Claire Hardaker (born 16 January 1981) is a
Britishlinguist. She is senior lecturer at the Department of Linguistics and English Language of
Lancaster University,
United Kingdom. Her research involves
forensic linguistics and
corpus linguistics. Her research focuses on deceptive, manipulative, and aggressive language in a range of online data. She has investigated behaviours ranging from
trolling and
disinformation to
human trafficking and
online scams. Her research typically uses corpus linguistic methods to approach forensic linguistic analyses.
She has worked in the Department of Linguistics and English Language[1] at
Lancaster University since 2013.
Career and research
Hardaker received her
MA in Language Studies in 2007, and her
PhD in Linguistics in 2012 from Lancaster University. She taught
English Language and Linguistics at the
University of Central Lancashire as an associate
lecturer, and then as a lecturer from 2007 to 2012. In 2013 she took a position as lecturer in Forensic Corpus Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, and was promoted to
Senior Lecturer in Forensic Corpus Linguistics in 2017.[2]
Hardaker has been
principal investigator (PI) and co-investigator (CI) on
research grants from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (
ESRC). As part of the £5 million ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Sciences (CASS),[3] Hardaker has investigated different manifestations of online abuse, including strategies, motivations, and responses.[4] Hardaker has also been CI on projects funded by
Her Majesty's Government,[5] and co-researcher on research funded by the
European Commission, investigating anti-trafficking, and the deployment of anti-trafficking funds across the
European Union.[6]
Hardaker serves on the editorial board of Internet
Pragmatics,[35] directs the Forensic Linguistics Research Group (FORGE)[36][37] at Lancaster University, is the co-creator of the free software, FireAnt, designed to collect, filter, and export
Twitter data,[38] and she publishes a monthly
podcast entitled en clair. Each episode typically covers a case involving forensic linguistics, language mysteries, literary detection,
decryption of codes and undeciphered languages, and other forms of linguistic intrigue.[39][40]
C. Hardaker. "Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user discussions to academic definitions." Journal of Politeness Research. Language, Behaviour, Culture 6(2). 215–242. 2010.
C. Hardaker. "'Uh.... not to be nitpicky, but… the past tense of drag is dragged, not drug.': An overview of trolling strategies." Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict 1(1). 58–86. 2013.
C. Hardaker and M. McGlashan. "'Real men don’t hate women;' Twitter rape threats and group identity." Journal of Pragmatics 91. 80–93. 2016.
C. Hardaker. "'I refuse to respond to this obvious troll': an overview of responses to (perceived) trolling. Corpora 10 (2). 201–229. 2015.
C. Hardaker. Corpus Linguistics for Forensic Linguistics: Research and Practice – Routledge Corpus Linguistics Guides. Taylor & Francis Ltd. 2021.