Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) (coined by late Ron Scollon

Ron Scollon

Ron Scollon , was a professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University and the author of 16 books and over 80 articles on intercultural communication and discourse analysis, perhaps best known for his work in the area of interethnic communication between the Alaska Native and Asian...

) is a specialised form of linguistic

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

 discourse analysis

Discourse analysis

Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event....

 (similar to Critical Discourse Analysis

Critical discourse analysis

Critical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice and focuses on the ways social and political domination are visible in text and talk....

)--it mediates discourse

Discourse

Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...

, agency

Agency (sociology)

In the social sciences, agency refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. By contrast, "Structure" refers to the factors of influence that determine or limit an agent and his or her decisions...

, and practice into what Scollon calls a "nexus of practice." The goal of MDA is to focus on discourse in action, as opposed to discourse as action, thus making discourse analysts responsible for applying discourse into various practical and useful contexts.