Alexa Hepburn, PhD, is the Research Professor of Communication at Rutgers University. Dr. Hepburn's research focuses on the use and development of conversation analytic methods, including the notation and analysis of emotional expression within social interaction the interactional role of interrogatives such as tag questions parents' strategies for managing their children's behavior and the empirical grounding of these interests in everyday interaction. Her work highlights limitations in more traditional perspectives on emotion and influence, and supports applied work in professional client encounters, including medical consultations and helpline interactions. Dr. Hepburn also continues to develop and deliver training workshops to various practitioners.Jonathan Potter, DPhil, is dean of the School of Communication and Information and Distinguished Professor of Communication at Rutgers University. Dr. Potter addresses fundamental issues of theory and method, and has made substantial research contributions in the area of language and racism, the operation of helplines, and the role of cognition in communication. His 987 book, Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour, developed a new way of thinking about social psychology- highlighting the role of communication- and continues to be widely influential. His 99 book on epistemics, Representing Reality: Discourse, Rhetoric and Social Construction has been heavily cited.

• Series Foreword-Clara E. Hill and Sarah Knox. Conceptual Foundations of Conversation AnalysisRationaleHistorical and Theoretical OriginsConversation Analysis and the Qualitative TraditionThe Philosophical and Epistemological Background to Conversation AnalysisHow to Read This BookSummary2. Designing and Conducting Conversation AnalysisGaining Access and Recruiting ParticipantsData CollectionResearch Team ConsiderationsData SessionsAdjusting for Biases and ExpectationsResearch QuestionsIdentifying PracticesBuilding Collections and Managing DataData ManagementSummary3. Transcribing for Conversation AnalysisGetting StartedTranscription ConventionsSpeech Delivery and IntonationFeatures Accompanying TalkTranscribing Visible ConductSummary4. Turn Taking, Sequence Organization, and Action FormationIdentifying and Applying the Tools of Conversation AnalysisTaking Turns in ConversationTalking in SequencesSummary of Sequence OrganizationAction FormationEpistemicsTips for Applying the Tools in This ChapterSummary5. Storytelling, Repair, Preference Organization, and Person ReferenceNarratives and StorytellingRepairPreference OrganizationPerson ReferenceIntegrating and Applying the Analytic ToolsSummary. Writing the ManuscriptIntroductionMethod and Materials SectionResults or Analysis SectionDiscussion and Conclusion SectionTips for Applying the Tools in This ChapterSummary7. Methodological IntegrityFoundational IssuesCategorizing Conversation Analysis as a MethodUtility in Achieving Research GoalsSummary8. Summary and ConclusionsBenefitsLimitationsMoving Forward With Conversation AnalysisAppendix: Exemplar StudiesReferencesIndexAbout the AuthorsAbout the Series Editors

Hepburn and Potter detail the rigorous and methodical tools of conversation analysis that lay bare how we coordinate talk, action, and meaning in everyday life. Their brief, accessible text clearly guides the reader through the basic machinery of conversation, including turn-taking, sequence organization, and action formation. An essential resource for understanding the science of conversation. - Martha Augoustinos, PhD, BA (Hons), FAPS, FASSA, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia In this much welcomed work, two leading scholars provide a clear, elegant, and illuminating introduction to one of the few systematic means for studying human interdependency. - Kenneth J. Gergen, PhD, Department of Psychology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, United States