Identity in Inter action Introducing Multimodal

Interaction Analysis Trends in Applied Linguistics

1st Edition Sigrid Norris Updated 2025

https://ebookfinal.com/download/identity-in-inter-action-
introducing-multimodal-interaction-analysis-trends-in-applied-
linguistics-1st-edition-sigrid-norris/

★★★★★
4.9 out of 5.0 (91 reviews )

Instant PDF Download

ebookfinal.com
 Identity in Inter action Introducing Multimodal Interaction
Analysis Trends in Applied Linguistics 1st Edition Sigrid
Norris Pdf Download

EBOOK

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide Ebook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY

We have selected some products that you may be interested in
Click the link to download now or visit ebookfinal.com
for more options!.

English as a Lingua Franca in Higher Education A

Longitudinal Study of Classroom Discourse Trends in
Applied Linguistics 1st Edition Ute Smit
https://ebookfinal.com/download/english-as-a-lingua-franca-in-higher-
education-a-longitudinal-study-of-classroom-discourse-trends-in-
applied-linguistics-1st-edition-ute-smit/

Trends in Iranian and Persian Linguistics 1st Edition

Alireza Korangy

https://ebookfinal.com/download/trends-in-iranian-and-persian-
linguistics-1st-edition-alireza-korangy/

Social groups in action and interaction Second Edition.

Edition Stangor

https://ebookfinal.com/download/social-groups-in-action-and-
interaction-second-edition-edition-stangor/

A Multimodal Perspective on Applied Storytelling

Performances Narrativity in Context 1st Edition Soe Marlar
Lwin
https://ebookfinal.com/download/a-multimodal-perspective-on-applied-
storytelling-performances-narrativity-in-context-1st-edition-soe-
marlar-lwin/
Issues and Trends in Technology and Human Interaction
Bernd Carsten Stahl

https://ebookfinal.com/download/issues-and-trends-in-technology-and-
human-interaction-bernd-carsten-stahl/

Introducing English Linguistics 1st Edition Charles F.

Meyer

https://ebookfinal.com/download/introducing-english-linguistics-1st-
edition-charles-f-meyer/

Multimodal Human Computer Interaction and Pervasive

Services Premier Reference Source 1st Edition Patrizia
Grifoni
https://ebookfinal.com/download/multimodal-human-computer-interaction-
and-pervasive-services-premier-reference-source-1st-edition-patrizia-
grifoni/

Future Directions in Applied Linguistics Local and Global

Perspectives Christina Gitsaki

https://ebookfinal.com/download/future-directions-in-applied-
linguistics-local-and-global-perspectives-christina-gitsaki/

Understanding language structure interaction and variation

an introduction to applied linguistics and
sociolinguistics for nonspecialists 2nd Edition Steven
Brown
https://ebookfinal.com/download/understanding-language-structure-
interaction-and-variation-an-introduction-to-applied-linguistics-and-
sociolinguistics-for-nonspecialists-2nd-edition-steven-brown/
Identity in Inter action Introducing Multimodal
Interaction Analysis Trends in Applied Linguistics 1st
Edition Sigrid Norris Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Sigrid Norris
ISBN(s): 9781934078280, 193407828X
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 13.41 MB
Year: 2011
Language: english
Identity in (Inter)action
Trends in Applied Linguistics
4

Editors
Ulrike Jessner
Claire Kramsch

De Gruyter Mouton
Identity in (Inter)action
Introducing Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis

by
Sigrid Norris

De Gruyter Mouton
ISBN 978-1-934078-27-3
e-ISBN 978-1-934078-28-0
ISSN 1868-6362

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Norris, Sigrid
Identity in interaction : introducing multimodal interaction analysis /
Sigrid Norris.
p. cm. — (Trends in applied linguistics; v. 4)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-934078-27-3 (alk. paper)
1. Interpersonal communication. 2. Oral communication. 3. Social
interaction. 4. Discourse analysis—Germany. I. Title.
P94.7.N675 2011
401'.41—dc22 2011015472

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliogra¿e;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

© 2011 Sigrid Norris

Cover image: Roswitha Schacht/morgue¿le.com
Typesetting: IBT Global, Troy, NY
Printing: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen
’ Printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Germany
www.degruyter.com
Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

Chapter 1
Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis: Some Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 From Discourse Analysis to Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Discourse Analysis: Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 Discourse Analysis: The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.3 Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis: Example 1 Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.4 Is Identity Visible? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.2.5 Discourse Analysis: Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.2.6 Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis: Example 2 Revisited . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.3 Moving Towards a Holistic Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.3.1 A Holistic Analysis: Some Implications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.4 Structure of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Chapter 2
Identity in (Inter)action: Theoretical Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1 Identity: A Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2 Is Identity Intentional? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3 Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis: Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.3.1 Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.3.2 Mediational Means or Cultural Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.3.3 Site of Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2.3.4 Practice and Nexus of Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.4 Foreground-Background Continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.4.1 Frame Analysis of Focused Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
2.4.2 Foreground, Mid-Ground, and Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.4.3 Foreground-Background Continuum:
A New Notion for (Inter)action and Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.5 Site of Engagement, Action, the Foreground-Background
Continuum, and Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
vi Contents

Chapter 3
Collecting and Transcribing Ethnographic Data:
A Case Study of Two Women Living in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1 Data Collection: What Was Collected for This Study? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.1.1 Creative Writing about the Participants as
One Data Collection Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1.2 An Average Day in the Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2 What Does Creative Writing Add to Descriptive Field Notes,
Collected Texts, Audio and Video Recordings? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.3 The Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.3.1 Andrea: A Self-Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.3.2 Anna: A Self-Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.4 Collecting and Transcribing Multimodal Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.4.1 Multimodal Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.4.2 Multimodal Transcription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
3.4.3 What Is a Transcript? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.5 A Flexible Transcription System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.5.1 Some Conventions: Spoken Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.5.2 Some Conventions: Proxemics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.5.3 Some Conventions: Posture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.5.4 Some Conventions: Gesture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.5.5 A Need to Transcribe Qualitatively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
3.5.6 The Flexible Component in Multimodal Transcription . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.5.7 Some Flexible Conventions: Modal Relationships in Interaction . . . . 89
3.5.8 Modal Con¿gurations of Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.6 Modal Hierarchies: Considerations for Transcription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Chapter 4
Modal Density, Actions, and Identity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.1 Focused Actions and Phenomenological Identity Production . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.1.1 High Modal Density: Intensity of a Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.1.2 High Modal Density: Modal Complexity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.1.3 High Modal Density: Intensity Plus Modal Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.2 Mid-Grounded Actions and Phenomenological Identity Production. . . . . . . 100
4.2.1 Medium Modal Density: Intensity of a Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.2.2 Medium Modal Density: Modal Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
4.2.3 Medium Modal Density: Intensity Plus Modal Complexity . . . . . . . 104
 Contents vii

4.3 Backgrounded Actions and Phenomenological Identity Production . . . . . . 106

4.3.1 Low Modal Density: Intensity of a Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.3.2 Low Modal Density: Modal Complexity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.3.3 Low Modal Density: Intensity Plus Modal Complexity . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.4 Modal Density: A Relational Notion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.4.1 Modal Density, Matched and Mismatched Attention Levels. . . . . . . .111
4.5 Interview, Site of Engagement, Action, and Modal Density . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.5.1 Higher-Level Action: Personal Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.5.2 Higher-Level Action: Family Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.5.3 Higher-Level Action: Friend Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
4.5.4 Higher-Level Action: Italian Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.5.5 Higher-Level Action: Caterer Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.6 Site of Engagement, Interview, Actions, and Identity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Chapter 5
Horizontal Identity Production; and Mastery and
Appropriation of Identity Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5.1 Horizontal Interwoven Identity Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.1.1 Focused Higher-Level Actions and
Parallel Identity Element Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.2 Matched and Mismatched Levels of Attention in Interactions . . . . . 147
5.2 Identity: Mastery and Appropriation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
5.2.1 Magazines and Identity Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.3 Interview and Horizontal Identity Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
5.3.1 Foregrounded Family Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.3.2 Foregrounded Personal Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5.3.3 Foregrounded Divorcee Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
5.3.4 Foregrounded National Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.3.5 Foregrounded International Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.3.6 Identity beyond the Foreground:
Simultaneous Identity Element Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.3.7 Identity Produced through Micro and Macro Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.4 Transcription of Macro Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Chapter 6
Vertical Identity Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
6.1 Identity and Layers of Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
viii Contents

6.2 Outer Layers of Discourse: Producing a General Identity Element . . . . . . 181

6.2.1 Two Divergent Outer Layers of Discourse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
6.2.2 General Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
6.3 Intermediary Layer of Discourse:
Producing a Continuous Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.3.1 Continuous Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
6.4 The Central Layer of Discourse:
Producing an Immediate Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
6.4.1 Immediate Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
6.5 General Identity: Coercion or Agency? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
6.6 Continuous Identity: Coercion or Agency? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
6.7 Immediate Identity: Coercion or Agency? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
6.8 Layers of Discourse, Actions, and Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
6.9 Vertical and Horizontal Identity Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Chapter 7
Shifting Identity, Saliency of Identity, and Identity Change . . . . . . . . . 211
7.1 Higher-Level Discourse Structure: Identity Shifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
7.1.1 Theoretical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
7.2 Semantic/Pragmatic Means: The Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
7.3 Semantic/Pragmatic Means: The Head Toss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
7.3.1 Shopping in an Italian Supermarket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
7.3.2 Head Toss: Shift in Focus and Shift
in Foregrounded Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
7.4 Semantic/Pragmatic Means: The Hand/Finger Beat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
7.4.1 Writing Shopping Lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
7.4.2 Hand/Finger Beat: Shift in Focus and Shift
in Foregrounded Identity Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
7.5 Semantic/Pragmatic Means: Deictics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
7.5.1 Deictic Gaze Plus Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
7.5.2 Deictic Motion Plus Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
7.6 Signaling System: A Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
7.7 Saliency of Identity Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
7.8 Identity Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
7.8.1 Initial Identity Element: Wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
7.8.2 Auxiliary Identity Element: Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
7.8.3 From Initial to New Identity Element: Divorcee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
7.9 Self-Perception of Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
 Contents ix

Chapter 8
Stabilizing Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
8.1 Stabilizing Identity: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
8.2 Person Identity: Anna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
8.2.1 Person Identity: Anna’s Habitus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
8.2.2 Stabilizing Person Identity: Higher-Level,
Lower-Level, and Frozen Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
8.3 Stabilizing Person Identity: Interweaving Identity Elements . . . . . . . . . . . 269
8.4 Stabilizing Person Identity: A Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
8.5 Stabilization of Person Identity: Complex Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

Chapter 9
Investigating Identity in (Inter)action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
9.1 Determining Identity Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
9.2 The Need for Ethnography and Inclusion of Creative Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
9.3 Differentiating Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
9.4 Investigating Identity in (Inter)action through
Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
To the memory of my father

F ranz P eter Leise

Preface

Identity: I have been interested in identity for a long time, and have read
much about identity from many different angles. I have thought about iden-
tity, investigated identity, and discussed identity. In most of the literature, the
notion of identity appears to be Àeeting, ephemeral, and transitory. Identity
appears to be something that we can talk about, but cannot grasp. Identity
appears to be something that only some researchers can ever come close to
understanding—and always and only from a particular angle—as identity is
located in the invisible social construction, embedded in the historical body,
and is hidden in media, politics, and everyday language alike. Students are
often taught just enough to wake their curiosity at the same time as to inspire
them with some awe.
Identity: embedded in the group and the society but also in the psychol-
ogy of the individual, identity appears to be impossible to bring together to
truly make sense of and explain. Yet, when investigating real people in their
everyday lives identity emerges; it becomes visible, explainable, and grasp-
able. In the everyday actions that people perform, in the objects that people
own, or the houses that people live in, identity becomes cogent when investi-
gating people’s families, friends, networks, and social groups that they belong
to. When investigating identity in everyday life, identity suddenly appears
loud and clear.
People do things, and everything that people do is taking action. People
eat, shop, work, bring up children, talk to friends, call relatives, build and fur-
nish houses, listen to music, read magazines and newspapers, and do much
more. When taking all of the communicative modes into consideration that
people use in their everyday lives to perform the actions that they perform,
suddenly the connections between actions and belongings, between individual
and society, and between the hidden and the overt begin to make sense.
It is this kind of sense-making of identity that I hope to accomplish by
writing this book. Of course, such sense-making and the methodology origi-
nally developed for a better understanding of identity did not happen in a
vacuum. It has taken many years for me to be able to write this book, many
years in which I have worked with many people: from my mentor Ron Scol-
lon to the many participants in my studies, and the friends and colleagues,
who were all involved, helping me in ways that they sometimes did not even
know, helping me to gain a deeper understanding of identity production and
to formulate my thoughts.
xiv Preface

This book introduces a theoretical framework, which allows the analysis

of what has been termed context in traditional discourse analysis, shedding
new light on everyday identity production. I do this by illustrating the devel-
opment of a framework that is now called multimodal (inter)action analy-
sis (MIA) (Norris, 2004). With MIA, I explicate the multiplicity of (inter)
actions that social actors are simultaneously engaged in. Here I present the
ef¿cacy of the framework for identity production based on an extended eth-
nographic study. I thus use identity production to elucidate the theoretical/
methodological framework at the same time as I use the theoretical/method-
ological framework to illuminate everyday identity production.
Social actors orchestrate a range of multiple modes of communication
in their everyday life in order to accomplish various higher-level actions
simultaneously, whereby they produce their identities. At the same time,
objects and the environment with and in which the actions take place give
off messages about the social actors’ identities and structure the interac-
tions in some ways. The notion of modal density combined with a fore-
ground-background continuum codi¿es the idea that a social actor is
aware of and/or attends to simultaneous actions together with other social
actors, objects, and the environment, constructing several identity elements
simultaneously.
The framework was developed based on the two longitudinal case stud-
ies presented here. I conducted these case studies at the verge of the Millen-
nium in Germany. During that year, I stayed and lived with the participants
four times. Each time spanned between four and eight weeks so that my
complete time spent in the ¿eld comprised about six months. The rest of the
time I stayed in close contact with the participants as they continued to col-
lect audio data, magazines, newspapers, and books that they read. During
my ¿eldwork I lived with the participants and I became socialized into their
everyday lives and their networks.
While my original interest had been identity production, it nevertheless
has taken almost ten years, several other ethnographic studies, my writing
of Analyzing Multimodal Interaction, and the publication of my ¿rst poetry
book, for me to be able write this book.1
In order to be socialized into the participants’ worlds and to be able to
understand their identities better, I did everything the participants did. I met
their extended families, their close friends, the neighbors, the school and pre-
school teachers of their children, Andrea’s lawyer (as she was going through
a divorce at the time), and many other people that they interacted with on a
regular basis including the baker, the butcher, the newspaper lady, and the real
estate agent who eventually sold Andrea’s house.
 Preface xv

Identities are always co-produced, and I was convinced that I could only
understand the participants’ moment-by-moment identity construction by
understanding the positionings among the participants and the many social
actors that they interacted with on a regular basis. While the study focuses on
two particular social actors, the analysis is possible only through the under-
standing of these social networks.
When studying social actors through long-term ethnography, the ethnog-
rapher becomes enmeshed in their everyday life to some extent. The eth-
nographer, although a researcher in the ¿eld, is nevertheless a person. It is
this personal involvement that is often not discussed in later accounts of the
¿ndings. However, I believe it is a worthwhile undertaking to try to illustrate
some of the issues one may ¿nd and the changes that a researcher may go
through due to an ethnographic study. Chapter 3 illuminates some of this
personal researcher involvement.

What Is Identity?
The term identity itself is used in different ways in psychology, linguistics, or
cultural studies. I use the term identity or multiple identity element produc-
tion rather than the presentation of self or role particularly because the term
identity has these various connotations. Harris (1989), for example, distin-
guishes between several terms in the following way: she says that the indi-
vidual is the biological term for the social actor, the person is the sociological
term, and the self is the psychological term.
Identity may refer to either the psychological or the sociological make-up
of a social actor. In my view, identity is constructed socially as well as psy-
chologically through what Nishida (1958) calls the internalized historical self.
I use the term identity production much in the same sense as Scollon (1997)
uses it, focusing on the performance of social actions in real time. These
social actions, while certainly co-constructed at the moment of occurrence,
are nevertheless part of the social actor’s habitus.2
Some of the identity elements that I refer to in this study are generally
accepted as identities. These are the national and international identities.
However, I also refer to some other identity elements as the mother iden-
tity, the friend identity, or the divorcee identity, which are not usually termed
identities, but rather are termed roles. However, the participants in this study
co-produce these identity elements within their networks. These identity ele-
ments are very similar to the survivor identity of bone-marrow transplant
patients that Hamilton (1998) found in one of her studies.
xvi Preface

While I was in the ¿eld, I videotaped everyday recurring interactions, for

example, when the participants would frequently sit together, drinking coffee
and sharing magazines, or when they would regularly make shopping lists
together. I also videotaped them shopping, alone or together, interacting with
their children and other family members, or with myself. I focused my data
collection on the everyday un-marked interactions.
The analysis was ¿eldwork and data driven. The participants, both moth-
ers of young children, were often involved in several higher-level actions
simultaneously. For example, they would write a shopping list for a catering
event at the very same time as they would watch the older children and play
with the younger ones. By performing these higher-level actions simultane-
ously, they would construct various identity elements concurrently.
My audio-visual data clearly displayed the multiple simultaneously ongo-
ing actions producing the participants’ identity elements, yet I found that I ¿rst
had to develop a theoretical/methodological framework (Norris, 2004) that
would allow me to analyze the data correctly. Additionally, while audiotapes
focus the analyst’s attention on the spoken language, videotapes diffuse such a
focused attention to language use, displaying that spoken language is but one
mode of communication that social actors employ when communicating.
The realization that analyzing one mode without the others leaves out
much of what is being communicated, guided me to incorporate the modes
of communication that were most commonly used by my participants in the
study. These were the modes of spoken language, gaze, gesture, posture,
and proxemics, and the modes of layout, print, recorded music, and color.
By incorporating multiple modes into a discourse study, I incorporated the
context3 as an intricate part of the ongoing interactions.
Modes of communication are not easily separable; they are interlinked
and often interdependent. For example, gaze is necessarily linked to posture;
layout is linked to the ongoing interaction. While my data clearly displayed
that I could not interpret the participants’ spoken utterances to their fullest
extent without analyzing the other modes that they employed, my data dic-
tated that I ¿rst develop a theoretical/methodological framework in order to
be able to analyze this data correctly. Thus, while I entered the study and
conducted my ¿eldwork with a main focus on identity construction, this main
focus shifted away from identity and towards developing multimodal (inter)
action analysis during the analysis in the years 2000/2001. The framework
called multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009a,
2009b) now allows the incorporation of concurrent actions and multiple
modes in everyday interaction; and with this book, I am going back to my
original data and my original topic of identity production.
 Preface xvii

Acknowledgments
Many people have contributed to this book in various ways. I would like to
express my gratitude especially to the late Ron Scollon, for the many hours
of conversation and discussion of the framework that is introduced here. It
was Ron who had suggested an ethnography to study identity; it was also he
who taught me the importance of action. I can truly say that without him,
this book would have never come about. Further, I would like to thank Ruth
Wodak and Heidi Hamilton, who gave me helpful advice during my study
particularly in regard to identity production; and Theo van Leeuwen, with
whom I had many conversations about the multimodal framework presented
here. I am also thankful for comments and conversations about identity that
I had with Michael Bamberg, Allan Bell, Rodney Jones, Paul McIlvenny,
David Middleton, Pirkko Raudaskosky, and Suzie Scollon. I have spoken
with many people at conferences, via email, and during my workshops and
lectures on identity production at universities across the world and always
received valuable feedback. I am also thankful to Scott Creighton for re-
digitizing all my videos when I ¿rst came to New Zealand.
I would like to particularly thank the participants of this study, Andrea and
Anna. I am grateful that they allowed me into their lives to the extent they did.
Not only have I learned a great deal about how individuals in their everyday life
produce identity, but I have gained two new friends. I would also like to thank
the members of their networks, who embraced me at the time, and allowed me
to take part in their lives together with Andrea and Anna.
My family has been involved in this book in many ways, and I would like
to thank them for their loving support throughout the study and the writing
phases. Alan especially has taken the time to read the manuscript and has given
me detailed comments on wordings and Luke has taken the time to help with the
last ¿nishing touches.
All of these people had an impact on the development of my thoughts. How-
ever, the statements made, the views expressed, and the shortcomings in this
book are the sole responsibility of the author.

Notes
1. The German poems included in this book are reprinted from my poetry book that
was published in 2008 by the Deutscher Lyrik Verlag, Aachen, while the transla-
tions are published for the ¿rst time in this volume.
xviii Preface

2. The terms identity and habitus intersect to some extent.

3. There are, of course, various notions of context. The view that I am taking here
grows out of interactional sociolinguistics. However, I would like to mention also
Cicourel and Van Dijk, who have worked extensively on the notion of context.
Chapter 1

Multimodal (Inter)action Analysis

A satisfactory understanding of the nature and unity of men must encom-

pass and organize, not abstract from, the diversity. In this tradition, a theory,
whatever its logic and insight, is inadequate if divorced from, if unilluminat-
ing as to, the ways of life of mankind as a whole.
—Hymes (1972:41)

Identity is a widely discussed topic,1 and while much research gives insight
into particular aspects of identity, I propose a new way of looking at iden-
tity by taking a different theoretical and methodological perspective. This
perspective, called multimodal (inter)action analysis (Norris, 2004), allows
the researcher to investigate identity in a more holistic way. While many
discourse studies analyze the spoken language, this book moves on from
discourse to multimodal discourse analysis, introducing a theoretical/meth-
odological framework, which allows the analysis of what has been termed
context 2 in traditional discourse analysis, arriving at a theory and methodol-
ogy that illuminates everyday identity production in new ways.
In terminology, I deviate from the term identity construction,3 which is
more often used in literature, calling it identity production. With this term,
I would like to emphasize an ever present creative aspect within the actual
performance of actions by individuals without, however, losing an also ever
present but less variable aspect within the habitus of particular individuals.
I would like to emphasize an ever present creative aspect within the (inter)
activity between an individual and others as well as between an individual
and their environment, without, however, losing an ever present but less vari-
able aspect within the social group(s) and the environment.
Further, I deviate from the commonly used term interaction, calling it
here (inter)action, instead. With the term (inter)action, I broaden the com-
monly used notion of interaction: (inter)action potentially encompasses each
and every action that an individual produces with tools, the environment, and
other individuals. Thus, and as will become clearer in later chapters, even
when one individual acts with objects, acting within the environment, these
actions are viewed as (inter)actions that produce identity.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 Statistics - Formula Sheet
First 2023 - School

Prepared by: Dr. Williams

Date: August 12, 2025

Methodology 1: Practical applications and examples

Learning Objective 1: Literature review and discussion
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Learning Objective 2: Learning outcomes and objectives
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Learning Objective 3: Case studies and real-world applications
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Learning Objective 4: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Learning Objective 5: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Key terms and definitions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 5: Case studies and real-world applications
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Example 6: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 8: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Remember: Study tips and learning strategies
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Example 9: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Comparative analysis and synthesis
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Lesson 2: Critical analysis and evaluation
Definition: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Learning outcomes and objectives
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Ethical considerations and implications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 12: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Best practices and recommendations
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 13: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Current trends and future directions
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 14: Ethical considerations and implications
• Interdisciplinary approaches
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 15: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 16: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Definition: Experimental procedures and results
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 17: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 17: Ethical considerations and implications
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Practice Problem 18: Key terms and definitions
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Key Concept: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 20: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Exercise 3: Study tips and learning strategies
Practice Problem 20: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Definition: Historical development and evolution
• Ethical considerations and implications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Research findings and conclusions
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 23: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Note: Statistical analysis and interpretation
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Definition: Current trends and future directions
• Fundamental concepts and principles
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Definition: Best practices and recommendations
• Fundamental concepts and principles
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 27: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Definition: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Definition: Best practices and recommendations
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Background 4: Current trends and future directions
Definition: Research findings and conclusions
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Example 31: Literature review and discussion
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Experimental procedures and results
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 33: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 34: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Research findings and conclusions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Definition: Current trends and future directions
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Practice Problem 36: Case studies and real-world applications
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 37: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Important: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Important: Case studies and real-world applications
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Example 39: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Chapter 5: Practical applications and examples
Important: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Assessment criteria and rubrics
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Definition: Theoretical framework and methodology
• Critical analysis and evaluation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 42: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Practice Problem 42: Practical applications and examples
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 43: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Remember: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Practical applications and examples
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 44: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Definition: Case studies and real-world applications
• Statistical analysis and interpretation
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Assessment criteria and rubrics
• Experimental procedures and results
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Definition: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Assessment criteria and rubrics
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Example 47: Case studies and real-world applications
• Ethical considerations and implications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Fundamental concepts and principles
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Key Concept: Comparative analysis and synthesis
• Study tips and learning strategies
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
[Figure 50: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Test 6: Literature review and discussion
Practice Problem 50: Practical applications and examples
• Key terms and definitions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Remember: Interdisciplinary approaches
• Current trends and future directions
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Remember: Study tips and learning strategies
• Assessment criteria and rubrics
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
[Figure 53: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Definition: Best practices and recommendations
• Literature review and discussion
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
[Figure 54: Diagram/Chart/Graph]
Example 54: Critical analysis and evaluation
• Historical development and evolution
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Note: Case studies and real-world applications
• Theoretical framework and methodology
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Formula: [Mathematical expression or equation]
Practice Problem 56: Best practices and recommendations
• Case studies and real-world applications
- Sub-point: Additional details and explanations
- Example: Practical application scenario
- Note: Important consideration
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebookfinal.com