Researching Language: Issues of Power and Method

by Deborah Cameron

Research in social science frequently rests on unequal power relationships. This book discusses the possibilities of developing the research process so that it benefits the subjects as well as the researcher. The authors distinguish between "ethical", "advocate" and "empowering" approaches to the relationship between researcher and researched, linking these to different ideas about the nature of knowledge, action, language, and social relations. They then use a series of empirical case studies to explore the possibilities for "empowering research". All qualitative social research depends to some degree on researching language. The book is the product of dialogue between researchers from a range of disciplines - anthropology, cultural studies, sociology and linguistics. It can be read by researchers, teachers and students across the social sciences, and, through its combination of philosophical discussion, methodological recommendation and case-study illustration, it provides guidance that is practical without being simplistic. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in linguistics, sociology, social anthropology and communication studies.

148 pages, Hardcover

First published April 22, 1992

About the author

Deborah Cameron, is a feminist linguist, who holds the Rupert Murdoch Professorship in Language and Communication at Worcester College, Oxford University. She is mainly interested in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. A large part of her academic research is focused on the relationship of language to gender and sexuality.Cameron wrote the book The Myth of Mars And Venus: Do Men and Women Really Speak Different Languages?, published in 2007