From "Linguistics and Discourse Analysis" (Ellen Barton in English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline)
Discourse analysts look for the features and patterns in extended stretches of language that make connections to the sociocultural context. Many of these connections could be termed conventions of discourse, that is, the regular connection between the use of a discourse practice or set of practices and their meaning and significance in context. Discourse analysis is an empirical method: it looks for features and patterns that occur with regularity across a body of data in order to describe the conventional relationships between the way the language is organized and the meaning, significance, or interpretation of that language in context. (82)
Sources
Overview:
Barton, E. "Linguistics and Discourse Analysis." In English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline. Ed. Bruce McComiskey. Urbana: IL: NCTE. 67-105.
How To:
Barton, E. "Linguistic Discourse Analysis: How the Language in Texts Works." What Writing Does and How it Does It: An Introduction to Analysis of Text and Textual Practice. Ed. Charles Bazerman and Paul Prior. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. 57-82.
Discourse Analysis and Composition Studies:
Barton, Ellen and Gail Stygall. "Linguistics and Composition: A Parallel History." In Discourse Studies in Composition. Eds. Ellen Barton and Gail Stygall. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton, 2002.
Barton, Ellen and Gail Stygall, eds. Discourse Studies in Composition. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton, 2002.
Example of Discourse Analysis:
Barton, E. "Discourse Methods and Critical Practices in Professional Communication: The Front-Stage and Back-Stage Discourse of Prognosis in Medicine." Journal of Business and Technical Communication 18 (2004): 67-111.
