Book contents
- Words that Wound
- Words that Wound
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Disclaimer: A Note to Readers
- Introduction
- 1 Setting the Scene
- 2 Understanding Offence
- 3 Data and Methodological Considerations
- 4 Navigating the Landscape of Offensive Discourse
- 5 Semantic Domains of Offensive Language
- 6 Patterns of Offensive Language Usage
- 7 Less Explicitly Offensive Language
- 8 Creativity and Offence
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
3 - Data and Methodological Considerations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2026
Book contents
- Words that Wound
- Words that Wound
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Disclaimer: A Note to Readers
- Introduction
- 1 Setting the Scene
- 2 Understanding Offence
- 3 Data and Methodological Considerations
- 4 Navigating the Landscape of Offensive Discourse
- 5 Semantic Domains of Offensive Language
- 6 Patterns of Offensive Language Usage
- 7 Less Explicitly Offensive Language
- 8 Creativity and Offence
- 9 Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 3 explains our research methods, data collection and ethics. In this chapter, we focus on how we have addressed the typical challenges of interpreter bias in studying online offensive language. To mitigate these issues, we ground our study in naturally occurring data flagged as offensive by the targets themselves. We also introduce the reader to the world of social media content creators and discuss who the targets in our study are, and provide some demographic information about them. We discuss the use of Sketch Engine as a tool to address our primary objective of exploring the formal, lexical, semantic and discursive strategies involved in the construction of offensive language. We also discuss Wmatrix5, a corpus tool used to explore the semantic dimensions of offensive language. In addition, we explain how quantitative analysis was combined with thematic and linguistic-pragmatic approaches to examine how frequency and context shape offensive meanings. Chapter 3 further outlines our ethical considerations, including the responsible handling of data and the protection of participant anonymity, throughout the research process.
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- Words that WoundExploring Online Offensive Language, pp. 56 - 71Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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