A philosophy, a methodology, and a gender identity

Leann Brown

doi:10.33137/twpl.v43i1.35965

Abstract

Mixed methods research (MMR) based in a pragmatic research philosophy involves the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods to triangulate research findings and strengthen interpretations. This especially holds for complex research questions and/or data. Non-binary focused sociolinguistic research often deals with multiple complexities, including dynamic and contextually dependent ways of identifying and variation in body modification affecting speech production. While echoing prior calls for researchers to apply, when appropriate, a pragmatic/MMR framework (Angouri 2010), I uniquely argue that it can empower non-binary researchers and research collaborators, ultimately generating positive social change. My objective in presenting non-binary focused sociophonetic research is to demonstrate the framework’s advantages. These include foregrounding non-binary voices and experiences to generate rich, nuanced research questions, data, and analyses. These elements, as well as demonstrable ecological validity and multiple (collaborative and/or cross-discipline) perspectives are the hallmarks of transformative research which focuses on fostering social change.

Highlights

Linguists across subdisciplines have called for mixed method research (MMR) in sociolinguistics (Angouri 2010; Blaxter and Kinn 2018), applied linguistics (Hashemi and Babaii 2013; Riazi 2016; Mirhosseini 2018; Bacon 2020) and voice therapy research (Azul and Neuschaefer-Rube 2019)
It is especially important to explore MMR because the phenomena of interest, the research questions, the data sets accessed/generated, and the analyses conducted in sociolinguistics are often complex
I have reiterated the call for morelinguistic research with a conscious pragmatic approach with MMR framework as it can foster more collaborative and creative research (Angouri 2010; Hashemi and Babaii 2013; Riazi 2016; Blaxter and Kinn 2018; Mirhosseini 2018; Azul and Neuschaefer-Rube 2019; Bacon 2020)

Summary

Introduction

Linguists across subdisciplines have called for mixed method research (MMR) in sociolinguistics (Angouri 2010; Blaxter and Kinn 2018), applied linguistics (Hashemi and Babaii 2013; Riazi 2016; Mirhosseini 2018; Bacon 2020) and voice therapy research (Azul and Neuschaefer-Rube 2019). Angouri (2010: 30) notes that “[i]t is still quite common for the two paradigms [qualitative and quantitative] to be directly contrasted”. MMR is well suited to deal with multiple levels of complexity (Hashemi and Babaii 2013; Riazi 2016; Blaxter and Kinn 2018), capture underlying ideologies (Bacon 2020), and to result in more robust research outcomes including increased ecological validity (Blaxter and Kinn 2018; Azul and Neuschaefer-Rube 2019; Bacon 2020) These are important aspects for language researchers focusing on non-binary populations and whose goals are to generate authentic and transformative research (detailed in Section 2) with positive real-world applications (e.g., Zimman 2020)

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion