Conversation Analysis and Online Interaction

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reviews research that uses conversation analysis to analyze online interaction. Research in this area has tended to focus on several key areas, and these are addressed in detail: turn taking, sequence organization, repair, openings, and embodied conduct. The focus is on how these features of interaction are organized online and across online platforms and how the interactional practices may orient to particular affordances of the platforms. The debates around the use of CA terminology when analyzing online interaction are also discussed. Overall, this review suggests that CA can offer in-depth evidence about the nature of online interaction and so can contribute to wider debates about the role of technology in society. At the same time, through analyzing online interaction there is the possibility for understanding how interactional practices arise and develop over time. Data are in American English, British English, and German.