Researching Language, Culture and Communication in the Global World

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Critically review research literature and identify gaps in research
• Formulate researchable problems in the area of language, culture and communication and choose among alternative methodologies;
• Recognise the significance of alternative epistemological positions in applied linguistics, the social sciences and cultural studies
• Plan a small-scale research investigation
• Develop skills to identify forms of data

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Develop and maintain a personal bibliography
• Take appropriate ethical issues into account in research design
• Identify, select and draw upon a wide range of primary and secondary sources, printed and electronic
• Communicate research in a variety of written formats

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• How to challenge professional practice, and undertake improvement-orientated enquiry
• Different approaches to knowledge, truth and the nature of research
• Theoretical approaches which are relevant to the use of different methods
• Qualitative and quantitative methods to research in language, culture and communication
• Topic relevant knowledge specific to the chosen research area

The modules will prepare you for a dissertation or professional project by introducing you to research methods, relevant case studies and key issues of research in language, culture and communication.

Teaching and learning methods

There will be one lecture per week and one seminar per week. The lectures will introduce and explain the key concepts of the module. The seminars will provide an opportunity for students to apply their learning about different research methods by completing different linguistic analysis exercises and by engaging with literature which utilises these methods.

The module will also encourage you to reflect critically on methods of language and communication research and how to employ them to solve problems encountered in everyday life.

Learning activities include:

• Completing specified preparatory reading tasks;
• Individual and collaborative critique of research design in published studies of language and communication;
• Written and oral presentation of findings;
• Practical exercises, group discussions and class debates on selected topics;
• Written critical reviews of research papers and design of research projects (assessed).

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Barker, C (2016). Cultural studies: theory and practice. Los Angeles: Sage.

Moses, J.W., Knutsen, T.L. (2012). . Ways of knowing: competing methodologies in social and political research. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire : New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wodak, R., Meyer, M. (Eds.) (2016). Methods of critical discourse studies. Los Angeles: Sage.

Copland, F., Creese, A., Rock, F., Shaw, S., (2015). Linguistic ethnography. Los Angeles: Sage.

Treadwell, D.F., Davis, A., (2020). Introducing communication research: paths of inquiry. Los Angeles: Sage.

Norris, S. (2019). Systematically working with multimodal data: research methods in multimodal discourse analysis. . Hoboken, NJ.: Wiley Blackwell.

Hua, Z. (Ed.), (2016). Research methods in intercultural communication: a practical guide. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

Rose, G., (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials. London: Sage.

Bhatia, V.K., Flowerdew, J., Jones, R.H. (Eds.) (2008). Advances in discourse studies. London [u.a.]: Routledge.

Hult, F.M., Johnson, D.C. (Eds.) (2015). . Research methods in language policy and planning: a practical guide. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Bhatia, V.K., Bremner, S. (Eds.) (2014). The Routledge handbook of language and professional communication, Routledge handbooks. Milton Park: Routledge.

Costa, C., Condie, J (Eds.) (2019). Doing research in and on the digital: research methods across fields of enquiry, Routledge advances in research methods. London: Routledge.

Rowell, L.L. (Ed.), (2017). The Palgrave international handbook of action research. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Scannell, P., (2007). Media and communication. Sage, Los Angeles.. Los Angeles: Sage.

Assessment strategy

There are two elements to the summative assessment for this module. Firstly, there is a research review exercise in which you will critically review different academic research articles and resources for the purpose of addressing a particular research question. Secondly, you will formulate a research proposal with a clear purpose and direction which is backed up by past literature and your understanding of research methods and design.

You will also receive formative feedback throughout the module as you participate in lectures and seminars and discuss your understanding of the module material in these settings.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External