Research Methods for English Studies

by Gabriele Griffin (editor)

The first volume of this kind, Research Methods for English Studies introduces final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students taking Masters degrees or PhDs to a range of research methods deployed in the study of English, particularly for the periods of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book covers methods familiar to many English scholars. It also encourages creative engagement with less familiar research methods in English in order to stimulate innovative research and encourage debate about research in the discipline. Bringing together a range of distinguished contributors, each chapter focuses on one particular method, offering both concrete practical advice on how to utilise it and exploring some of the methodological issues that are involved in the use of that particular method. These methods include textual analysis, auto/biographical methods, discourse analysis, interviewing, visual methodologies, archival methods, quantitative analysis, ethnographic methods, oral history, creative writing as a research method, and the uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in research in English. Key Features:* Offers practical advice as well as methodological discussions for each method* Includes chapters on innovative areas such as creative writing, ICT and ethnographic methods* Provides concrete examples of how methods might be used in English research* Responds to AHRB’s drive for explicit and mandatory research training for postgraduates

Genres: Academic, Nonfiction, Grad School, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2005

Reviews

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my gosh I struggled with this one. It was pulling teeth to get anything informative out of it, made all the more painful by having four weeks of assignments to deliver based on my understanding of the text.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a series, and not quite as useful as RESEARCH METHODS FOR HISTORY, but not without merit. This came out 20 years ago and was updated just over a decade ago, so some of the more technical material is out of date, but most of it holds. There are the usual explanations of archival research and the like before more specific sections on oral history, autobiography, discourse analysis and ethnography. The sections on interviewing and creative writing as research are some of the most novel areas featured here and worth a look. Given that this is a relatively short book it doesn't go into a huge amount of detail, but it serves as a useful primer for the topic and I found it readable and often engaging.

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As so many of the authors in this book recognise, research methods and methodologies are not talked about enough in English studies. Research Methods for English Studies is only an introduction, and can only cover a limited range of topics from a limited range of perspectives, but it's a good place to start. I found most of the chapters, even the ones that weren't directly relevant to my research interests, really interesting and somewhat useful. This book doesn't have all the answers, but if this is a topic you're thinking about, it's well worth a read.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly, i still love research, and don't love absent teachers

[abhishek Chakraborty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should have been more focused on traditional research Methods