A Thematic Analysis of Technical Documents: The Collection and Formalization of Information Relating to the Needs of Persons With Disabilities

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of technical documents and the impact their structuring has on professionals working in the field of disability. A model was developed to accompany users with disabilities when entering information; it was based on the linguistic analysis of an assortment of technical documents (institutional forms). We studied the problems related to technical documents by using a methodological approach which was based on a combination of complementary studies. The first was a terminological study, which aimed to look for relevant themes. It was complemented by a second one, which analyzed the discourse that was transmitted by the texts and which was centered on exploring the logical links between propositions and paragraphs. We completed these two studies with a final one, the logico-cognitive analysis. This which allowed us to look for contextual clues, which were produced by the texts in the documentary environment. It was therefore possible to formalize information and communication operations thanks to the reference discourse’s targeted environment in view of designing an automated information system.