Quantitative Methods in Sociolinguistics

The ways in which data is collected, coded and analyzed provide the basis for trusting the conclusions reached in any sociolinguistic study. This detailed textbook critically examines methods used in quantitative sociolinguistic studies, including the ways in which the major social categories of age, gender, ethnicity and social class have been employed to chart language variation.

With an in-depth focus on methodological decisions, Quantitative Methods in Sociolinguistics:

• Discusses the nature of data and explores methods of collecting evidence of language variation
• Critically reviews the methodology in a number of book-length sociolinguistic studies, showing the ways in which data has been collected and analyzed
• Illustrates different ways of tabulating the results of an investigation and examines different ways of analyzing the results

Designed for students at all levels studying sociolinguistics, this invaluable book evaluates and explains the basis on which claims have been made and encourages the reader to view the existing sociolinguistics literature with a more critical eye.