Methods in Sociolinguistic Research

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

170 hours

If not admitted to Honours or Graduate Diploma in Arts (Advanced) in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics, students are recommended to have contacted the subject coordinator prior to enrolling in the subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This course is an Honours level introduction to key concepts and approaches in field-based methodologies employed in sociocultural linguistics, with a particular focus on contemporary scholarship that takes a broad approach to language, culture, and society. It will examine current approaches to data collection and analysis in sociolinguistics as well as the use of statistical tools for sociolinguistic investigation. Students will master course concepts by applying them to their own data sets. The course provides students with theoretical knowledge, analytic skills, and professional socialization that will prepare them to pursue original research in sociolinguistics. This is a hands on course and students will be expected to collect different types of language data and analyse this across different methodologies.

On successful completion of this subject, students should:

• develop a sound theory-based understanding of methods for collecting and analysing data to be used in addressing sociolinguistic research questions;
• develop skills for analysing and presenting sociolinguistic data.

• 10,000 words of assessable work

Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum of 75% of tutorials in order to pass this subject. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Note: Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

A set of readings will be available

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• be able to apply research skills and critical methods to a field of inquiry;
• be bale to communicate oral and written arguments and ideas effectively.