Archay, Melissa (2010) Reported Speech in a Qualitative Research Interview is Interesting. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The aim of the present exploratory study was to investigate the form, function and location of reported speech in a qualitative research interview. This study used a Conversation Analysis (CA) methodology to produce an unbiased and fine-grained analysis of interviewing practices to enhance evidence-based knowledge. The “how to interview” literature permeates the training of psychology students and yet research has shown that functional interviews in psychology defy these rules (Fiechtner & Christensen, 2010). The archival data for this study was extracted from a New Zealand race relations interview conducted by Margaret Wetherell in the 1980’s. The respondent was a white, middle classed male. A lesser but important aim of the present study was to screen the transcript data to ensure its adherence to the CA conventions of serial, adjacent and sequential organisation thus enabling the main analysis. CA studies of reported speech are still in their infancy with Buttny’s (2003) study as a standalone in the investigation of reported speech in a semi-structured qualitative research interview. The present study addressed this gap and used Buttny’s (2003) adaptation of Payne’s (n.d.) taxonomy to distinguish between the forms of reported speech as either direct reported speech or prototypical reported speech. The story telling sequence provided a contextual framework to locate the reported speech and determine its form and function. Instances of reported speech were found in the story background sequence and poststory expansion sequence with prototypical reported speech as the predominant form. The present study found Buttny’s taxonomy was problematic and analytic inferences were necessary to distinguish the form of reported speech, therefore compromising assertions made about its function.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Steven Christensen |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Psychology) |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Aug 2025 02:09 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Aug 2025 02:09 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52120 |
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