ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the methods of data collection and gives an overall account of the Vietnamese community from which the data were drawn. It consists of four sections. In the first section, a general description of the Vietnamese community in Australia is given, followed by a detailed account of the Vietnamese community in Melbourne in which the data were collected. The second section examines the social networks of the Vietnamese community in order to provide a framework for an analysis of patterns of code-switching to be presented in the following chapters. In the third section, the methods of data collection and the rationale for adopting these data collection methods will be presented. Finally, the sample points and subjects of the present study will be described. The present study is based on empirical data gathered by the researcher. The sample consists of sixty Vietnamese English bilinguals who came to Australia as adults and adolescents and live in and around Melbourne.
