Conversation Analysis — Studying Talk-in-Interaction

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.