Taking the road less travelled: how corpus-assisted discourse studies can enrich qualitative explorations of large textual datasets

Gillings, M., Learmonth, M. ORCID: 0000-0003-3436-9386 and Mautner, G., 2024. Taking the road less travelled: how corpus-assisted discourse studies can enrich qualitative explorations of large textual datasets. British Journal of Management. ISSN 1045-3172

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Abstract

How might interpretivist qualitative researchers tackle large data sets consisting of millions or even billions of words? Corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS) is the approach we explore here. Specifically designed for the analysis of voluminous textual data, it offers a recognised empirical approach for making sense of such data. But it does so within an epistemology that understands language to be central in shaping our understanding of the world around us, so that CADS can assist researchers in revealing the social dynamics of the text – including the ideology and power that is latent in many such corpora. Bringing together the training of applied linguists and a management scholar, we discuss the background to CADS and its differences from text mining approaches such as topic modelling, which have been more widely used in management studies to date. Focused on the needs of people who are new to the approach, we then offer a worked example to show CADS’ potential in exploring a management-related corpus. Our paper concludes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach and its potential for future discursively-orientated management research – especially in the context of the rise of ‘big data’.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	British Journal of Management
Creators:	Gillings, M., Learmonth, M. and Mautner, G.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	1 March 2024
ISSN:	1045-3172
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1111/1467-8551.12816 DOI 1864605 Other
Rights:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gillings, M., Learmonth, M., & Mautner, G. (2024). Taking the road less travelled: how corpus-assisted discourse studies can enrich qualitative explorations of large textual datasets. British Journal of Management, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12816 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	22 Feb 2024 09:20
Last Modified:	11 Mar 2024 09:17
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/50911

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