What's the score? Qualitative analysis in gender research

Abstract

Research on gender differences in interactive style has typically investigated the relative numbers of particular discourse features (such as interruptions or minimal responses) produced by females and males in different contexts. While this approach has provided a valuable means of testing a range of hypotheses about male and female styles of interaction and has led to the emergence of some clear trends, the evidence from individual studies is nevertheless often conflicting and difficult to interpret. This paper argues that quantitative methods used alone often fail to adequately capture the complexities of spoken interaction; the inclusion of qualitative analysis can produce a greater insight into the functions of different interactive strategies and provides a valuable additional perspective to research into gender differences. By taking into account the results of both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the same data, it is possible to gain a much clearer picture of the processes at work in an interaction than would otherwise be possible.