ABSTRACT

The chapter begins by explaining in simple terms what is meant by multimodal discourse analysis. It explains how this is similar to critical discourse analysis in the sense that it carries out close critical analysis of instances of communication. But in this case, analysts also pay attention to communication through images, diagrams, the designs of webpages, etc. The opening section to the chapter lays out the basic premise and the concepts involved in multimodal discourse analysis. Using a series of examples, some of which were also used in the previous chapter where the focus was on language only, the next sections provide a number of tools that allow us to be more systematic in regards to how we approach images on social media. Such tools allow us to draw out meanings that may be less obvious to the casual viewer. These include how to analyze the representation of persons, objects, actions, and settings. The chapter then shows how to apply these concepts to an actual case study research project. It discusses how to ask meaningful and workable research questions, and how to relate and position these within an existing body of research literature. It looks at sampling and handling of data and then lays out the stages of analysis. Finally, it considers how to reflect in the findings and their relevance in the context of the existing research.