ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insight into the advantages of using naturally occurring data in the form of audio recorded conversations and outlines how such research could be conducted within the theoretical and methodological framework of discourse analysis. Discourse analysis is an umbrella concept which has its origins in the social constructionist perspective. Audio recordings of naturally occurring talk could be generated and approached in many ways. One way to understand and investigate the participation of people living with dementia in meetings with social and health care professionals is to focus on how the participants coordinate their talk. The use of audio-recorded data has made it possible to identify specific and various forms of participation by the person living with dementia in the assessment meeting and in the shaping of different care services. There are several implications for policy and practice from using discourse analysis conducted on a naturalistic audio-recorded data material involving people living with dementia.
