1st Edition
Researching English Language A Resource Book for Students
Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students.
Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings – all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible 'two-dimensional' structure is built around four sections – introduction, development, exploration and extension – which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained.
Researching English Language:
- provides comprehensive support for readers tackling their first independent research projects
- offers advice about research methods with reference to an extensive range of English Language topics including variation in accents, news discourse, forensic linguistics, child language development and many more
- guides readers step-by-step through the research process, from initial ideas to the submission of the dissertation
- includes an extensive range of activities and points for discussion
- illustrates each topic with examples from actual student projects and published studies
- includes key readings from leading English language researchers, including Ronald Carter; Jennifer Coates; Ruqaiya Hasan; Roz Ivanič; Ben Rampton; John Sinclair.
This title will be essential reading for students undertaking research within the areas of English Language, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics.
CONTENTS
How to use this book
SECTION A: INTRODUCTION
The basics of researching English language
A1
The first stages: getting started and settling on a topic
A1.1
Why research English Language?
A1.2
Choosing a topic to research
A2
Reading around your topic
A2.1
Housekeeping
A2.2
Identifying what to read
A2.3
What are you reading for?
A2.4
Reading critically
A3
What do you want to know?
A3.1
Questions of data and theory
A3.2
Making your questions explicit
A4
Ways of finding out what you want to know
A4.1
Ways of observing
A4.2
Ways of classifying
A4.3
Ways of measuring and counting
A5
Possibilities and pitfalls
A5.1
Establishing where you stand – researching people
A5.2
Making things work for you
A5.3
Fitting into the bigger picture
A6
Doing the research: collecting data
A6.1
Collecting and processing written data
A6.2
Collecting and processing spoken data
A6.3
Collecting and processing elicited data
A6.4
Combined methods
A6.5
Housekeeping
A7
Clarifying what you have found out
A7.1
Types of data and approaches to analysis
A7.2
From ‘closed’ questionnaires to collections of written texts
A7.3
Analysing spoken data: first steps
A7.4
Identifying patterns
A7.5
Identifying quantities
A7.6
Stages of analysis
A8
Writing and reporting
A8.1
The dissertation as a record of the research
A8.2
Timing and planning
A8.3
The dissertation as a text type
A8.4
Style
A8.5
Presentation
A9
Beyond the dissertation
SECTION B: DEVELOPMENT
The how and why of researching English language
B1
The how and why of getting started and choosing a research topic
B2
The how and why of the literature review: joining a ‘community of practice’
B3
The how and why of clarifying research questions
B3.1
Research studies without explicit questions
B3.2
Refining your questions
B3.3
Appropriate questions for empirical research
B4
The how and why of choosing research methods
B4.1
Methods and methodology
B4.2
Choice of method in (English) language research
B4.3
Interviews in language research – how and why?
B4.4
Selecting textual data in language research – how and why?
B4.5
Controlling variables in experiments – how and why?
B5
The how and why of sorting out the details
B5.1
What can go wrong with research?
B5.2
Relationships with people
B5.3
Contexts – times, places and circumstances
B5.4
Concepts
B6
The how and why of data collection
B6.1
What kind of data?
B6.2
Where will the data come from?
B6.3
How much data?
B6.4
Which data to include?
B7
The how and why of data analysis
B7.1
Data analysis example 1: sounds
B7.2
Data analysis example 2: words
B7.3
Data analysis example 3: clauses
B7.4
Data analysis example 4: discourse
B7.5
Data analysis examples: summary
B8
The how and why of writing up your project
B8.1
Writing: the how and why of style
B8.2
Writing: the how and why of managing the writing process
B9
The how and why of taking it further
SECTION C EXPLORATION
Issues and debates in researching English language
C1
Language research topics
C1.1
Projecting towards the future: the benefits of students’ research skills to employers
C1.2
Identifying what interests you
C2
The literature review
C2.1
Organising and structuring a literature review
C2.2
Reading for different purposes
C2.3
Reading critically
C3
Research questions
C3.1
Predicting what your study will involve
C3.2
Predicting the outcomes of your study
C3.3
The role of the hypothesis
C3.4
Summary: kinds of question
C4
Research methods
C4.1
Finding your way around different methodologies
C4.2
Experimental studies in Second Language Acquisition – advocates and critics
C4.3
Recognising and naming Xs and Ys
C4.4
Theory and methodology
C5
Details
C6
Data collection
C6.1
Written texts as data: example 1a
C6.2
Written texts as data: example 1b
C6.3
Spoken interaction as data: example 2a
C6.4
Spoken interaction as data: example 2b
C6.5
Elicited data: example 3 - diaries and journals
C6.6
Elicited data: example 4 – focus group interviews
C6.7
Elicited data: example 5 – experimental data
C6.8
Research about data collection methods
C6.9
Housekeeping
C7
Data analysis and interpretation
C7.1
Transcription as a stage in data analysis
C7.2
Identifying patterns in data
C8
Writing up your project
C8.1
Making use of abstracts
C8.2
Relating abstracts to whole texts
C8.3
Components of the text
C9
Looking back, looking ahead
D
Extension: readings in researching English language
1
The origins of some research projects in English language (John Sinclair; Susan Fischer; Ronald Carter)
2
Reviewing previous English language literature for research (Emanuel Schegloff, Irene Koshik, Sally Jacoby, and David Olsher; Neal Norrick; Ruqaiya Hasan)
3
Questions in English language research (Smith, S.W., Noda, H.P., Andrews, S. and Jucker; Chris Brumfit)
4
Methods in English language research (Karmiloff, K., Karmiloff-Smith, A. Barton, D., Hamilton, M.; Cumming, A.)
5
Problems in English language research (Jennifer Coates; Papaioannou, Santos and Howard 2008 tbc)
6
Collecting English language data (Petrić, B., Czárl, B.; Semino, E., Short, M.; Janet Maybin)
7
Analysing English language data (Jennifer Coates, Joanna Thornborrow; Gildersleeve-Neumann, C.E., Kester, E.S., Davis, B.L., Peña, E.D.; Maksoud, R.)
8
Writing about English language research (Mary Lea, Brian Street; Romy Clark, Roz Ivanič)
9
Moving on from doing English language research (Smagorinsky, P., Wright, L., Augustine, S.M., O'Donnell-Allen, C., Konopak, B.; Ben Rampton; Curzan, A., Queen, R.)
Glossary of terms
Further reading
References
Index
Biography
Alison Sealey
'... a highly engaging and admirably reflective introduction to researching English language... excellent introduction to research for any student or beginning researcher to discourse and conversation analysis in English. Important issues and complex concepts are formulated accessibly, critically and with a high degree of reflection. I highly recommend this book to any student about to embark on an undergraduate or postgraduate research project.' - Beatrice Szczepek Reed, LinguistList
‘This is a well structured, comprehensive and accessible guide to researching the English Language. It answers the most frequently occurring questions asked by students who are new to research, and offers guidelines that will help to make their projects manageable. However, at no point does it limit students’ horizons. Nor does it lose the larger intellectual vision which drives research, even at beginner level.’ Caroline Coffin, The Open University, UK
‘Researching English Language is a book brimming with excellent observations, case examples, and well-focused exercises. The book draws on recent and authoritative sources, and emphasizes the indispensable notion of "triangulation" in which findings are corroborated based on different (and yet complementary) types of linguistic evidence and research methodology.’ Vincent Ooi, National University of Singapore
