CONVERSATION ANALYSIS - WHAT IS IT, CAN PSYCHOLOGISTS USE IT

Conversation analysis offers valuable insight into how particular goal s are achieved in conversation and is therefore a useful methodology t o employ in psychological research. The aim of this article is to intr oduce the theoretical background and practice of conversation analysis . A review of some of the important literature in the area is introduc ed, after which the authors give some examples of psychological resear ch which has combined conversation analysis with what is introduced br oadly as 'discourse-analytic research'. The authors' aim is to demonst rate that conversation analysis can and does make a significant contri bution to psychological research. This is particularly important in So uth Africa (and elsewhere) where language is often used to obscure rac ist discourses and to hide different layers of meaning about conflicti ng interests. These strategic processes need to be explored, analysed, and published.