A Tool Also for Linguists: A Review of Paul Sullivan’s Qualitative Data Analysis Using a Dialogical Approach

Abstract

Paul Sullivan (2013) introduces a method of speech analysis that uses a dialogical approach, which is distinguished from critical discourse analysis, phenomenological analysis, and grounded theory by its hermeneutic of trust. In this approach, data is analyzed using a pairing of bureaucratic and theoretical methods that indicates in the speech where the key moments are and where intonation expresses meaning. In the evaluation process subjectivity is defined and described. The types of data that would be especially suited to this approach include interviews, focus group speech, and conversation. This dialogic approach also has applications in the field of linguistics.