Open AccessExploring the Discursive Positioning of a Schizophrenic Inpatient via Method Triangulation
Author(s) -
Irit Kupferberg,
Izhak Gilat,
Eyal Dahan,
Adiel Doron
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of qualitative methods
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1609-4069
DOI - 10.1177/160940691301200108
Subject(s) - triangulation , construct (python library) , interpersonal communication , psychology , conversation , relation (database) , process (computing) , conversation analysis , computer science , epistemology , sociology , social psychology , data mining , communication , philosophy , geography , cartography , programming language , operating system
The article examines the contribution of method triangulation to the study of the self-construction of a schizophrenic inpatient in several encounters with a psychiatrist. We used institutional conversation analysis to probe the data for interactional sequence organization, while a positioning analysis enabled us to explore different levels of interpersonal positioning. Positioning is defined as a process whereby interlocutors locate one or several dimensions of their self in relation to others. Using these analyses, we identified, described, and interpreted the inpatient's discursive attempts, successes, and failures to construct who she was in the psychiatrist-inpatient encounters. The theoretical, methodological, and method frameworks are presented in the first, second, third, and fourth sections. Then, illustrative data are presented and analyzed in the fifth and sixth sections. Finally, the insights gained from the analyses, as well as the contribution of method triangulation, are elaborated on in the discussion