Conversation Analysis (CA) is one of the predominant methods for the detailed study of human social interaction. Bringing together thirty-four chapters written by a team of world-renowned experts, this Handbook represents the first comprehensive overview of conversation-analytic methods. Topics include how to collect, manage, and transcribe data; how to explore data in search of possible phenomena; how to form and develop collections of phenomena; how to use different types of evidence to analyze data; how to code and quantify interaction; and how to apply, publish, and communicate findings to those who stand to benefit from them. Each method is introduced clearly and systematically, and examples of CA in different languages and cultures are included, to show how it can be applied in multiple settings. Comprehensive yet accessible, it is essential reading for researchers and advanced students in disciplines such as Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication and Psychology.

‘This Handbook is a comprehensive tool for training and research, which will be very useful for both novices as well as experienced scholars in the field. It focuses on the research processes and methodology of CA, and these processes are illustrated and discussed with reference to prominent work in all the major research fields of CA/IL.’

Margret Selting - Professor Emerita at the University of Potsdam, Germany

‘This is not an orthodox handbook but a novel and practical research manual on how to do conversation analysis. It will provide practical steps that both students and scholars can apply to their research.’

Gregory Matoesian - Professor, Department of Criminology, Law & Justice & Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois at Chicago