CHAPTER 21 Constructionism and Discourse Analysis • Pirjo Nikander T he term discourse analysis (DA) is best understood as an umbrella designation for a rapidly growing field of research covering a wide range of different theo- retical approaches and analytic emphases (see Potter & Hepburn, Chapter 14, this volume). What discursive approaches in different disciplinary locations share, however, is a strong social constructionist epistemology—the idea of language as much more than a mere mirror of the world and phenomena “out there” and the conviction that discourse is of central importance in constructing the ideas, social processes, and phenomena that make up our social world. The discourse analysis described in this chapter is particularly influenced by discus- sions and developments within discursive psychology (e.g., Edwards, 1997; Potter, 1996; Potter & Wetherell, 1987). Key theo- retical underpinnings, starting points, and traditions of discursive constructionism are discussed in detail elsewhere in this volume (see, e.g., L. Miller, Chapter 13, and Potter & Hepburn, Chapter 14). The scope and topic of the current chapter is therefore also more notably aimed at practical implementation and based on numerous empirical examples of “doing discourse analysis.” The chapter is divided into three sections. In the first, I briefly discuss some underlying commonalities, analytic themes, and guid- ing principles of DA. In the process, I pro- vide a thumbnail sketch of the scope of dif- ferent analytic emphases and of the data sets available to a discourse researcher. Second, I discuss two empirical examples: one from a research project focusing on constructions of age and aging in interview data, the sec- ond an example of the analysis of naturally 413 From Handbook of Constructionist Research Edited by James A. Holstein and Jaber F. Gubrium. Copyright 2008 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.