The complex structure of real life dialogues somehow escapes a top-down description based only on a description of the global communicative intention and the institutional conventions of dialogical exchanges (dialogue types).

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We are developing a method for the analysis of dialogue that combines the instrument of dialogue types with a bottom-up approach, intended to capture how the single dialogue moves are functional to achieving a specific sub-goal within dialogues. We have described why dialogue moves should be considered the necessary link to bridge the gap between the description of dialogue types, as global dialogical intentions, and the analysis of real-life dialogical exchanges (Macagno & Bigi 2017). A preliminary analysis of a corpus of medical consultations also yielded interesting results, showing that following our methodology it is possible to assess the quality of dialogues based on the criterion of dialogical relevance, rather than relying on the outcome of the dialogue.

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The main publications from this line of research are:

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Rossi, M.G., Macagno, F., & Bigi, S. (2022). Dialogical functions of metaphors in medical interactions. Text & Talk, 42/1, pp.77-103.  DOI:10.1515/text-2019-0166.

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Macagno, F., & Bigi, S. (2021). The role of evidence in chronic care decision making. Topoi, 40/2, pp. 343-358.

 

Macagno, F., & Bigi, S. (2020). Analyzing dialogue moves in chronic care communication – Dialogical intentions and customization of recommendations for the assessment of medical deliberation. Journal of Argumentation in Context, 9/2, pp. 167-198.

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Macagno, F. & Bigi, S. (2017). Analyzing the pragmatic structure of dialogues. Discourse Studies, 19(2), pp. 148-168.

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S. Bigi & F. Macagno. Assessing the process of deliberation in chronic care medical interviews, at the 2nd European Conference on Argumentation, June 2017, Université de Fribourg, Switzerland

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S. Bigi, M.G. Rossi, E. Mayweg-Paus, F. Macagno, Assessing The Quality Of Deliberation In Chronic Care Encounters: An Interdisciplinary Approach, at the 14th International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, September 2016, University Convention Center Heidelberg, Germany

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S. Bigi, M.G. Rossi, F. Macagno, D. Leone, E. Vegni, Combining RIAS with the Analysis of Dialogical Moves in Consultations: Insights and New Perspectives, at the 14th International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, September 2016, University Convention Center Heidelberg, Germany