ABSTRACT
Whilst the preceding chapters introduce some key concepts, themes and theories in language, gender and sexuality, this chapter focuses on the more practical elements of conducting research in this area. The chapter provides a guide to designing a language, gender and sexuality research project. It addresses the skills required to undertake research in this area, whilst recognising that the field lends itself to highly varied ways in which aspects of language, gender and sexuality can be investigated. The chapter starts by offering advice on how to devise appropriate research questions and how to produce a strong research rationale. Guidance is then offered on how readers can familiarise themselves with relevant literature and how to use existing work to inform their own research. Readers are then guided through the processes of designing and executing data collection and analysis for a research project. The chapter briefly refers to how to select an appropriate analytical framework to use, although this is primarily the focus of Chapter 4. Finally, this chapter includes a consideration of the kinds of ethical issues which are often encountered in conducting language, gender and sexuality research.
