Handbook of Qualitative Research in Communication Disorders (Language and Speech Disorders)

This volume provides a comprehensive and in-depth handbook of qualitative research in the field of communication disorders. It introduces and illustrates the wide range of qualitative paradigms that have been used in recent years to investigate various aspects of communication disorders.

The first part of the Handbook introduces in some detail the concept of qualitative research and its application to communication disorders, and describes the main qualitative research approaches. The contributions are forward-looking rather than merely giving an overview of their topic. The second part illustrates these approaches through a series of case studies of different communication disorders using qualitative methods of research.

This Handbook is an essential resource for senior undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practitioners, in communication disorders and related fields.

Martin J. Ball is Hawthorne-BoRSF Endowed Professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is co-editor of the journal Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics (Taylor & Francis), and the book series Communication Disorders Across Languages (Multilingual Matters). His main research interests include sociolinguistics, clinical phonetics and phonology, and the linguistics of Welsh. He is an honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Nicole Müller is Hawthorne-BoRSF Endowed Professor of Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Her main research interests include: clinical discourse studies and pragmatics, specifically as applied to Alzheimer's Disease; communication disorders and multilingualism; and functional grammar.

Ryan L. Nelson is Assistant Professor, Hawthorne-BoRSF Endowed Professor of Communicative Disorders at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His main research interests include: childhood language disorders, literacy construction and usage, and qualitative research methodologies.