is structured into three clear-cut sections, while at a local level, every step is spelled out within each of the three sections. Such straightforward layout of the book can facilitate readers’ understanding and ease their possible reference to any point of the overall procedure.
The book has been developed to be a foundational text and a springboard for readers to move on to more sophisticated resources in this field. Thus, it includes recommended readings at the end of each chapter and serves to guide readers through some of the more challenging aspects of conducting an applied CA study. It also includes a question and answer section at the end of each chapter. These cover frequently asked questions about various aspects of applied CA research. These two features may enhance its accessibility to readers.
On the whole, the volume provides a practical and accessible guide to planning, conducting and disseminating applied CA research. Thus, it can be used as a reference guide for scholars, in particular, novice researchers in the field of CA. In addition, another important feature of this book is that it is not discipline-specific. It draws together a range of examples from various institutional contexts. Consequently, it may also inform researchers and practitioners in a wider range of areas, such as sociology, education, forensic science and media, just to name a few.