Postgraduate Course: Sociolinguistic Research Design (LASC11152)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | An introduction to research design in variationist sociolinguistics. |
| Course description |
Sociolinguistics can be defined as the study of language in use. Sociolinguistic research involves describing patterns of language in use and proposing theories to account for those observed patterns, often with recourse to social factors such as the identity of the speaker or the cultural relevance of the speaking context. Descriptive questions include: How do (different) people talk in different contexts, with different addressees, and for different purposes? When do people vary in how they use language, and when do they not vary? Theoretical questions ask why the answers to these questions look the way that they do, attempting to explore why the same sociolinguistic patterns can be seen across different communities and cultures. In short, this course covers research that asks: What motivates speakers to make different linguistic choices? And what communicative and social functions are served by those choices? We focus on answering these questions by bringing particular attention to principles of research design.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Linguistic Research Skills (LASC11144)
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Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 18,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
80 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1000 word essay (30%)
2000 word essay (70%) |
| Feedback |
Discussion of how to read a linguistics paper, and how to plan a research project. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand the rationale for using particular inductive or deductive methods and qualitative, quantitative, or mixed research methods
- understand the basics of probability, and gain a critical understanding of the scientific method and of the nature of reflexivity
- develop systematic approaches to studying the differences in how we use language
- develop a distinctively (socio)linguistic perspective in how we describe and explain what we observe
- understand the significance of alternative epistemological positions that provide the context for theory construction, research design, and the selection of appropriate analytical techniques
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Reading List
"An introduction to sociolinguistics" by Ronald Wardhaugh and Janet M. Fuller, 8th Edition, 2021
Brown, E. K. (ed.) 2006. Encyclopedia of language & linguistics. Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Boston: Elsevier. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Principles of research design, basic quantitative methods, basic qualitative methods, (socio)linguistic terminology and concepts |
| Keywords | Research Design,Sociolinguistics,Linguistics,Language Variation,Language Change |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lauren Hall-Lew
Tel: (0131 6)51 1836
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Elinor Lange
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: |
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