Compare methods

	Appraisal Analysis	Conversation Analysis
Field	Linguistics	Qualitative
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	2005	Late 1960s–1974 (foundational lectures 1964–1972; landmark article 1974)
Originator	J. R. Martin and P. R. R. White	Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson
Type	Qualitative analysis of evaluative and stance-bearing language	Qualitative research method
Seminal source	Martin, J. R., & White, P. R. R. (2005). The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9781403904096	Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735.
Aliases	Appraisal Framework Analysis, Evaluation Analysis, Attitude-Engagement-Graduation Analysis	CA, talk-in-interaction, sequential analysis, interactional analysis
Related	4	6
Summary	Appraisal analysis is the systematic study of evaluative language — how speakers and writers express feelings, make judgements, value things, take a stance toward other voices, and turn the volume of their evaluations up or down. Developed by James Martin and Peter White within the interpersonal metafunction of systemic functional linguistics, the appraisal framework codes evaluative meaning along three systems: ATTITUDE (the kinds of feeling expressed), ENGAGEMENT (how the text positions itself among alternative voices and viewpoints), and GRADUATION (how evaluations are intensified or softened, sharpened or blurred). The method makes the often-invisible work of evaluation explicit, showing how texts construe stance and build alignment with their readers.	Conversation Analysis (CA) is a qualitative research method that examines the fine-grained sequential structure of naturally occurring talk and social interaction. Developed by sociologists Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson in the 1960s and 1970s, CA investigates how participants in a conversation accomplish social actions — such as invitations, refusals, or diagnoses — through the precise moment-by-moment organisation of their talk, including turn-taking, sequence structure, repair, and recipient design.