Editing Conversation analysis (section)

{{Short description|Approach to the study of social interaction}}
{{Sociology}}
{{Linguistics}}
'''Conversation analysis''' ('''CA''') is an approach to the study of [[social interaction]] that investigates the methods members use to achieve mutual understanding through the transcription of naturally occurring conversations from audio or video.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Flick |first1=Uwe |title=An introduction to qualitative research |date=2009 |publisher=Sage Publications |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-1-84787-323-1 |edition=4th}}</ref> It focuses on both verbal and non-verbal conduct, especially in situations of everyday life. CA originated as a [[sociology|sociological]] method, but has since spread to other fields. CA began with a focus on casual [[conversation]], but its methods were subsequently adapted to embrace more task- and institution-centered interactions, such as those occurring in doctors' offices, courts, law enforcement, helplines, educational settings, and the mass media, and focus on [[Multimodality|multimodal]] and nonverbal activity in interaction, including gaze, body movement and gesture. As a consequence, the term ''conversation analysis'' has become something of a misnomer, but it has continued as a term for a distinctive and successful approach to the analysis of interactions. CA and [[ethnomethodology]] are sometimes considered one field and referred to as ''EMCA''.

Conversation analysis should not be confused with other methods of analyzing conversation or interaction, such as other areas of [[pragmatics]] and [[discourse analysis]].<ref>Liddicoat, Anthony J. (2022) ''An Introduction to Conversation Analysis'', 3. ed. Bloomsbury Academic.</ref>{{Rp|9}}