This volume is a study of question use in institutional discourse, the first volume of its kind to make questions and questioning the explicit focus of its investigation. It brings together studies that bridge a wide range of institutional settings from traditionally studied contexts such as medicine, law, and the mass media to little‐considered settings such as call centers, new types of counseling environments, and helplines. In the introduction, the editors draw upon the research in the assembled chapters to identify commonalities in the use of questions in a variety of institutions; this i ... More

This volume is a study of question use in institutional discourse, the first volume of its kind to make questions and questioning the explicit focus of its investigation. It brings together studies that bridge a wide range of institutional settings from traditionally studied contexts such as medicine, law, and the mass media to little‐considered settings such as call centers, new types of counseling environments, and helplines. In the introduction, the editors draw upon the research in the assembled chapters to identify commonalities in the use of questions in a variety of institutions; this in turn provides the basis for drawing generalizations about the use of questions. The goal is not only to expand the understanding of questioning and answering in institutional discourse but also to document the ways that social change has both transformed the nature of institutional encounters in more traditional settings and increased the sorts of institutional encounters in which people engage, particularly those associated with service‐related activities. The volume contributes to a comprehensive definition of questions that includes both functional and sequential considerations, extends our understanding of the relationship between questions and their role in institutional discourse, and addresses the nature of ordinary versus institutional talk.