Panel 2: Methods Showcase (Didactic Panel): Methodological Issues in Analyzing Transcripts

Carol Heimer (Northwestern University/American Bar Foundation)

Ross Cheit (Brown University)
Elizabeth Mertz (American Bar Foundation/University of Wisconsin)
JuLeigh Petty (Vanderbilt University)

This Methods Showcase roundtable is designed for both newcomers and experienced scholars interested in research on transcripts. The roundtable will begin with a didactic introduction to basic methodological issues surrounding transcript analysis, using examples from the presenter’s own research. The remaining presentations will move to more advanced questions facing experienced researchers, encouraging a discussion with others in the audience in which scholars can talk about methodological problems and strategies for resolving them. The researchers on the panel will address questions ranging from the problems and advantages of using software packages, through best practices for studying transcripts in difficult arenas like those involving cross-cultural (and linguistic) translation, or violence (child sexual abuse, for example).