Variation and interactional non-standardization in neuropsychological tests: The case of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination

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Publication date
2020-02Keyword
Conversation analysisCommunication
Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination
Standardization
Administration
Qualitative
United Kingdom
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© 2019 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)Peer-Reviewed
YesOpen Access status
openAccessAccepted for publication
2019-08-02
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Show full item recordAbstract
The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-111) is a neuropsychological test used in clinical practice to inform a dementia diagnosis. The ACE-111 relies on standardized administration so that patients’ scores can be interpreted by comparison with normative scores. The test is delivered and responded to in interaction between clinicians and patients, which places talk-in-interaction at the heart of its administration. In this article, conversation analysis (CA) is used to investigate how the ACE-111 is delivered in clinical practice. Based on analysis of 40 video/audio-recorded memory clinic consultations in which the ACE-111 was used, we have found that administrative standardization is rarely achieved in practice. There was evidence of both (a) interactional variation in the way the clinicians introduce the test and (b) interactional non-standardization during its implementation. We show that variation and interactional non-standardization have implications for patients’ understanding and how they might respond to particular questions.Version
Published versionCitation
Jones D, Wilkinson R, Jackson C et al (2020) Variation and interactional non-standardization in neuropsychological tests: The case of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination. Qualitative Health Research. 30(3): 458-470.Link to Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319873052Type
Articleae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319873052