The Researching Multilingually Network Project

Researching Multilingually was an AHRC-funded network project (Dec 2011 - Nov 2012) which explored processes and practices of researching in contexts where more than one language is involved.

Nowadays, research is often a multilingual endeavour. Researchers are required to work in more than one language: in interviewing; interpreting dialogues; translating documents; making ethical choices around language possibilities concerning consent forms; conducting member checks; presenting data; and reporting/publishing. Yet, little information about these multilingual research processes is available, either in the literature, through research methods training programmes, or in policy documents.

Our project, and our researcher network, enabled us to showcase examples of good researching mutlilingually praxis, addressing theoretical and methodological choices in research planning, consent, ethical researcher language practices, processes of data generation and collection, analysis, representation, and reporting. The project generated numerous conference presentations, workshops, seminars, a researcher network, and publications, including a special issue of six articles illustrating “researching mutlilingually” praxis in the International Journal of Applied Linguistics, published in November 2013.

We are delighted that our project has contributed to the AHRC large-grant project “Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State”, led by Professor Alison Phipps at Glasgow University.

For more information about the initial Researching Multilingually project and related activities, or if you would like to join our researcher network, please contact the researchers:

Dr Prue Holmes (PI), Durham University [email protected]
Dr Richard Fay, The University of Manchester, [email protected]
Dr Jane Andrews, The University of the West of England, [email protected]
Dr Mariam Attia, University of Sussex, [email protected]