Dr Vincent said that she has always maintained that one productive way of doing social research is through a focus on language, using some form of discourse analysis. This does not mean reducing social life to language - saying everything is discourse. Rather, it is one analytical strategy amongst many and it often makes sense to use discourse analysis in conjunction with other forms of analysis.

 Speeches, diaries, advertisements, architecture, pamphlets, magazines and inscription on tombstone, newspaper articles are all forms of text in which we might find embedded ‘discourses’ that we wish to study.

A large number of staff members attended her presentation.