Acquaintance with the currently used procedures of linguistic investigation is of considerable importance both for language learners and for prospective teachers as it gives them the possibility to observe how linguists obtain answers to certain questions and is of help in the preparation of teaching material. It also helps language learners to become good observers of how language works and this is the only lasting way to become better users of language.
The process of scientific investigation may be subdivided into several stages: 1. observation; 2. classification of the data obtained through observation; 3. generalization, i.e. the collection of data and their orderly arrangement must lead to the formulation of a generalization or hypothesis, rule or law; 4. verifying process.
All methods of linguistic analysis are traditionally subdivided into formalized and non-formalized procedures. The selection of this or that particular procedure largely depends on the goal set before the investigator.