Time to get wired: Using web-based corpora in critical discourse analysis

Although the world wide web has become a popular object of and tool for different kinds of semiotic and linguistic investigation, critical discourse analysis (CDA) does not seem to share this enthusiasm in equal measure. The contemporary relevance of the web as a key site for the articulation of social issues should make it a prime target for critical discourse analysts with a political and emancipatory brief. Nonetheless, CDA publications are still predominantly based on conventional, non-electronic sources of data. This article discusses the analytic potential that web-based data opens up and also identifies the specific challenges that arise as a result. These are linked to the size of the web, its diversity, ephemeral quality, interactivity, and multimodality. Indicating directions in which future research might proceed, the article makes a plea for more critical discourse analysts to work with web-based corpora.