Chapter Seven - Replication: Carrying out an Empirical Study

Summary

Having considered repetition in the previous chapter, we now look at replication in this chapter. Beginning with a discussion of replication, we move on to attempt to replicate some features of Leech’s study of modal verb decline, building on similar work by Paul Baker and focusing on the results produced in support of claims of modal decline from the early twenty-first century. Our study undertakes a form of replication rare in corpus linguistics, but common in the sciences – a study based on new datasets using the same sampling frame as the original dataset. Our replications then force us through a process of hypothesis reformulation, corroboration, falsification and, at times, rejection in line with the scientific approach to corpus data outlined in Chapters 1 to 5 of the book.