Revealing implicit understanding through enthymemes: a rhetorical method for the analysis of talk

Everyday talk is characterised by implicit information that the listener is required to infer. We introduce a method of analysis based on theories from semiotics and classical rhetoric that enables the researcher to reveal unspoken beliefs that underlie such talk.

This paper aims to provide a detailed description of the process of unveiling the hidden elements of logical inference within narrative. We wish to enable other medical education researchers to utilise this method in their own field of interest.

We begin by giving an overview of the concepts of the enthymeme in rhetoric and opposition in narrative analysis. We then demonstrate the steps required in order to undertake such analysis by using examples from our own data. Strengths and weaknesses of this approach, including the problem of inference, will be discussed.

We identify a number of current domains in which the investigation of enthymemes has been fruitful. We suggest that this method might also be utilised successfully within the domain of medical education research and encourage other researchers to consider this approach.