Methodological issues of data analysis and interpretation in a discourse based study on the system of Theme in Korean

Abstract

This paper discusses methodological issues of data analysis and interpretation that arose in the present author';s discourse based study that investigates the system of THEME in Korean. After a brief introduction of the background and theoretical framework of the study and a critical review of existing studies on Theme in Korean, it discusses in detail methodological issues concerning data, unit of analysis, clause delimitation and Theme identification method. A model of the system of THEME in Korean is presented towards the end of the paper. A detailed discussion of the model, however, is beyond the scope of this paper.