ENGL1050 – Research methods in sociolinguistics

Academics

Undergraduate

Course Offerings and Timetables

This course provides students with hands-on experience of basic research methods and activities used in qualitative discourse analysis and sociolinguistics. In class, we cover a range of important topics and research processes, including how to design research questions, observe, collect, transcribe, and analyze data, as well as understand research ethics. This class is not about learning theories and concepts. Using their senses—not sitting at the computer and using AI—students are expected to “experience” how to do research. Through various assignment activities, students will hone methodological skills and develop a researcher’s mindset to carry out qualitative research in the fields of sociolinguistics and discourse analysis.

format

Class format

Objectives

After successfully completing the course, students will be able to

Develop confidence in a range of research methods used in qualitative discourse analysis and sociolinguistics.
Strengthen skills in observing, collecting, and transcribing language data.
Gain hands-on experience in reviewing and evaluating existing scholarship from a methodological perspective.
Design and carry out sociolinguistic fieldwork.
Cultivate a researcher’s mindset and better understand the relationship between the researcher and the researched, as well as important issues in research ethics.