Skip Navigation



Family Practice Advance Access published online on June 25, 2009
Family Practice, doi:10.1093/fampra/cmp038
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
26/5/413    most recent
cmp038v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Shaw, S. E
Right arrow Articles by Bailey, J.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Shaw, S. E
Right arrow Articles by Bailey, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2009 The Authors
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Discourse analysis: what is it and why is it relevant to family practice?

Sara E Shaw and Julia Bailey

Research Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK

Correspondence to Sara Shaw, Department of Primary Care Development, Education and Policy, University College London, Holborn Union Building, Highgate Hill, London N19 5LW, UK; E-mail: s.shaw{at}pcps.ucl.ac.uk

Received 26 September 2008; Revised 9 April 2009; Accepted 19 May 2009.


  Abstract

This paper aims to illustrate what discourse analysis is and how it can contribute to our understanding of family practice. Firstly, we describe what ‘discourse analysis’ is, mapping the discourse analysis terrain by discussing four studies relevant to primary care to illustrate different methodological approaches and key concepts. We then address the practicalities of how to actually do discourse analysis, providing readers with a worked example using one particular approach. Thirdly, we touch on some common debates about discursive research. We conclude by advocating that researchers and practitioners take up the challenge of understanding, utilizing and extending the field of discourse studies within family practice.

Keywords. Discourse analysis, family practice, methodology, primary health care, qualitative research.

Shaw SE and Bailey J. Discourse analysis: what is it and why is it relevant to family practice? Family Practice 2009; Pages: 1–7 of 7.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Fam PractHome page
M. Kelly
The role of theory in qualitative health research
Fam. Pract., October 29, 2009; (2009) cmp077v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.