Mediated discourse analysis

Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) (coined by late Ron Scollon) is a specialised form of linguistic discourse analysis (similar to Critical Discourse Analysis)--it mediates discourse, agency, and practice into what Scollon calls a "nexus of practice." The goal of MDA is to focus on discourse in action, as opposed to discourse as action, thus making discourse analysts responsible for applying discourse into various practical and useful contexts.

MDA is realized in practice through the research strategy of nexus analysis which is suitable for studying complex, evolving processes in order to shed light on social action not only in situ but also as reaching across long-span timescales. Nexus analysis is used also in fields other than linguistic studies. Examples of studies using nexus analysis have focused on micro perspectives but also on issues on macro level, e.g. when interpreting video diaries produced by children (Iivari et al., 2014), studying popular media as a pervasive educative force (Wohlwend & Medina, 2012), and building an information infrastructure in a city (Halkola et al., 2012).

See also

• mediated communication
• Interactional sociolinguistics

References

• Halkola, E., Iivari, N., Kuure, L., Kinnula, M., & Molin-Juustila, T. (2012). Children’s participation in constructing the Future School: A study of a large-scale effort involving ICT. International Journal of Social and Organizational Dynamics in IT, 2(2), 48-64.
• Iivari, N., Kinnula, M., Kuure, L., & Molin-Juustila, T. (2014). Using video diary as a means for data gathering with children - Encountering ‘identities in the making’. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 72(5), 507–521.
• Jones, Rodney and Norris, Sigrid, eds. (2006) Discourse in Action: Introducing Mediated Discourse Analysis. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
• Wohlwend, K., & Medina, C. (2012). Media as nexus of practice: remaking identities in What Not to Wear. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 33(4), 545-560.