The idea of a discourse community is integral to understanding how communication is created, shared, and sustained within a particular group. The concept of discourse communities has been studied by scholars in a variety of fields and has been used to explain how social, educational, and professional contexts are shaped. Discourse communities can be considered within the context of a specific organization, classroom, or even a family unit. To gain a better understanding of this concept, interviewing members of discourse communities can be a great way to get a better understanding of how communication works within these settings. This blog post will provide some general questions to consider when conducting a discourse community interview. These questions should allow for the interviewer to uncover the complex dynamics of discourse communities, and gain a better understanding of how communication occurs in those settings.
Discourse community interview with katie
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- Conduct at least one observation of the group in action. (30 minutes – 1 hour) .
- Take down notes while keeping Swales in mind (you might even list his traits on your notepad).
- Look for specific problems like authority, multiliteracies, enculturation issues, etc.
- Write:
- What/when will you observe?
- What will you be looking for?
- Member behavior (expert and novice)
- Language practices: evidence of community literacy, use of lexis, etc.
- Multiliteracies: In what unique ways must you “read” in order to participate in this community?
- Evidence of authority, kinds of power
- Sources of conflict: with conventions, language practices, authority, and/or identity
- Modes of belonging: what distinguishes newcomer and old timer behavior?
- Other (explain)
- Share.
- Gather any texts that the community uses. This could be:
- Emails
- Newsletters
- Menus
- Playbooks
- Coupons
- Facebook posts/message boards
- Flyers
- What texts will you gather, and how will you gather them (scans, photos, copies, or originals)?
- Share.
- Who are you going to interview?
- Why?
- When?
- How do you plan to record the interview?
- Write inquiries pertaining to your search criteria (authority, lexis, genres, etc.). ) .
- Try to have at least 5-7 questions.
- Make your questions specific to your community.
- Be prepared to ask follow-up questions.
- Let’s practice interviewing.
- Get in groups of 3-5.
- Choose one person to be the interviewee.
- Interviewee: tell your group what your discourse community is.
- Try out questions to see how they work.
- Ask the interviewee questions about goals. Make the questions specific to their community.
- Examples: Tell me about your group.
- What are some of the purposes for your group?
- What do you do to achieve those purposes?
- Have you ever had group members who disagree with the objectives?
- Based on what works, create a goal-related interview question for yourself.
- Ask the interviewee questions about expertise and participation. Make the questions specific to their community.
- Examples: How long have you been a member?
- Why did you join?
- What must you accomplish in order to be taken seriously as a member?
- How often do you go to meetings?
- Do those around you respect or listen to you?
- Are you considered an expert or a newbie?
- How can you identify the group’s newcomers?
- Are some people more involved than others?
- Based on what works, create a question about participation and expertise for your own interview.
- Ask the interviewee questions about intercommunication and genres. Make the questions specific to their community.
- Examples include how your group communicates, whether meetings are held, and whether an email list is maintained. ) .
- Are there specific ways that members are expected to use the texts in your group—are there newsletters, handbooks, Facebook pages, etc.—and how are these texts used?
- Are there any applications of these texts that a stranger might not comprehend?
- Based on what works, create a question about intercommunication and genres for your own interview.
- Ask the interviewee questions about lexis. Make the questions specific to their community.
- Are there any specific terms or acronyms that your group uses, for instance?
- Why do they use these terms?
- How long did it take you to learn those terms?
- How would you define [x, y, z]?
- Based on what works, create a question about lexis for your own interview.
- What worked? What didn’t? Why?
- Share some of your interview questions.
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1. You and your partner should locate a suitable subject for the interview in your DC, such as a teacher, social worker, biologist, healthcare provider, IT expert, journalist, business owner, or corporate manager. I can also give you a list of WSU professors who are open to participating in an interview. Assuming that not every interviewee will be able or willing to participate, try to find a “pool” of candidates. Initial contact can be made by telephone or email. Make sure to specify your objectives, the anticipated interview time (which will likely be around 45 minutes), and that the interview can take place during the required period of time (roughly Weeks 6–9 on the syllabus, October 4–25). Send a confirmation email ([email protected]) once you’ve received a positive response and determined the date and time of the interview. edu) to me.
3. Set a time for the interview with your DC member if you haven’t already. I advise sending a reminder email at least four days before the planned date. Regarding specifics on how to conduct the Q&A in a professional manner, see my handout “Conducting an Interview.” See Chapter 6 for more information on how to conduct better interviews. 7 from Qualitative Research: Decision Making through Understanding People, Cultures, and Markets, an eBook that you can easily access via the Eng 3010 Library Guide’s OWL page under “Research Methods,” on “Improving Interviewing (and Other Skills).” ”.
2. Before the interview, work with your partner to develop a list of questions. Focus on creating questions that will most likely result in in-depth answers to the following: (a) How do the writing practices in the DC you are researching reinforce and serve the group’s objectives? (b) What does “literacy” mean in this DC? Keep in mind Mirabelli’s definition of literacy as “extending beyond individual experiences of reading and writing to include the various modes of communication and situations of any socially significant group or network where la
4. The written version of the interview should include the names of the interviewee and the DC, as well as basic details about where and when it occurred, a discussion of why you chose this specific person as being well-suited to provide insights about the DC, a transcription of key sections of the interview, and a list of the actual interview questions.
You will use the two methods of interview and observation to gather primary data from this group in order to write the Synthesis Project on your discourse community (DC). For your Synthesis Project, which explores a primary research question about literacy practices in your DC, you will combine these two primary data sources with the (3) Rhetorical Analysis you completed as the first major assignment, and (4) Secondary Research (published sources) in the writing studies literature.
FAQ
What are examples of discourse communities?
- emergency room nurses.
- prison guards.
- political aides.
What are the 6 characteristics of a discourse community?
Six characteristics of discourse communities were outlined by him: 1) common public goals; 2) communication techniques among members; 3) participatory communication techniques; 4) genres that define the group; 5) a lexis; and 6) a level of knowledge required for membership (Swales, 471-473).
What is your discourse community?
People who adhere to a common set of fundamental ideals and beliefs are said to be members of a discourse community. Each discourse community has its own set of rules, both written and unwritten, that it employs to further a single objective.
What are the three types of discourse communities?
Then, local, focal, and “folocal” discourse communities are introduced, with the latter exhibiting traits of the first two.
