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Censuses and Large-Scale Surveys in Language Research

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Research Methods in Language and Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

Abstract

Although they typically include just one or two questions about language, censuses and large-scale government surveys are a rich source of data for examining patterns and trends in language knowledge and use. This chapter begins with a brief history of census taking, which dates back several millennia and which became a key administrative technology of modern nation-states and colonial projects. Motivations for the nineteenth century introduction of census questions about language knowledge and use are then discussed, with particular attention paid to methodological concerns regarding the focus and formulation of the questions. This chapter presents major contributions from three areas: (1) the field of survey methodology, (2) research on survey language questions, and (3) analyses of the ideological aspects of census language questions, and then provides information about additional large-scale surveys on language and education. The challenges of using census data in language research are then discussed, including the inconsistency of questions asked in different places, changes in the questions over time, and reliability and validity concerns regarding self-report data. The chapter concludes with a consideration of recent trends in survey methods and how these are likely to affect censuses and surveys about language.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Modern and Classical Languages, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Jennifer Leeman

Authors
  1. Jennifer Leeman
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Correspondence to Jennifer Leeman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Kendall A. King

  2. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Yi-Ju Lai

  3. Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Stephen May

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Leeman, J. (2017). Censuses and Large-Scale Surveys in Language Research. In: King, K., Lai, YJ., May, S. (eds) Research Methods in Language and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02249-9_8

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