Off the record: The transcription of parliamentary debates for political discourse analysis

Shaw, S. 2018. Off the record: The transcription of parliamentary debates for political discourse analysis. in: Kranert, M. and Horan, G. (ed.) Doing Politics: Discursivity, Performativity and Mediation in Political Discourse Amsterdam John Benjamins. pp. 105-126

Chapter titleOff the record: The transcription of parliamentary debates for political discourse analysis
AuthorsShaw, S.
EditorsKranert, M. and Horan, G.
Abstract

This chapter examines the benefits and drawbacks of using Official Reports, such as the UK House of Commons ‘Hansard’ for political discourse analysis. Previous studies identifying transformations that occur to the oral version of events in the process of constructing Official Reports (e.g. Slembrouk 1992), show that transcribers and editors make significant changes and omissions, raising questions about their suitability for the analysis of parliamentary discourse. Acknowledging the theoretical, analytical and interpretative elements of all transcriptions, I critically appraise different types of political discourse analysis that use UK Official Report data. I conclude with some suggestions about the categories affected by Official Report transformations, and suggest that using this data for the analysis of parliamentary discourse should always be critical and reflexive.

Keywordstranscription, political debates, Official Report, Hansard report, Political discourse analysis
Book titleDoing Politics: Discursivity, Performativity and Mediation in Political Discourse
Page range105-126
Year2018
PublisherJohn Benjamins
Publication dates
Published12 Dec 2018
Place of publicationAmsterdam
ISBN9789027201935
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.80.05sha

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