Resumen de Linguistic Expert Creation in Online Health Practices
Marie-Thérèse Rudolf von Rohr, Franziska Thurnherr, Miriam A. Locher
In this chapter, we explore how the construction of an expert identity varies across online e-health settings with different socio-technological features. Our methodology is qualitative in nature and draws on insights from discourse analysis and positioning theory. Results show four aspects of creating expertise: the embeddedness of the positioning strategies in the online health context, the interplay between these strategies within each setting, the interactivity of the medium, and the fact that professionals, clients, and laypeople alike construct their expertise. The results confirm previously found strategies to create expertise (e.g. using jargon or showing empathy), and reveal that the interplay of several strategies is in fact needed to create credible and trustworthy expert identities for all participants involved. This interplay varies according to the practice.
