Discourse analysis (DA) is a broad name given to
various methodological approaches that study texts via
different theoretical traditions (e.g., social constructionism,
poststructuralism). ‘Discourse’ is a broad concept
referring to different ways of constituting meaning specific
to groups, cultures, and historical contexts, providing
the meanings that constitute people’s everyday
practices. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is a more
specific form of DA concerned with describing discursive
practices, “but also showing how discourse is
shaped by relations of power and ideologies, and the
constructive effects discourse has upon social identities,
social relations, and systems of knowledge and belief,
neither of which is normally apparent to discourse participants”
(Fairclough, 1992, p. 12). It is difficult to
link CDA to one theorist or discipline as a number of social theorists and linguists have contributed to its
development. One prominent person linked to CDA is
French philosopher and social theorist Michel Foucault,
whose writings examined ideologies and power relations
in discourse. Contemporary developments of CDA
can be linked to linguistics professor Norma Fairclough
(1992), who studied the intersection of power, language,
and social action.
Sport and exercise psychology researchers have primarily
used a Foucauldian and/or CDA within DA
research and investigations. While distinct, both
approaches can be used to identify taken-for-granted
discourses and the effects of these. This focus is
because a central assumption of DA is that discourse is
constitutive of identities, social practices, and takenfor-
granted ways of feeling and behaving. Critical
forms of DA can thus be further used to study a
socially constructed, nuanced understanding and analysis
of culture, identity, and experiences (e.g., Cosh,
Crabb, & Tully, 2015; Kavoura, Ryba, & Chroni,
2015).
Sport and exercise psychology researchers also use
DA to identify taken-for-granted discourses at individual
and intuitional levels (e.g., sport organizations, various
forms of media) that construct self-identities,
highlighting marginalized identities within the context
of social justice and power issues. In light of this focus,
recent developments within sport and exercise psychology
have linked CDA as a potential tool for realizing
the goals of cultural praxis, which blends lived theory,
culture, and social change (McGannon & Smith, 2015).
By focusing on conversations and micro-talk as ‘entry
points’ of analysis within the context of discourses and
identity, the use of critical forms of DA assists with the
identification of concrete entry points of personal-level
change to address health and well-being issues
(McGannon, 2016).
