Many professionals and students have a need to make small-scale investigations of talk or reading and writing behaviour – whether as case studies, for coursework, or as part of their own professional development. This volume shows how experienced researchers have approached the tasks and what they have discovered about the social and cultural embeddedness of language and literacy practices. The first section of this book provides an accessible introduction to the nature of ethnography; a discussion of ethical issues in sociolinguistic research; and a step-by-step guide to recording talk and preparing transcripts for analysis. The second section includes ten research studies, chosen for their intrinsic interest, as well as their usefulness in illustrating aspects of methodology, and ways of presenting and analysing empirical data.

David Graddol, Janet Maybin and Barry Stierer are members of the Centre for Language and Communications, School of Education at The Open University.