Collecting and Analysing Spoken Interaction

Abstract

In this chapter we’ll look at ways of collecting, transcribing and analysing spoken interaction. On a fairly basic level, this is something that anybody can do with relatively little effort, and it can be surprisingly rewarding. But it’s not quite as straightforward as it seems. The chapter will help you to avoid the basic pitfalls in data collection and will show you how to focus successfully on interesting features of talk, transcribing these at a level of delicacy appropriate to your needs (for a note on transcription conventions, see Box 4.1). By the end of the first level you should have the confidence and skill to undertake the sort of analysis that can transform your understanding of your own teaching. Readers who pursue their studies into Level 2 will find ways of honing their transcription and analytical skills, while more advanced researchers will have the chance to deepen their understanding of the way talk features within different traditions in QI and the relevance of this to broader issues.