Discourse Analysis: Theory and Practice

This chapter details the theoretical frameworks involved in the discourse study of online self-help groups for anxiety and depression. The study is informed throughout by the philosophy of social constructionism, which forms the foundation of the research methodology, theoretical framework, and analytical approaches employed. The theoretical background of discourse analysis approaches elucidates how social meanings in different contexts can be revealed by studying language in discourse. Responding to the online context of the study, the notion of Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) was introduced to explain the applicability of discourse analysis in analyzing the specific context of computer-mediated communication. The chapter then proposes and introduces mixed methods discourse analysis (MMDA) as the predominant approach to the study of the online communication of social support.