The Video Analyst’s Manifesto (or The Implications of Garfinkel’s Policies for the Development of a Program of Video Analytic Research within the Learning Sciences)

Cast as a manifesto, this chapter presents a set of foundational principles for conducting “video research” within the learning sciences. Our proposed approach draws chiefly upon the literature and methodology of Conversation Analysis (CA). Conversation Analysis developed out of and shares the thematic interests of the broader field of inquiry known as Ethnomethodology (EM). EM is centrally concerned with practical reasoning and the procedures (i.e., “methods”) participants (i.e., “members”) employ in making sense of their own actions and the actions of others, that is in creating “local rationality.” CA focuses specifically on the methods members employ in competently producing conversation. Our proposal calls for analogous research into how members engage in instruction and learning. A rigorous methodology has been developed for conducting CA studies and an elaborate and carefully-integrated research literature has been amassed over the years. In some of the foundational writing on EM, Garfinkel proposed a set of policies for EM research. Since we suggest that video analytic research in the learning sciences be conducted using CA methodology and given CA’s thematic link to EM studies, we believe that Garfinkel’s policies might provide useful guidelines for future research on learning practices.