23
Once footage was collected, data was transcribed as verbatim to produce a transcript including simply the words spoken by participants. Following verbatim transcription, specific extracts were selected based upon potential phenomena of interest such as disagreements, laughter, insults and terms of endearment. Overall these extracts included 62 in total and these extracts were transcribed using Jefferson transcription conventions 19 which uses symbols in order to identify details of the communication such as pitch shifting, timing of pauses, overlap and emphasis which is evidenced in the analysis section. Following Jefferson transcription, each transcript was analysed through identifying recurring patterns in the data and the actions they facilitated.
CA was the most appropriate method for this research due to its foundations in ethnomethodology and focus upon considering the details of communication. 20 Harvey Sacks, a Founding Sociologist, presented a new qualitative research approach in the 1960s, rooted in the core concept of ethnomethodology and focused on studying naturalistic everyday conversation, most often telephone calls. 21 The roots of CA suggest we share an underlying knowledge of the rules of communication, allowing us to engage with each other in a way considered socially appropriate.
In particular, CA builds upon three fundamental assumptions:
1. Talk is sequentially ordered: Specific sequences produce actions. 2. Context-shaped: Facilitating understanding from immediately preceding turns. 3. Talk as an action: All talk produces a specific desired action.
Essentially, CA aims to understand how participants take turns in conversations, and ultimately how we overcome difficulties in conversation structure. 22 From analysing these interactions, CA aims to decipher exactly what conversational devices are utilised, often referred to as features or phenomena. For example, the amount of overlap or pause between speakers, 23 or presence of laughter. 24 CA analyses the data to find these recurring phenomena in order to understand how they affect talk.
19 Gail Jefferson,“ An exercise in the transcription and analysis of laughter,” in Handbook of Discourse Analysis Vol. 3. Discourse and Dialogue, ed. by Teun Van Dijk( New York: Academic Press, 1985). 20 Ian Hutchby and Robin Wooffitt, Conversation Analysis( Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008). 21 Paul Ten Have, Doing Conversation Analysis: A Practical Guide.( London: SAGE Publications,
1999). 22 Dennis Howitt, and Duncan Cramer, Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology( Essex:
Pearson Education Limited, 2011). 23 Ten Have, Doing Conversation Analysis: A Practical Guide. 24 Holt,( 2010),“ The Last Laugh”.