Christopher N. Candlin & Jonathan Crichton 
Exploring Discourse in Context and in Action 

This book combines an authoritative examination of the field of discourse-based research with practical guidance on research design and development. The book is not prescriptive but instead invites expansive, innovative thinking about what discourse is, why it matters to people at particular sites and how it can be investigated. The authors identify a set of questions that, they argue, are crucial for understanding discourse. Part I of the book explores the implications of these questions, providing a comprehensive survey of relevant scholars, theories, concepts and methodologies. Part II addresses these implications, setting out a multi-perspectival approach to resourcing and integrating micro and macro perspectives in the description, interpretation and explanation of data. Part III offers wide-ranging resources to support further reflection and future research. Ultimately, this book offers a new research approach for students, researchers and practitioners in Applied Linguistics toencourage and support research that can be truly impactful through its relevance to social and professional practice.

Table of Content

– Introduction.- PART I: CONCEPTS AND ISSUES.- Chapter 1: Discourses on discourse.- Chapter 2: Who’s involved in discourse?.- Chapter 3: What is it that’s going on here?.- Chapter 4: How do you know that?.- Chapter 5: Why that now?.- Chapter 6: What actions are being taken here, by whom and why?.- Chapter 7: How do discourse and social change drive each other?.- PART II: A MULTI-PERSPECTIVAL APPROACH TO ANALYSING DISCOURSE.- Chapter 8: What next?.- PART III: RESOURCES.- Chapter 9: Key sources.

About the author

Christopher N Candlin was Senior Research Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney, and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences. His research and publications lie in the critical analysis of professional/institutional discourses.  He was a member of the Editorial Boards of key international journals, and co-edited, with Srikant Sarangi, the
Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice. His recent publications include, co-edited with Jonathan Crichton,
Discourses of Deficit (2011),
Discourses of Trust (2013) and
Communicating Risk (2016).



Jonathan Crichton is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Member of the Research Centre for Languages and Cultures at the University of South Australia. His research focuses on professional and organisational communication, particularly in health settings. He has published in a wide range of international journals and edited collections, and is the author of
The Discourse of Commercialization (2010), and co-editor, with Christopher N Candlin, of 
Discourses of Deficit (2011),
Discourses of Trust (2013) and
Communicating Risk (2016).





Stephen H. Moore is Associate Professor in the Linguistics Department at Macquarie University, Australia. He has worked in the fields of English language teaching,  English for Specific Purposes, discourse analysis and language assessment for more than 25 years. He is co-author of Language for Specific Purposes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). His current research is investigating the discourse of financial advisors. He has a long-standing interest in English in and about Cambodia and has written and published widely on this topic.