Lesley Milroy 
Social Network & Belfast Studies (1970s)
Criticism
External variables due to only investigating 3 working class communities - investigating MC and UC communities could have avoided this.
Lack of internal validity
Investigated correlation between individual's integration into their community with way they spoke
3 locations
The Hammer
Clonard
Ballymacarrell
Key Findings
Correlation between individual integration into community with the way those individuals spoke (exaggerated the cause of social class)
Men & women both use "non-standard" speech, increasing alongside social integration
Women tend to use less vernacular as their social ties tend to be weaker
Social Network
Background
British Sociolinguist
Clonard Anomaly
Women in Clonard used equal amounts (or more) of "non-standard" speech when compared to men
This is likely due to the anomalous amount of unemployment in this area
Women in Clonard are forced to band together, making a dense group
Women also have a heightened chance to conform, especially due to the pressured operating in Clonard
Social Class
Research revolved exclusively around "poor working class communities"
Not only researching the "social network theory" but also the effects of disconnection from the hub of British Standard English (London)
A high Network Strength Score correlated with use of vernacular or non-standard forms.
Structural identity of a particular community made a "web of ties"
Closed network - person whose personal contacts all know each other - high density
Open network - person whose contacts tend not to know each other - low density