Research Methods in Sign Language Studies: A Practical Guide

Research Methods in Sign Language Studies is a landmark work on sign language research, which spans the fields of linguistics, experimental and developmental psychology, brain research, and language assessment.  It summarizes all relevant methodologies in sign language research and provides a detailed synopsis of how to do necessary research.  In 20 chapters, it examines a broad range of topics, including ethical and political issues, key methodologies, and the collection of linguistic, cognitive, neuroscientific, and neuropsychological data. Each chapter is written by a top researcher on the subject and provides tips and recommendations to improve research quality at all levels.  The book is innovative and contemporary in tone and ideology.  It encourages readers to approach sign languages from the perspective of diversity rather than disability and is the first volume to bring together work focusing on methodology from both hearing and deaf researchers in sign language studies. Integrating research on sign languages from Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa, this is an essential reference for any student or researcher who requires the most comprehensive and up–to–date information in the field.

  Eleni Orfanidou is Lecturer of Cognitive/Experimental Psychology at the University of Crete, Greece. She was previously Postdoctoral Research Fellow at City University London, UK, and Research Fellow at the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London, UK. She has published on various aspects of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience , Journal of Memory and Language , and Nature Communications . Bencie Woll is Professor of Sign Language Studies and Director of the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London, UK. She was elected as a fellow of the British Academy in 2012. She is the co–author or co–editor of many books, including her most recent, Sign Language: An International Handbook (2012) and The Signs of a Savant (2010). Gary Morgan is Professor of Psychology at City University London and Deputy Director of the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London, UK. He has published widely on sign language acquisition, theory of mind development, and psycholinguistic studies of sign languages, and he has developed several tests for assessing language skills in children. He is the co–author of several books, including Directions in Sign Language Acquisition (2002) and The Signs of a Savant (2010).