de Villiers, Jessica
York University, Toronto
Jessica de Villiers
Graduate Programme in English
York University, Toronto
4700 Keele St.
North York, Ontario
Canada M3J 1P3
Title: Types of analysis in clinical language research projects
In the field of clinical language research, linguistics has a
central role to play. However, the role of discourse analysis in
language projects is less established. Although in theory people
recognize the relevance of close textual analysis, this is not
necessarily reflected in the application of linguistics in the
clinical field. The work of linguists in language research
projects is often restricted to what is termed quantitative
analysis, and this carries with it certain problems.
I will suggest that the distinction between quantitative and
qualitative is not an altogether helpful one, favoring less
encompassing descriptions such as "delicate analysis of particular
texts" and "large-scale statistical study". I will also argue for
the relevance of detailed analysis of particular texts in language
projects, with specific reference to the use of phasal analysis in
a clinical context.