Thesis home ç http://se.unisa.edu.au/a_files/thesis.htm

PLAN for Terrell’s thesis  Monday, June 03, 2002

 

Chapter One              Introduction. (‘The Nature of Conversation in Text-based Chatrooms’)

Chapter Two              Literature Review

Chapter Three           Methodology (Conversational Analysis theories)

Chapter Four             Procedures - Case Studies

Chapter Five              Discussion – Comparing and contrast of case studies

Chapter Six                Conclusion

Chapter Seven          Bibliography

Chapter Eight            Appendixes 

 

Case Studies each divided into;

Introduction

Methodology

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Appendix: Links to raw data

 

Case Studies: theory used, chatroom feature highlighted, writers emphasized

 

#

Theory

Methodological focus

Authors I have referenced

Chatroom Features

1

Reading

Response

Web of authorship, readership & subjectivity
  • 2-readings: title of chatroom and chat- text.
  • Reading text as fact.
  • Author-Reader same

2

CMC

Introduces the technology into the communicative act, and reveals the multi-layeredness of the chat
  •  
  • Real time conversation to many people in different locals.
  • Talk in more than one chatsites at one time.

3

Semiotic Analysis

Introduces a socially-embedded reading of communication still regarded as symbolic activity.
  • M. A. K. Halliday
  • S.C. Levinson
  • Robert Nofsinger
  • Emoticons, virtual chats[1], avatars (author as sign/symbol)
  • multiple author selves in same chatroom

4

Speech Act

What a 'speech act' is when it is conducted in written: an altogether different coding.

 

  • John Austin
  • John Searle
  • Disruption: Timed interruption from server’s ads.
  • Threads and discontinuity
  • Speech as home. Chatrooms as created place

5

Discourse Analysis

Symbolic (language) and the (embodied) social/cultural, as linked within practice.
  • Norman Fairclough
  • Deborah Tannen
  • M. Stubbs
  • Fleeting text
  • Chatroom graffiti

6

CA

Focuses right in onto the details of communicative exchanges CREATE A CA CODING TO HANDLE CHAT ‘THREADS’
  • Sacks, Jefferson and Schegloff
  • Robert Nofsinger
  • Erving Goffman
  • Slade and Eggins
  • Lurking
  • Collaborated-Selves as The Author

7

(linguistic schools)

 
  •  
  • Abbreviation, spelling and grammar errors.

 

Features of Chatroom (emphasised in Case Study - )

 

          • Author as reader, reader as author (Case Study 1)
          • Misleading titles (Case Study 1)
          • Multiple-Authorship in different chatrooms (Case Study 2)

o       Avatars (Case Study 3)

o       Emoticons (Case Study 3)

o       Threads and Discontinuity (Case Study 4)

          • Discontinuity, i.e. popup ads or ads amongst the turn-takings (Case Study 4)
          • Chatroom graffiti (Case Study 5)

o       Fleeting text (Case Study 5)

o       Lurking (Case Study 6)

          • Collaborated-Selves (Case Study 6)

o       Spelling, Abbreviations and Grammatical errors (Case Study 7)

          • Long gaps between asking and answering in turn takings with other turn-takings in between
          • Metaphysical-chat-linguistics; anticipating discourse
          • Repeated utterances with little or no content i.e ‘hello’, ‘anyone want to chat’ (Case Study 1)
          • Keyboard writing not showing emotions of hand-written correspondence

 

 

 

3/06/2002 12:58 PM


[1] List of chatrooms running 3D avatars and virtual worlds. http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Cyberspace/Online_Communities/