To my understanding discourse analysis an analytical technique used in attempt to understand the presence of various topics and issue in a social context. It is performed by considering the words utilised in discourse, the way in which they are used (tone, intonation, accent) and when they are used. These can be words featured in various mediums from written communication, to film, phone conversations and face-to-face conversation, amongst many others. In face-to-face conversation especially such communicative techniques as facial expression and body language can also be analysed under the scope of discourse analysis for further aid in interpreting meaning and significance of perceptions and interpretations of whatever topic is being studied.
The study I found was a fascinating study into the perceptions of sex amongst adolescent women in South Africa and how these have been determined by a range of social influences from ‘intimate relationships to the broader contexts of gender, ethnicity and social class’. In order to determine the impact of these influences the research method used was focused around interviewing adolescent women in South Africa and scrutinizing the interviews using discourse analysis.
The article enriched my understanding in the following 2 ways:
- It opened my eyes to the concept of conflict between responding to myriad influences regarding sex, which may lead to adolescent women having sex, and respecting certain specific influences on interpretations of the nature of sex, such as those dictated commonly by South African women’s mothers’ i.e. ‘sex is dangerous’.
- It reaffirmed my understanding of the sensitivity required for comfortable open conversation in health interview settings, in the study it is described that the initial approach taken was too forward and intimidating to the women interviewed and so the questions used were changed.
- Lesch E, Kruger M-L. (2005) ‘Mothers, daughters and sexual agency in one low-income South African community’ Social Science & Medicine 61 1072–1082
