Exploring the Discursive Positioning of a Schizophrenic Inpatient via Method Triangulation

• Main Authors: Irit Kupferberg PhD, Izhak Gilat PhD, Eyal Dahan MD, Adiel Doron MD
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2013-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Qualitative Methods
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691301200108

The article examines the contribution of method triangulation to the study of the self-construction of a schizophrenic inpatient in several encounters with a psychiatrist. We used institutional conversation analysis to probe the data for interactional sequence organization, while a positioning analysis enabled us to explore different levels of interpersonal positioning. Positioning is defined as a process whereby interlocutors locate one or several dimensions of their self in relation to others. Using these analyses, we identified, described, and interpreted the inpatient's discursive attempts, successes, and failures to construct who she was in the psychiatrist-inpatient encounters. The theoretical, methodological, and method frameworks are presented in the first, second, third, and fourth sections. Then, illustrative data are presented and analyzed in the fifth and sixth sections. Finally, the insights gained from the analyses, as well as the contribution of method triangulation, are elaborated on in the discussion.