Sociolinguistics: Method and Interpretation presents a thorough and practical description of current sociolinguistic methodology while recognizing that methodological decisions can never be separated from questions of theory.

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• Presents a thorough and practical description of current sociolinguistic methodology.
  
• Considers a range of issues including speaker selection, data collection, social considerations, phonological and syntactical variation, style-shifting and code-switching.
  
• Recognizes that methodological decisions can never be separated from questions of theory.
  
• Stresses the need for the entire research process from the initial design of the project to the interpretation of results to be grounded in theoretically defensible positions.
  
• Shows how the research paradigm established by a few influential pioneers has been fruitfully expanded by exciting new trends.