Sociolinguistic Research ─ Application and Impact

Sociolinguistic Research: Application and Impact provides a dynamic and unique overview for researchers and advanced students undertaking research projects within the area of sociolinguistics and shows how this research can have practical applications beyond an academic audience, and have a clear impact upon professional practice and people’s lives.

There is an increasing push within academia that research at all levels have a practical application and real-world "impact" and it is now a significant criterion for most funding bodies. Anyone undertaking research in sociolinguistics must address such questions as: How can sociolinguistics adapt to this? What steps could be taken to make the discipline more relevant outside academia? How can public engagement with sociolinguistic research be facilitated? This book will answer these questions and shows researchers how their own research can become more "outward" facing. Featuring chapters from established and emerging scholars such as Mary Bucholtz, John R. Rickford, and Walt Wolfram and including sociolinguistic research from Europe, Asia, and North America, this book includes:

• chapters that showcase contemporary and cutting edge sociolinguistic research which have had practical and real world applications

• case studies from a range of professional fields including criminal justice, education, language policy-making, workplace communication, asylum seeker assessment, and migrant integration

• the various methods of gaining user and public involvement, from running community workshops for migrant groups, organising stalls at county fairs, facilitating school student participation in education projects, and ensuring influence in professional practice

Sociolinguistics Research: Application and Impact is essential reading for sociolinguistic researchers and students embarking on research in this area.

Robert Lawson is Senior Lecturer in the School of English at Birmingham City University, UK.

Dave Sayers is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Humanities at Sheffield Hallam University and Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK.