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ETHNOGRAPHIC
RESEARCH
OBSERVATION & TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
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TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
To analyze a text used by your discourse community, readthe text
and ask the following questions of it:
Who wrote the text?
What is his/her role or position in (or in relation to)
thediscourse community?
Who is the intended audience?
What is the exigence for this text? What prompted thewriter to
write?
Was this text written specifically for the
discoursecommunity?
These questions should remind you of the rhetoricalsituation
terms we learned last semester.
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TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
CONTINUED
Further questions to ask when analyzing a text:
What issue is being addressed?
What position does the writer take?
What is the authors major claim or thesis? What evidence/reasons
does the author use to support the
claim? Do you think its good evidence?
How do members of the discourse community use the text?
If you are a member of the discourse community you
areinvestigating, you should consider your relationship to the
text.Has it informed your participation in the community? How?
Doyou agree with the authors claims or information presented?
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WHAT KINDS OF
TEXTS CAN YOUANALYZE?
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TEXTS
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OBSERVATIONS
You should observe your discourse community for at least 30
minutes, and take notes with Swales in mind.
Take notes on member behaviors and levels of
expertise/authority.
Language practices: community literacy and use of lexis
Multi-literacies: do members of the community use
multiple literacies while participating in the community?
Sources of conflictparticularly in areas of language use,
conventions/formatting, authority/expertise
Modes of belongingnew member vs. old behavior.
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OBSERVATIONS
CONTINUED
When you are observing, be as descriptive as possible
(again, with particular regard for language &
communication)
You may choose to observe objectivelyin which case yourposition
is a silent observer. You should record as much
information as possible, but not participate.
You can also act as a participant observer. If you choose to
do this, you can participate in the community, talk to
people,
and ask them questions as you see fit. Make sure to record
your own actions within the group as well as the actions of
others.
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WHAT SHOULD I
OBSERVE FOR?
Consider what is generally common knowledge about your
groupfor example, if you were observing a soccer team, the
average reader will already know what soccer is and what a
soccer ball is and what it looks like. They may not know how
games are scored, or the names of plays/moves, etc.
If you are going to be a participant observer, talk to your
subjects and ask them questions about the actions they take
with regards to the group.
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A FEW MORE
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
WHEN OBSERVING
How many activities were going on in the group during the
time you observed them?
What sorts of differences do you notice among group
members as far as levels of expertise, participation,
enthusiasm, and use of group lexis?
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IN CLASS PRACTICE
Try to find some textual resources related to your discourse
community on the internet. Analyze one of these texts
according to the questions we have discussed--if you find a
good text, the work you complete today can be used for your
report.
