Although discourse analysis (DA) has been used in research into aphasia for some time, but as a method it is currently still too time-consuming to have become part of routine clinical practice. As it requires transcription before analysis of the discourse sample prior to its interpretation, this makes this type of analysis particularly lengthy and so unsuitable for use by most clinicians. Some potential for a transcription-less method of DA was indicated by recent research into turn-taking in people with dysarthria (Comrie, Mackenzie and McCall, 2001) and into gesture in people with right hemisphere brain damage (Brady and Mackenzie, 2001). This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of a transcription-less method of DA, based on discourse samples from people with aphasia
