Sarah Nelson claims qualitative researchers are being "patronising and discriminatory" when presenting direct quotes from working-class and less-educated people, because they may contain local accents or poor grammar (Soapbox, THES, March 28).
She ends by asking us "gritty social researchers" to give "people who don't speak proper a bit of proper respect". Maybe I have missed the point, but who is being disrespectful here? What gives one person the right to define what is proper in speech?
Sara MacKian Manchester University
Register to continue
Why register?
- Registration is free and only takes a moment
- Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
- Sign up for our newsletter
Subscribe
Or subscribe for unlimited access to:
- Unlimited access to news, views, insights & reviews
- Digital editions
- Digital access to THE’s university and college rankings analysis
Already registered or a current subscriber? Login