Researching Communication Disorders

One in seven people will experience a communication disorder at some point in their lives. There is an urgent and ongoing need to understand more about the nature of communication disorders and their effects on the everyday lives of children and adults whose lives are affected by these difficulties, as well as those directly or indirectly affected as a family member, friend or professional. Research in this area seeks to develop an evidence base in relation to diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, clients' perspectives, and cost effectiveness.

Researching Communication Disorders involves a range of disciplines including speech-language pathology, linguistics and psychology. This book provides an interdisciplinary description of the theoretical frameworks in the field of communication disorders and an overview of the main current methodological approaches.

Numerous case examples from the published research literature provide the reader with an understanding of the practicalities of researching in this field. Additionally, the book provides the beginning researcher with examples of key areas in which further research is needed.

About the Authors

Alison Ferguson is Associate Professor in Speech Pathology at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her internationally-recognized research explores the application of socio-linguistic theory to the analysis of interactions involving people with aphasia, students and speech-language pathologists.

Elizabeth Armstrong is Foundation Chair in Speech Pathology at Edith Cowan University in Perth, with over 20 years experience in the field of speech-language pathology. She has pioneered the application of Systemic Functional Linguistics to the field of speech-language pathology, with her published work appearing in both book chapters and international peer-reviewed publications.