Tutorial 1 Introduction to research in applied linguistics Tutorial 1 Introduction to research in applied linguistics Instructor Assoc Prof Dr Le Hung Tien Group 1 Nguyen Duong Ha Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc Do Thi Phuong Thanh Tran Thi Thu Trang I What is research? SEVERAL DEFINITIONS 1 Research is a systematic process of inquiry consisting of 3 elements or components A question, a problem, or a hypothesis Data Analysis and interpretation of the data (Nunan 1992) I What is research? 2 Research is the.
Tutorial 1: Introduction to research in applied linguistics • Instructor: Assoc Prof Dr Le Hung Tien • Group 1: Nguyen Duong Ha Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc Do Thi Phuong Thanh Tran Thi Thu Trang I What is research? SEVERAL DEFINITIONS: Research is a systematic process of inquiry consisting of elements or components: - A question, a problem, or a hypothesis - Data - Analysis and interpretation of the data (Nunan 1992) I What is research? Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind (Marston Bates, American writer) Research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing (Von Braun, American engineer) If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from many, it's research (Wilson Mizner, American dramatist) I What is research? Research is: - about inquiry It has components: process and product The process is about an area of inquiry and how it is pursued The product is the knowledge generated from the process as well as the initial area to be presented - a process which involves (a) defining a problem, (b) stating an objective, and (c) formulating an hypothesis It involves gathering information, classification, analysis, and interpretation to see to what extent the initial objective has been achieved - undertaking structured investigation which hopefully results in greater understanding of the chosen interest area Ultimately, this investigation becomes accessible to the "public" - an activity which analyses and critically evaluates some problems - to collect and analyze the data in a specific field with the purpose of proving your theory - evaluation, asking questions, investigations, analysis, confirming hypotheses, overview, gathering and analyzing data in a specific field according to certain predetermined methods (Nunan 1992) • In the first sense, the outcome of research is the establishment, publicizing, or utilization of something that somebody not the researcher or the person commissioning it - already knows In the second sense, the outcome is the knowledge nobody had before II Purposes of a research - getting a result with scientific methods objectively, not subjectively - solving problems, verifying the application of theories, and leading on to new insights - enlightening both researcher and any interested readers - proving/ disproving new or existing ideas, to characterize phenomena (i.e., the language characteristics of a particular population), and to achieve personal and community aims That is, to satisfy the individual's quest but also to improve community welfare - proving or disproving, demystifying, carrying out what is planned, to support the point of view, to uncover what is not known, satisfying inquiry Discovering the cause of a problem, finding the solution to a problem (Nunan 1992) Sample research – Title: Jordanian Undergraduate EFL Students' Errors in the Use of the Indefinite Article – Author : Dr Rula Fahmi Bataineh, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan – Source: 2005 Journal, Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2005, http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/march_05_rf b.php The objectives of this research • (1) to investigate and then identify the errors the learners make in terms of their types and potential sources • (2) to compute and compare the relative frequency of these errors to detect any developmental tendencies among the learners of the different levels of proficiency • (3) to determine any potential differences among the subjects which can be attributed to class level or average length of compositions How these objectives are achieved: • Stating the research questions • Choosing a suitable study design • Selecting the research instruments • Choosing sample size • Collecting data and Analyzing them • Presenting and Discussing the findings • Inductivism • Seek to derive general principles/theories/ ‘truths’ from an investigation and documentation of single instances • Inductivism seeks to derive general principles, theories, or "truths" from an investigation and documentation of single instances (Nunan D 1992 Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: CUP (P 13)) • Social reality • any causally efficacious system, structure, or mechanism which can exist independently of any particular historical individual • cannot exist independently of some group of individuals somehow linked together in sustaining or reproducing that reality from day to day (Bhaskar 1979; Durkheim 1982; Giddens 1979) • Reliability • The consistency of the results obtained from a piece of research (Nunan 1992) • Internal reliability: consistency of data collection, analysis and interpretation • External reliability: similar results can be reproduced by independent researcher • Validity • The extent to which piece of research actually investigates what the researcher purports to investigate (Nunan 1992) • Internal validity: the interpretability of a research • External validity: the extent to which the results can be generalized from samples to population • Systematic • Clear structure with definite procedural rules • Easy to read, interpret and evaluate • Logical • Step-by-step progression • Straightforward, logical pattern with underlying rule and procedures • Tangible • Based on the collection and manipulation of data from the real world • Data are well-defined quantity, rank or category • Replicable • Construct • A psychological quality that cannot be observed but can only be assumed to exit and can be explained through observable behaviors (intelligence, proficiency, motivation, aptitude etc.) • Construct validity: the construct under investigation must be defined accessible to the outside observer, the construct characteristics must be identifiable to reader • Variables • Something that may vary, differ over time • Some variables differ over time and among individuals (language proficiency, motivation, self-esteem etc.) • Longitudinal • correlational research study that involves repeated observations of the same items over long periods of time — often many decades It is a type of observational study • Reductive/ Reduction • The possibility of establishing patterns and relationships among individual variables, facts, and observable phenomena in a research • Reduction is the process by which one object, property, concept, theory, etc., is shown to be explicable in terms of another, lower level, concept, object, property, etc • Qualitative/ Qualitative research (Non-numeral research) • All knowledge is relative • Subjective element to knowledge • Procedures: - observation - interview - field work - open response questionnaires - transcripts • Quantitative/ Quantitative research (Numeral research) • • • • • • Obtrusive Controlled Objective Generalisable Outcome-oriented Procedures: - tests - interview & self-reports - closed response questionnaires - numbers, figures • Psychometric/ Psychometrics • Field of study concerned with the theory and technique of educational and psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits • The field is primarily concerned with the construction and validation of measurement instruments, such as questionnaires, tests, and personality assessments • Primary data • The data are unique to you and your research and, until you publish, no one else has access to it • There are many methods of collecting primary data: questionnaires, interviews, focus group interviews, observation, casestudies, diaries, critical incidents, portfolios • Secondary data • Data collected by someone other than the user • Common sources of secondary data for social science include censuses, surveys, organizational records and data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research ... solving problems, verifying the application of theories, and leading on to new insights - enlightening both researcher and any interested readers - proving/ disproving new or existing ideas, to. .. independently of any particular historical individual, but cannot exist independently of some group of individuals somehow linked together in sustaining or reproducing that reality from day to. .. social determiningindividual individual determining andsocial socialbehaviors behaviors and Interpretiveview: view: Interpretive Interpretive view:the While While sharing rigor Interpretive view: