109 important for the researcher to observe the interaction. This will enable them
to take observational notes, which would normally help in the interpretation of the data.
CDA researchers always focus on areas such as feminist discourse, which they have observed reflects gender inequality. One of the key areas to focus on are power differences in everyday conversation between interactants of different gender,
verbal sexual harassment, stereotype and sexual representations of women in male-dominated discourse, gender inequalities in bureaucratic and professional talk, the representation
of women in the press, and so forth. Another area is political discourse. Scholars have observed that political discourse, such as campaigns,
parliamentary debates, speeches are full of expressions that show the enactment, reproduction and legitimization of power and domination. Interactions that reflect inter-ethnic relations are also studied. Scholars, such as Teun van Dijk have done a lot of empirical work on discourse and racism showing how discourse shows one form of resentment or another against racially or ethnically defined Others. Other discourse genres that have been studied from a critical point
of view are medical discourse, courtroom exchange, education and science, and corporate texts. Data for any CDA study is subjected to critical analysis looking beyond the words used to see how the text reflects power dynamics in the society.
The researcher, using the utterances looks at the context that produces the text. The context includes the historical dimension and the cultural practices that are typically associated with that form of social action.
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