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In:Digital and Internet-Based Research Methods in Applied Linguistics
Edited by Matt Kessler
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 15] 2026
► pp. 172–191

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Chapter 9
Web-based corpora and web-based corpus platforms

 | University of Memphis
 | University of Pittsburgh
 | University of Memphis
Published online: 5 January 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.15.09cas
Abstract
Recent years have seen a rapid growth in the range of web-based corpora and the functionality of web-based corpus platforms available for linguistic research across a wide number of world languages, such that these tools are a key consideration when discussing internet-based research methods. This chapter discusses the use of such resources in applied linguistics research, adopting a focus on corpora or corpus platforms with web-based interfaces that enable linguistic analysis, rather than resources which are hosted online primarily for offline use. After framing this definition, the authors outline commonly used web-based corpora and platforms, as well as research questions and considerations in corpus selection. Five studies which use prominent tools in innovative ways are reviewed. Ethical considerations and other challenges are discussed, and the chapter concludes by projecting future directions in the use of web-based corpora and web-based corpus platforms for research in applied linguistics.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Frequently asked research questions
  • 3.Implementation
  • 4.Example studies
    • Jiang and Hyland (2022)
    • Baker et al. (2013)
    • Norberg (2016)
    • Liu (2011)
    • Schaeffer-Lacroix (2021)
  • 5.Ethics and research integrity considerations
  • 6.Challenges and issues
  • 7.Future research directions
  • References
References (50)
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