Researching Communication Disorders (Research and Practice in Applied Linguistics)

An exploration of the applications of linguistics (including both psycholinguistic and sociolinguistics perspectives) to clinical research in the field of communication disorders. This will interest graduate and postgraduate speech-language pathologists and applied linguists as well as psychologists and neuropsychologists.

One in seven people will experience a communication disorder at some point in their lives. There is an urgent and ongoing need to understand more about the nature of communication disorders and their effects on the everyday lives of children and adults whose lives are affected by these difficulties, as well as those directly or indirectly affected as a family member, friend or professional. Research in this area seeks to develop an evidence base in relation to diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, clients’ perspectives, and cost effectiveness. Researching Communication Disorders involves a range of disciplines including speech-language pathology, linguistics and psychology. This book provides an interdisciplinary description of the theoretical frameworks in the field of communication disorders and an overview of the main current methodological approaches. Numerous case examples from the published research literature provide the reader with an understanding of the practicalities of researching in this field. Additionally, the book provides the beginning researcher with examples of key areas in which further research is needed.

List of Contents
Series Editors’ Preface
Acknowledgements
PART I: KEY CONCEPTS AND RESEARCH ISSUES
Paradigms and Research Practice
The Research/Practice Context
PART II: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH
What are the Key Problems in the Field?
Researching Child Communication Disorders
Researching Adult Communication Disorders
PART III: RESEARCH PROJECTS RELATED TO COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
Practical Issues in Planning Research
Communicating Research from Start to Finish
Project Development
Program Development
PART IV: FURTHER RESOURCES
Resources for Researching Communication Disorders
Glossary of Terms
Index