Acceptable bias? Using corpus linguistics methods with critical discourse analysis

This paper considers the proposal that corpus linguistics approaches can improve the objectivity of critical discourse analysis research, resulting in a more robust and valid set of findings. Taking a recent project which examined the representation of Islam and Muslims in the British press, corpus-driven procedures identified that Muslims tended to be linked to the concept of extreme belief much more than moderate or strong belief. There were differences across newspapers, with 1 in 8 Muslims describing it as extreme in The People while this figure was 1 in 35 for The Guardian. Such patterns of quantification, however, still require researchers to carry out their own critical interpretations with regard to what counts as acceptable frequencies.