Lin 207 essay 4

LIN 207 Response Essay # 4 The Mock Experiment Design

You are a professional linguist specializing in sociolinguistics. You have just received a grant to carry out any study of your choice and design. You have unlimited funds to recruit as many participants as necessary. What does your experiment look like? Who/which group of people will you be surveying? What language(s) are you investigating and at which linguistic variants will you study? These are the big questions you will be answering in the mock-experiment-design.

Introduction (1pt.)

In this section, make it clear what linguistic variable you will be studying and across which social/geographical dimension. Describe the variable with examples.

(shortened example):

I am looking at the word people use for “carbonated beverage.” This study will survey college students from the Southwest US, Northeast US, and the Southeast US.

Background (2pts.)

In this section, you will describe in depth the linguistic feature you are investigating. Describe the feature using terminology from this course. Next, discuss the population or community in which this feature manifests itself. What are the social categories you will include in this study?

This experiment is focusing on lexical choice in the American variety of English. Commonly, the word “pop” is used in the northeast US, but in other areas (such as the Southeast and Southwest) “coke” or “soda” is preferred. I will send a survey to the University at Buffalo, the University of Arizona, and the University of Texas A&M to gather data on college students’ preference for pop/coke/soda. I will ask only undergraduates, between ages 18-22. I will record gender to see if there are any correlations.

Hypothesis (2pts.)

In this section you will make an argument for what you believe the results of this study will show. Using outside sources is a strong way to legitimatize your hypothesis. Discuss the possibilities of alternative results in the case that your hypothesis is proven wrong.

I predict that students from Texas will state that they prefer to use the term “coke,” the students from of Arizona will prefer “soda,” and students from Buffalo will state that they prefer the term “pop.” In American English: Dialects and Variation by Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling, it is noted that the lexical choice is best described with geography (p.59). Since my study looks at three unique regions of America, the results should reflect the three regional variants. In the case that every student prefers “soda” or students in the North prefer “coke” over “pop,” this may be result of students leaving their home variety in pursuit of college education (i.e. a southerner heads north to go to college).

Grading criteria

Introduction (1pt.) – the submission outlines their mock-study. The linguistic variable is mentioned as well as the social or geographical dimensions.

Background (2pts.) – the submission clearly describes one linguistic variable and at least one social dimension. The submission uses accurate terminology from the course. The participant selection is relevant to the study.

Hypothesis (2pts.) – the submission states their claims, their justification for designing the study and predicts the results. The submission also makes at least one suggestion for if the results trend differently than their hypothesis.

Clarity/Precision (1pt.) – the submission is well organized and precise in verbiage and description. The submission is well organized and uses college-level writing.

Submissions are due on UBLearns by the end of Sunday, December 13th at midnight. Late submissions will lose half a letter grade for each day they are late. Please email me (tjokon@buffalo.edu) if you there are any circumstances leading to you requiring additional time.

High scoring responses will:

• Create a mock study
• Follow the rubric explained above
• Utilize at least one academic outside source (Meyerhoff is acceptable, with proper citations!)
• Accurately employ terminology from the readings and lectures

Academic Integrity

Students should adhere to the Academic Integrity guidelines issued by UB. Suspected or alleged academic dishonesty will be addressed case by case. For more reading, consult the university’s undergraduate Academic Integrity Policy.