The politics of historical discourse analysis: a qualitative research method?

Abstract: This article deals with the ways in which historical discourse analysis is at once different from and similar to research described as qualitative or quantitative. It discusses the consequences of applying the standards of such methods to historical discourse analysis. It is pointed out that although the merit of research using historical discourse analysis must not be judged by the standards of qualitative methods alone, it can be easier to admit the influence of the discourse on methodology. Therefore, the article considers whether and how the ideas of validity, reliability, sample, and transferability can be used to explain the merit of study using historical discourse analysis. The author also discusses the basic concepts and principles of historical discourse analysis, and he describes step-bystep a particular way of conducting historical discourse analysis. Published in Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, Vol. 31, No. 2, May 2010, 251–264.

See also Historical discourse analysis as professional and political reflexivity. In J. Kauko, R. Rinne, & H. Kynkaanniemi (Eds.), Restructuring the truth of schooling. Essays on discursive practices in the sociology and politics of education. A festschrift for Hannu Simola (pp. 133–149). Research in in Educational Sciences 48. Pubished by the Finnish Educational Research Association (FERA).