The field method
The field method is based on observation of actually occurring data, and as such it is strictly empirical. It crucially depends on data that has not been elicited by the researcher for the purpose of his or her research project but that occurs for communicative reasons outside of the research project for which it is used. The data can be written or spoken data, as long as it was produced with a communicative end. Letters, emails, short text messages and other forms of personal communication clearly have communicative aims. A writer wants to communicate with a specific reader or addressee of the text. Research articles, newspaper features or novels also have communicative aims even if the writer has only a vague idea of who the readers of his or her text will be. Therefore, I apply the term “field method” to all empirical analyses of language that was produced outside of the research project.
The following methods can be distinguished: