The Discontinuity of Human Existence, Part III. Perspective Text Analysis: A Methodological Approach to the Study of Competence. No. 52.

The third in a series of three reports draws on earlier discussion of theories of discontinuity in human existence to develop a method for studying individual perceptions of existence. The method is Perspective Text Analysis, a form of discourse analysis that focuses on self-reference as a reflection of competence. The model for the methodology is first outlined, and the computer program used to perform the text analysis is explained. Application of the analysis to one text, a Danish company employee's comments concerning a job for which he was applying, is examined and the results compared with the subject's self-assessment and a psychologist's report on the individual. The text that was analyzed is also presented. Contains 20 references. (MSE)