Researching urban youth language and identity by Rob Drummond delineates the context and process of conducting an ethnographic research project in an under-researched linguistic context—two learning centres within the Secondary Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Manchester, UK. This book consists of the attempt of seeking a middle ground between variationist and ethnographic research traditions, and offers useful resources and implications for linguistic ethnographers.

In the introduction, Drummond gives an honest account of the different research backgrounds of himself and his research associate, Susan Dray, which lays out the foundation for the mixed-methods approach adopted in this book. He then sets the scene for the study, and he describes the aim of the project as to investigate how young people enact identities through linguistic and nonlinguistic practices. Chapter 2 provides an outline of the PRUs, which cater to the young people excluded from mainstream school. Drummond introduces their daily operations and internal groupings, placing them within the broader context of the UK education system. In chapter 3, Drummond reflects upon his own and Dray's roles and identities in the centres, both as an individual and in relation to others. Chapter 4 describes at length how the two researchers with distinct expertise attempted collaboration. Although some of their approaches did not overlap neatly, resulting in their keeping two different sets of field diaries and interpreting some concepts differently, Drummond acknowledges the necessity of including ethnographic observational data in the research to better understand language use in context. Chapter 5 is mostly made up of fieldwork notes and reflections, which enables the reader to gain insights into the life in the PRUs and contextualises their observations and analyses in other chapters. This chapter also recounts the researcher's personal journey as an ethnographer and illustrates the process of the research per se.

Drummond presents some data from aspects of vowels, quotatives, and lexis in chapter 6 and draws comparisons with Multicultural London English/Multicultural Urban British English. As he aligns with the third-wave approach of sociolinguistics, he is tentative about the correlations between linguistic features and social variation revealed by statistical analysis. Chapter 7 explores the role of ethnicity in the feature of th-stopping in young people's language by adopting both quantitative and interactional analysis. Instead of grouping participants in predetermined categories, they regard ethnicity as a fluid concept that is enacted in practice. In chapters 8 and 9, Drummond reflects upon the impact his project has on the centres and on society, and he presents some final thoughts on their research experience.

This collaborative piece of research raises awareness of the value of nonstandard language and informs policymakers and commentators, which will hopefully help mitigate social bias and inequality. It also has implications for future studies, both empirically and theoretically, by offering an elaborate account of conducting fieldwork as well as combining different research traditions. This book is especially helpful to those who will conduct school-based ethnography.