A collection of readings addresses issues in empirical investigation of language and literacy in a social context, and provide models useful to researchers undertaking small-scale studies. They include: "Introducing Ethnography" (Martyn Hammersley); "The Relations between Researcher and Researched: Ethics, Advocacy and Empowerment" (D. Cameron, and others); "Observing and Recording Talk in Educational Settings" (Joan Swann); "Negotiation as a Critical Factor in Learning To Read in a Second Language" (Eve Gregory); "Through Whose Eyes? Exploring Racism through Literature with White Students" (Beverley Naidoo); "'I Treat Them All the Same': Teacher-Pupil Talk in Multi-Ethnic Classrooms" (A. P. Biggs, Viv Edwards); "Reading as a Social Process in a Middle School Classroom" (David Bloome); "Children's Voices: Talk, Knowledge and Identity" (Janet Maybin); "Gender Inequalities in Classroom Talk" (Joan Swann, David Graddol); "Unequal Voices: Gender and Assessment" (Julie Fisher); "No Gap, Lots of Overlap: Turn-Taking Patterns in the Talk of Women Friends" (Jennifer Coates); "Cultural Values in Samish and Australian Children's Literature: A Corpus Linguistic Approach" (Meeri Hellsten); and "Roles, Networks and Values in Everyday Writing" (David Barton, Sarah Padmore). (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)