ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the field of corpus analysis so that entering the field and navigating field-specific controversies become easier. Readers will get to know the plurality of approaches to corpus analysis, familiarise themselves with the specificities of text-statistical methods and learn about possible applications, all illustrated by examples from a study on crisis discourse. The chapter argues that corpus analysis is a valid addition to the tool-box of the discourse researcher, in particular, when used as an explorative technique for heuristic and reflexive purposes. Corpus analysis enables a specific macro-view of text material and supports the development of questions and hypotheses (heuristic potential). The chapter explains how to exploit these potentials for political discourse studies. Information is provided on approaches and dilemmas of corpus research, specificities of lexicometrics and corpus linguistics, and the development of a discourse-analytical strategy involving corpus analysis.
