Introducing Linguistic Research

Over the past decade, conducting empirical research in linguistics has become increasingly popular. The first of its kind, this book provides an engaging and practical introduction to this exciting versatile field, providing a comprehensive overview of research aspects in general, and covering a broad range of subdiscipline-specific methodological approaches. Subfields covered include language documentation and descriptive linguistics, language typology, corpus linguistics, sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics, cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics. The book reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of each single approach and on how they interact with one-another across the study of language in its many diverse facets. It also includes exercises, example student projects and recommendations for further reading, along with additional online teaching materials. Providing hands-on experience, and written in an engaging and accessible style, this unique and comprehensive guide will give students the inspiration they need to develop their own research projects in empirical linguistics.

Preface; Part I. Research Basics: 1. Empirical research in linguistics; 2. Basic research methods for data collection; Part II. Specific Research Approaches of Linguistic Subdisciplines: 3. Language documentation and descriptive linguistics; 4. Language typology; 5. Corpus linguistics; 6. Sociolinguistics and anthropological linguistics; 7. Cognitive linguistics and psycholinguistics; 8. Neurolinguistics; Part III. Linguistic Research across the Discipline: 9. Insights from linguistic research.

Svenja Völkel is senior researcher/lecturer in linguistics at the University of Mainz, Germany. She has long-standing research and teaching experience in a broad field of topics, including language typology, anthropological linguistics, language contact, and cognitive linguistics. Her regional focus is on Oceania.
Franziska Kretzschmar is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Leibniz Institute for the German Language, Germany. She has extensive research and teaching experience in psycho- and neurolinguistics, studying primarily language comprehension and reading both from a basic and an applied perspective.