Research methodology (for the 2nd year english students) introduction what is research practical research planning and design

See Literature Review for more details Determining the research question The research question is the question you hope to answer with your study.. Research proposals contain extensive

UNIVERSITY OF DANANG COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Research Methodology

(For The 2nd Year English Students)

DANANG 2007

Table of content

Table of content 0

Introduction 3

What is research? 3

Purposes of Research 3

Some early steps in research 4

Research Proposals 8

Aims 8

Your Goal 8

How to structure the proposal? 8

Review of the literature 9

Theoretical Orientation 9

The Design Methods and Procedures 10

Limitations and Delimitations 10

Research program timetable: milestones 11

Tentative thesis chapter outline 11

References 11

A suggested format for research proposal 12

Literature Review 13

Introduction 13

Things to do before writing the literature review 14

Strategies for Writing the Literature Review 15

Writing the literature review 17

Research Design & Methodology 21

Definitions of some terms 21

Some key methodological frameworks 22

Research Design 23

Data collection 26

Primary and secondary data 26

Data collection techniques 26

Reliability and validity 26

Sampling 27

Data collection methods 29

Writing a Thesis 45

Sizing up your topic 45

Creating a timetable 45

Reading strategies 46

Writing as you research 46

Taming "The Beast" 46

Writing your thesis sentence 47

Considering structure 47

Questions to guide you in the revision process 47

The worst part about writing a thesis 48

The best part about writing a thesis 48

General advice for non-majors 50

General advice 50

Evidence and Methods 50

Structuring the Argument 51

Preferred style of writing 51

References 52

I NTRODUCTION

What is research?

The term research has been used in so many contexts and with such a variety of meanings that

it is difficult for the student to sort it all out Much of what we have been taught about research is based on misconceptions Teachers give students an assignment called a "research paper" which mainly consists of gathering information from books and encyclopedias and reorganizing it and regurgitating it on a student -authored paper This and other activities have been mislabeled research They are more correctly, information gathering, note taking, or library skills

According Webster, to research is to search or investigate exhaustively (Webster, 1985) It is

a careful or diligent search, studious inquiry or examination especially investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws

True research is a quest driven by a specific question that needs an answer Paul Leedy, in his book "Practical Research: Planning and Design" (Leedy, 1993) lists eight characteristics of research which serve well in defining research Here are those eight characteristics

• Research originates with a question or a problem

• Research requires a clear articulation of a goal

• Research follows a specific plan of procedure

• Research usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems

• Research is guided by the specific research problem, question, or hypothesis

• Research accepts certain critical assumptions These assumptions are underlying theories or ideas about how the world works

• Research requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to resolve the problem that initiated the research

• Research is, by its nature, cyclical; or more exactly, spiral or helical

Purposes of Research

Research is done for a variety of purposes These include exploring, describing, predicting, explaining, or evaluating some phenomenon or set of phenomena Some research is aimed at replicating results from previous studies; other research is focused on quantitatively synthesizing a body of research These two types of efforts are directed at strengthening a theory, verifying predictions, or probing the robustness of explanations by seeing if they hold true for different types of individuals, organizations, or settings

Exploration Very little may be known about some phenomena such as new types of settings,

practices, or groups Here, the research question focuses on identifying salient characteristics

or features that merit further and more concerted examination in additional studies

Description Often, research is initiated to carefully describe a phenomenon or problem in

terms of its structure, form, key ingredients, magnitude, and/or changes over time The resulting profiles can either be qualitative or narrative, quantitative, or a mixture of both

Prediction Some questions seek to predict the occurrence of specific phenomena or states on

the basis of one or more other characteristics Short-and long-term planning is often the main rationale for this type of research

Explanation It is possible to be able to predict the occurrence of a certain phenomenon but

not to know exactly why this relationship exists In explanatory research, the aim is to not only predict the outcome or state of interest but also understand the mechanisms and processes that result in one variable causing another

Evaluation Questions of this nature focus on evaluating or judging the worth of something,

typically an intervention or program Of primary interest is to learn whether an organized set

of activities that is aimed at correcting some problem (e.g., poor academic skills, low esteem, disruptive behavior) is effective When these efforts are targeted at evaluating the potential or actual success of policies, regulations, and laws, this is often known as policy analysis

self-Replication Some questions revolve around whether a demonstrated relationship between

two variables can be again found in different populations or different types of settings Because few studies can incorporate all relevant populations and settings, it is important to determine how generalizable the results of a study to a particular group or program are

Synthesis Taking stock of what is known and what is not known is a major function of

research "Summing-up" a body of prior research can take quantitative (e.g., meta-analysis) and qualitative (narrative summaries) forms

Some early steps in research

Defining the research problem

Research forms a cycle It starts with a problem and ends with a solution to the problem The problem statement is therefore the axis which the whole research revolves around, because it explains in short the aim of the research

What is a research problem?

A research problem is the situation that causes the researcher to feel apprehensive, confused and ill at ease It is the demarcation of a problem area within a certain context involving the WHO or WHAT, the WHERE, the WHEN and the WHY of the problem situation

There are many problem situations that may give rise to research Three sources usually contribute to problem identification

• Own experience or the experience of others may be a source of problem supply

• A second source could be scientific literature You may read about certain findings and notice that a certain field was not covered This could lead to a research problem

• Theories could be a third source Shortcomings in theories could be researched

Research can thus be aimed at clarifying or substantiating an existing theory, at clarifying contradictory findings, at correcting a faulty methodology, at correcting the inadequate or unsuitable use of statistical techniques, at reconciling conflicting opinions, or at solving existing practical problems

Identification of the problem

The prospective researcher should think on what caused the need to do the research The question that he/she should ask is: Are there questions about this problem to which answers have not been found up to the present?

Research originates from a need that arises A clear distinction between the PROBLEM and the PURPOSE should be made The problem is the aspect the researcher worries about, think about, wants to find a solution for The purpose is to solve the problem, i.e find answers to the question(s) If there is no clear problem formulation, the purpose and methods are meaningless

Keep the following in mind:

• Outline the general context of the problem area

• Highlight key theories, concepts and ideas current in this area

• What appear to be some of the underlying assumptions of this area?

• Why are these issues identified important?

• What needs to be solved?

Read round the area (subject) to get to know the background and to identify unanswered questions or controversies, and/or to identify the most significant issues for further exploration

The research problem should be stated in such a way that it would lead to analytical thinking

on the part of the researcher with the aim of possible concluding solutions to the stated problem Research problems can be stated in the form of either questions or statements The research problem should always be formulated grammatically correct and as completely

as possible You should bear in mind the wording (expressions) you use Avoid meaningless words There should be no doubt in the mind of the reader what your intentions are

Demarcating the research field into manageable parts by dividing the main problem into problems is of the utmost importance

sub-Reviewing the literature

This means reading other researchers' studies to learn how they did their research and what they found It has been said that contemporary researchers are "great because they stand on the shoulders of those who have completed earlier research," that is, because they can utilize the knowledge learned by earlier researchers Although it is very time consuming, reviewing the literature will help you decide which variables (i.e., factors) are important to study, how to measure (i.e., assess) them, and what findings to expect

Remember, you can "borrow" anything you want from other studies as long as you give the authors proper credit In fact, you are expected to use their work to make your study better If you don't review the literature, you are missing out on a lot of good information and you will

be considered "lazy" by other researchers In short, the library is your friend! (See Literature Review for more details)

Determining the research question

The research question is the question you hope to answer with your study The literature review will help you decide which questions are important, especially as you gain familiarity with the topic and begin to see its finer nuances

Determining the research question is an important step because it will help guide the design of your research study

Example 1:

Research topic: Memorization and EFL Students' Strategies at University Level in Vietnam

(Duong & Nguyen, 2006)

Research Questions

Is memorization considered a learner strategy?

What are students' beliefs and attitudes towards memorization in learning EFL?

Do the type of social situations and L2 proficiency have differential effects on the appropriateness of L2 speech act production?

Do the type of social situations and L2 proficiency have differential effects on the planning speed of L2 speech act production?

Do the type of social situations and L2 proficiency have differential effects on the speech rate of L2 speech act production?

Developing a hypothesis

According to Vogt's Dictionary of Research Methods and Statistics (1993, Sage Publications),

a hypothesis is: "A statement of the relationships among the variables that a researcher intends

to study." This definition brings out two important ideas First, hypotheses are assertions about how two or more variables are related to or associated with each another

Assume that we're interested in studying why the second year English students fail to pronounce English final sounds properly One possible hypothesis is: Students fail to pronounce English final consonants properly because they are not properly trained This hypothesis posits that students' poor pronunciation and training are related, and suggests that those who are not properly trained will fail to pronounce English final consonants properly It

is testable, because we could see if students fail because they are not properly trained (versus poor pronunciation for other reasons) Hypotheses should both say what we expect to find in our research and be testable

The second concept the definition illustrates is the idea that hypotheses are formulated for variables that we intend to study In other words, the hypotheses are formulated before we do our research It's not considered proper to do the research, poke around in the data, and then write up a hypothesis that "fits" what we found Hypotheses should be based on theory and what previous researchers have found; they are not just made up "off the cuff." Hypotheses are scientifically reasonable predictions

Remember, all good hypotheses are testable, and make specific predictions about what the researcher expects to find in his/her research The development and testing of hypotheses is one of the important things that makes research scientific

Example:

Research Topic: Language Learning Strategies Used by Non-English Majors in A Chinese

University — Individual and Cultural Factors (Rao, 2004)

and Wharton (2000)

Second, it is hypothesized that Chinese students’ EFL learning is influenced by their

cultural and educational background, and that there might be some distinctive characteristics in their strategy use related to this This hypothesis is based on the findings of Cortazzi and Jin (1996), Hau (1992) and Hofstede (1991)

Constructing a research proposal

A research proposal is a specific kind of document written for a specific purpose Research proposals are used when beginning a research project They are used when other people are involved in formulating, supervising or conducting the research Once developed, the research proposal serves as a plan for conducting the research It should provide:

• an outline of the research project;

• a rationale that explains why the research is important;

• some background information about the field of the research;

• information about the method, methodology and analytic approach adopted;

• a realistic timetable for completion of the research;

• information about ethical considerations and special requirements;

• information about anticipated problems and how they will be dealt with

• (See Research proposal for more details)

R ESEARCH ROPOSALS P

A research proposal is similar in a number of ways to a project proposal; however, a

research proposal addresses a particular project: academic or scientific research The forms and procedures for such research are well defined by the field of study, so guidelines for research proposals are generally more exacting than less formal project proposals Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews and must offer convincing support of need for the research study being proposed The proposal must be accepted by a panel of experts/lecturers before the actual research can begin In addition to providing rationale for the proposed research, the proposal must describe a detailed methodology for conducting the research The sections below offer explanations of research proposals

Aims

The aim of the research proposal is to convince your Department and College that:

• There is a need for the research; it is significant and important

• You are contributing something to the field

• The topic is feasible in terms of availability of equipment, supervisors, and data

• The research can be completed in the expected time period

• The topic matches your interests and capabilities

Your Goal

The research proposal helps you focus your research aims, clarify its importance and the need, describe the methods, predict problems and outcomes, and plan alternatives and interventions

How to structure the proposal?

The following sections are recommended for your research proposal report Check with your supervisor(s) for optional sections, variations and additional sections that may be required

• Supervisor's and co-supervisor's names

• Address, telephone and email details

• Date

Statement of Topic

Introduce the reader to the recognized general subject area and how your topic is related Briefly point out why it is a significant topic and what contribution your work will make

Aims of the thesis

Set out aims and specific objectives of the research

For example, the aims and objectives of a study entitled "Chinese Learners and English Plural Forms" by Jing, Tindall, & Nisbet are set as follows:

This study explores the challenges that Chinese students encounter in the formation of

English plurals To this end, the authors (a) examine linguistic features of Chinese and

English that may affect plural formation in English, (b) highlight specific areas of

challenge for Chinese learners, and (c) present an array of recommended instructional

practices (Jing, Tindall, & Nisbet, 2006)

Review of the literature

This, together with the following section on the theoretical orientation, will be the main substance of the proposal and will lay the basis for your discussions of your methods and your total research program

The literature review should explain the relation of your topic and research aims to significant literature and recent (and current) research in your field The form of the literature review may vary according to the nature of the field: experimental, philosophical, theoretical, comparative, etc., but its purpose will be the same in all fields The literature review should place your proposed research topic clearly in its relevant research context, and should demonstrate your awareness of significant similar or relevant research

Be careful not to allow the evaluation of previous work to become a large open-ended task You should consult with your supervisors on the types of questions you need to be asking and what boundaries you should place on your literature review

In one sense the literature review for the proposal is incomplete You will continue to expand and update the literature as your research progresses and as you locate new publications The final literature review will be included in your thesis (See the chapter Literature Review for more details)

Theoretical Orientation

Your aim here is to state your basic ideas on the topic

• First, state the various theoretical approaches taken in your topic Which one do you propose to use in your research and why? Where, tentatively do you stand on the topic?

• If there are various theories on your topic or in your field, which one(s) will you use in your conceptual framework for your thesis?

• Which terms or trends do you wish to follow up from the literature review?

• Do you have any fresh suggestions of an explanatory, interpretative, or programmatic kind? Ask Yourself

• Which pieces of research seem to have been most successful, the most promising and which less so?

• What are the major lines of criticism that can be leveled at previous work?

• What major omissions, gaps or neglected emphases can be identified?

Perhaps the best way to approach this section is to set down your main insights, hypotheses, hunches, or even hopes about your topic

In view of past theory and research, and your emerging issues, what are the areas that you expect to have findings?

For empirical theses you may need to formulate explicit hypotheses

The methods or procedures section is really the heart of the research proposal The activities should be described with as much detail as possible, and the continuity between them should

be apparent

Sampling

Sampling is the act, process, or technique of selecting a suitable sample, or a representative part of a population for the purpose of determining parameters or characteristics of the whole population (See Data Collection for more details)

Instrumentation

Outline the instruments you propose to use If instruments have previously been used, identify previous studies and findings related to reliability and validity If instruments have not previously been used, outline procedures you will follow to develop and test their reliability and validity In the latter case, a pilot study is nearly essential

Indicate briefly any analytic tools you will have available and expect to use

Provide a well thought-out rationale for your decision to use the design, methodology, and analyses you have selected

Limitations and Delimitations

A limitation identifies potential weaknesses of the study

A delimitation addresses how a study will be narrowed in scope how it is bounded This is the place to explain the things that you are not doing and why you have chosen not to do them the literature you will not review (and why not), the population you are not studying (and why not), the methodological procedures you will not use (and why you will not use them) Limit your discussion of delimitations to the things that a reader might reasonably expect you to do but that you, for clearly explained reasons, have decided not to do

Example:

Research topic: Foreign language education policy in Vietnam: the emergence of English

and its impact on higher education (Do, 1996)

The study aims to investigate four issues of Vietnam’s foreign language education: the factors affecting the national foreign language education policy, the national foreign language education policy, student attitudes and motivation toward the policy and especially the reemergence of English, and, finally, the impact of English on higher education The investigation mainly covered a period of ten years since doi moi. An overview of foreign language education in war-time and after national reunification was also presented to show the link between the policy and the factors affecting it through various historical periods and identify the main factors affecting policy and implementation The study particularly emphasized the current reemergence of English after the implementation of doi moi All this was done through an examination of government documents, interviews with selected top educational officials, university

faculty and students’ parents, and a questionnaire and follow-up interviews with university

students

Delimitations

Due to the nature of this study and the research methods of data collection, generalizations and recommendations will be limited to the higher education setting in Vietnam The particular composition of the sample of Vietnamese higher education students participating in the study may also limit the generalizability of the results The recommendations from this study for Vietnamese educational planners and foreign language specialists may, however, be beneficial to others in similar situations

Research program timetable: milestones

This will usually be from the date you began third year to when you expect to submit the completed thesis

The time-line can be formatted as a table or a list Include when you will start and finish important aspects of your research, such as: literature research, required training or attending courses, stages of experiments or investigations, beginning and completing chapters, reviews and seminars you will give, and completing the thesis

• An important planning tool for the researcher

• Help establish your competence

• Be realistic! Novice researchers tend to underestimate how long the stages of research will take

Tentative thesis chapter outline

You should check with your supervisor if this is a required section of the research proposal Present the chapter outline as a draft contents page with brief annotations of expected content

or stages Follow the standard sections relevant to your type of research Look at past theses

in your area and discuss your ideas with your supervisor

References

List all publications cited in your proposal Use the style recommended by the college or your supervisor This may be a standard style the whole college follows or it may be the style of the leading journal in your field

A suggested format for research proposal

The Format of a Research Proposal

1 Introduction

a The problem statement

b A rationale for the research

c Statement of the research aims & objectives

d Hypothesis

e Definition of terms

f Summary including a restatement of the problem

2 A brief review of the relevant literature

a The importance of the question being asked

b The current status of the topic

c The relationship between literature and problem statement

d Summary including a restatement of the relationships between the important

variables under consideration and how these relationships are important to the

hypothesis proposed in the introduction

3 Method

a Participants (including description and selection procedures)

b Research design

c Data collection plans

i Operational definition of all variables

ii Reliability and validity of instruments

iii Results of pilot studies

d Proposed analysis of data

L ITERATURE R EVIEW

Introduction

The "literature" of a literature review refers to any collection of materials on a topic, not necessarily the great literary texts of the world "Literature" could be anything from a set of government documents related to policy of foreign language instruction to scholarly articles

on English teaching and learning or aspects of the English language And a review does not necessarily mean that your reader wants you to give your personal opinion on whether or not you liked these sources

What is a literature review?

A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period

'Literature' can include a range of sources:

A number of these may be on the web You should approach such material with the same critical eye as you approach printed material

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling,

of that information It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant

A literature review vs an academic research paper

While the main focus of an academic research paper is to support your own argument, the focus of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others The academic research paper also covers a range of sources, but it is usually a select number

of sources, because the emphasis is on the argument Likewise, a literature review can also have an "argument," but it is not as important as covering a number of sources In short, an academic research paper and a literature review contain some of the same elements In fact, many academic research papers will contain a literature review section But it is the aspect of the study (the argument or the sources) that is emphasized that determines what type of document it is

Why do you need to review the literature?

A review of the literature has the following functions:

• To justify your choice of research question, theoretical or conceptual framework, and method

• To establish the importance of the topic

• To provide background information needed to understand the study

• To show readers you are familiar with significant and/or up- -date research relevant to tothe top ic

• To establish your study as one link in a chain of research that is developing knowledge

• embedded in the discussion, or

• segmented into a series of chapters on several topics

The review must be shaped by a focus on key areas of interest, including research which provides a background to the topic It should also be selective A common mistake in writing the review is to comment on everything you have read regardless of its relevance In your writing it is useful to think of the review as a funnel - start wide with the overview and then quickly narrow into discussing the research that relates to your specific topic

Things to do before writing the literature review

If your assignment is not very specific, seek clarification from your instructor:

• Roughly how many sources should you include?

• What types of sources (books, journal articles, websites)?

• Should you summarize, synthesize, or critique your sources by discussing a common theme or issue?

• Should you evaluate your sources?

• Should you provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history?

Finding models

Look for other literature reviews in your area of interest or in the discipline and read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or ways to organize your final review You can simply put the word "review" in your search engine along with your other topic terms to find articles of this type on the Internet or in an electronic database The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read are also excellent entry points into your own research

Narrowing your topic

There are hundreds or even thousands of articles and books on most areas of study The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to get a good survey of the material Your instructor will probably not expect you to read everything that's out there on the topic, but you'll make your job easier if you first limit your scope

And don't forget to tap into your professor's (or other professors') knowledge in the field Ask your professor questions such as: "If you had to read only one book from the 70's on topic X, what would it be?" Questions such as this help you to find and determine quickly the most seminal pieces in the field

Considering whether your sources are current

Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible In the sciences, for instance, treatments for medical problems are constantly changing according to the latest studies Information even two years old could be obsolete However, if you are writing a review in the humanities, history, or social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be what is needed, because what is important is how perspectives have changed through the years or within a certain time period Try sorting through some other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects You can also use this method to consider what is "hot" and what is not

Strategies for Writing the Literature Review

Finding a focus

A literature review, like a term paper, is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time No As you read widely but selectively in your topic area, consider instead what themes or issues connect your sources together Do they present one or different solutions? Is there an aspect

of the field that is missing? How well do they present the material and do they portray it according to an appropriate theory? Do they reveal a trend in the field? A raging debate? Pick one of these themes to focus the organization of your review

Considering organization

You've got a focus, and you've narrowed it down to a thesis statement Now what is the most effective way of presenting the information? What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review needs to include? And in what order should you present them? Develop

an organization for your review at both a global and local level:

Covering the basic categories

Just like most academic papers, literature reviews also must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper

• Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central

theme or organizational pattern

• Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically,

thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each)

• Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing

literature so far Where might the discussion proceed?

Organizing the body

Once you have the basic categories in place, then you must consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of your paper Create an organizational method to focus this section even further

• Chronological If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about

the materials above according to when they were published

• By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order

demonstrates a more important trend

• By Trend A better way to organize the sources chronologically is to examine the

sources under another trend Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period

• Thematic Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather

than the progression of time However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review The only difference here between a "chronological" and a

"thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the development of the theme or the theme itself But more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made

• Methodological A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the

focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the researcher or writer A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed

Once you've decided on the organizational method for the body of the review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out They should arise out of your organizational strategy In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period A thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate

to the theme or issue

Sometimes, though, you might need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body What other sections you include in the body is up to you Put in only what is necessary Here are a few other sections you might want to consider:

• Current Situation: Information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the

literature review

• History: The chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is

necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology

• Methods and/or Standards: The criteria you used to select the sources in your literature

review or the way in which you present your information For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed articles and journals

• Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field has the review

sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

Writing the literature review

Once you've settled on a general pattern of organization, you're ready to write each section There are a few guidelines you should follow during the writing stage as well Here is a sample paragraph from a literature review about sexism and language to illuminate the following discussion:

However, other studies have shown that even gender-neutral antecedents are more likely to produce masculine images than feminine ones (Gastil, 1990) Hamilton (1988) asked students to complete sentences that required them to fill in pronouns that agreed with gender-neutral antecedents such as "writer," "pedestrian," and

"persons." The students were asked to describe any image they had when writing the sentence Hamilton found that people imagined 3.3 men to each woman in the masculine "generic" condition and 1.5 men per woman in the unbiased condition Thus, while ambient sexism accounted for some of the masculine bias, sexist language amplified the effect

(Source: Erika Falk and Jordan Mills, "Why Sexist Language Affects Persuasion: The Role of Homophily, Intended Audience, and Offense," Women and Language19:2.)

Using evidence

In the example above, the writers refer to several other sources when making their point A literature review in this sense is just like any other academic research paper Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that what you are saying is valid

Being selective

Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the review's focus, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological

Using quotes sparingly

Falk and Mills do not use any direct quotes That is because the survey nature of the literature review does not allow for in-depth discussion or detailed quotes from the text Some short quotes here and there are okay, though, if you want to emphasize a point, or if what the author said just cannot be rewritten in your own words Notice that Falk and Mills do quote certain terms that were coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study But if you find yourself wanting to put in more quotes, check with your instructor

Using evidence

Summarizing and synthesizing

Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each paragraph as well as throughout the review The authors here recapitulate important features of Hamilton's study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to their own work

Keeping your own voice

While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice (the writer's) should remain front and center Notice that Falk and Mills weave references to other sources into their own text, but they still maintain their own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with their own ideas and their own words The sources support what Falk and Mills are saying

Using caution when paraphrasing

When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information

or opinions accurately and in your own words In the preceding example, Falk and Mills either directly refer in the text to the author of their source, such as Hamilton, or they provide ample notation in the text when the ideas they are mentioning are not their own, for example, Gastil's

• paraphrase other researchers' ideas by expressing the ideas in your own words

Direct quotation is thus found more commonly in humanities and social science writing, and not so frequently in the science and technology disciplines For the most part, you should aim

to paraphrase

Rarely is the original text written with your particular focus as its main concern Your examiner will be looking to see how well you can utilize the sources for your own ends Direct quotations are commonly used to highlight:

• author's definitions of important terms

• assumptions underlying the author's choice of words

• particularly illustrative examples of an author's specific view, difficult to paraphrase

• particularly well-expressed opinions, revealing insights which a paraphrase could not capture

When you use direct quotation, it needs to fit grammatically with the rest of your sentence A variety of constructions is available The important thing to consider is how you put this all together to give a picture of your own research in relation to others' You will be showing your attitude toward that research, whether you consider it outdated or still viable, close to your own perspective, etc

Reporting words

The following section lists some useful expressions for critically presenting other writers' ideas

Reporting verbs or expressions are used to report on what other authors have done: whether they have made claims, argued a case, established findings, drawn conclusions, etc Note the differences in these verbs: your choice of word will reveal to your reader your attitude toward the status of the author's theories/research; it will also indicate whether or not you consider her/his claims to be substantiated

• Group 1 Author's argument (author making a point to develop or justify his/her argument)

• Group 2 Author's emphasis (author drawing reader's attention to a particular point)

• Group 3 Author's references to other authors (author positioning him/herself against other authors)

• Group 4 Author's omissions (author not fully arguing a point)

• Group 5 Author's admissions (author conceding a point of potential weakness)

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5

Challenge Dispute Reject Support

Assume Take for granted

Acknowledge Recognize

Indicating your own position

There are a number of ways of indicating your position in relation to previous research The following is a sample of the kinds of evaluative expressions which may be used to indicate your own views of the authors you cite

Which of the following adjectives have you seen used in your discipline - and in what way? Some may have positive OR negative connotations depending on the discipline and what it values

The research/theory is:

incomplete efficient questionable useful simple reliable too general

robust inconclusive unsatisfactory comprehensive complex over-simplified cumbersome

You can expand your repertoire of evaluative expressions by reading articles or other theses attentively

Revising

Draft in hand? Now you're ready to revise Spending a lot of time revising is a wise idea, because your main objective is to present the material, not the argument So check over your review again to make sure it follows the assignment and/or your outline Then, just as you would for most other academic forms of writing, rewrite or rework the language of your review so that you've presented your information in the most concise manner possible Be sure to use terminology familiar to your audience; get rid of unnecessary jargon or slang Finally, double check that you've documented your sources and formatted the review appropriately for your discipline

R ESEARCH D ESIGN & M ETHODOLOGY

Definitions of some terms

Methods: 'the techniques or procedures used to gather and analyze data related to some

research question or hypothesis' (Crotty, 1998)

Methodology: 'the strategy, plan of action, process or design lying behind the choice and use

of particular methods, and linking the choice and use of methods to the desired outcomes' (Crotty, 1998) This includes not only the practical aspects of the research such as method and action plan, but also the philosophical and theoretical perspectives of the researcher

Paradigm: ‘A general organizing framework for social theory and research It includes basic assumptions, underpinning questions asked, research practice and theory, and approaches or methods for finding the answers to questions' (Neuman, 2000: 515)

Research design: The research plan that is devised to obtain answers to the research

questions The research design can encompass the research aims, hypotheses or questions, the methodology, methods of data collection, and the strategies used to analyze the data The research design tells the reader what you did, how you did it, and why you did it in this way

In this section of your thesis or research proposal you explain and justify the theoretical and philosophical assumptions underpinning the research, and the methods or strategies adopted

Theoretical perspective: 'the philosophical stance informing the methodology and thus

providing a context for grounding its logic and criteria' (Crotty, 1998: 3)

Epistemology: the study or theory of knowledge

Ontology: the branch of metaphysics that investigates the nature of being

Primary research: In primary research, data is collected specifically for the study at hand It

can be obtained either by the investigator observing the subject or phenomenon being studied

or communicating directly or indirectly with the subject Direct communication techniques include such qualitative research techniques as in-depth interview, focus group and projective techniques, and quantitative research techniques such as telephone, self-administered and interview surveys .

Secondary research: Knowledge is cumulative: every piece of research will contribute

another piece to it That is why it is important to commence all research with a review of the related literature or research, and to determine whether any data sources exist already that can

be brought to bear on the problem at hand This is also referred to as secondary research Just

as each study relies on earlier work, it will provide a basis for future work by other researchers

Validity and reliability: Whether you are planning a research project or interpreting the

findings of someone else’s work, determining the impact of the results is dependent upon two concepts: validity and reliability Essentially, validity entails the question, “does your measurement process, assessment, or project actually measure what you intend it to measure?” The related topic of reliability addresses whether repeated measurements or assessments provide a consistent result given the same initial circumstances

In research, validity has two essential parts: internal and external

• Internal validity encompasses whether the results of the study (e.g mean difference between treatment and control groups) are legitimate because of the way the groups

were selected, data was recorded or analysis performed For example, a study may have poor internal validity if testing was not performed the same way in treatment and control groups or if confounding variables were not accounted for in the study design

or analysis

• External validity, often called 'generalizability', involves whether the results given by the study are transferable to other groups (i.e populations) of interest (Last, 2001) It is through proper study design and strict protocol execution that high levels of validity, both internal and external, can be achieved An important point to remember when discussing validity is that without internal validity, you cannot have external validity Results of a poorly designed or executed study are not applicable to any population, in that particular study sample or otherwise

A common threat to internal validity is reliability Assuming the same initial conditions for a test assessment or process the test must provide the same result every time it is performed for

it to be deemed reliable

It is with these concepts in mind that methods sections in protocols and journal articles provide such extensive detail related to how a study was designed and conducted Threats to a study’s validity and reliability exist at almost every turn in the research process No one researcher can see all the potential problems, so the team approach to the discussion of validity and reliability during the development of the study design, and creating and following study protocols can minimize the threats to validity and reliability

Some key methodological frameworks

A brief overview of some major methodological frameworks is provided below (Bastalich, 2007)

Positivism

• is associated with ‘empiricism’, ‘behaviorism’, ‘naturalism’ , or the scientific' approach; ‘

• is objectivist holds that things are infused with meanings that exist independently of – consciousness and experience;

• rejects apriori knowledge of reality knowledge of reality is seen to originate in sensory – experience (phenomenalism);

• accepts as valid only knowledge that can be empirically accessed and tested;

• assumes the unity of the scientific method (methodological monism) all phenomeno – n should ultimately be understood with a scientific method;

• assumes that human society is subject to laws in the same way that the natural world is;

• accepts a division between ‘fact’ and ‘value’ in which only empirically verifiable ideas count as knowledge

object’ (Crotty, 1998:45);

• accepts multiple interpretations of an object none of which are objectively ‘true’ or ‘valid’ ;

• Interpretivism:

• holds that the world, especially its social aspects, cannot be understood simply by observation;

• sees our relationship to the world and its meaning as culturally mediated;

• assumes that consciousness plays an active role in acts of knowing;

• seeks to understand phenomenon as they are experienced or made meaningful by human beings within specific social contexts

Critical Theory

• has origins in the Frankfurt School of thought, influenced by Karl Marx's emphasis upon social change and activism;

• agrees with interpretivism that all knowledge is socially and culturally grounded;

• rejects positivist view of science and insists that social processes must be understood within their historical and cultural circumstances;

• rejects 'traditional theory' that seeks to understand society, and insists upon a critique of social practices, institutions and events;

• aims to offer critical knowledge of socially constituted real structures and mechanisms that underpin experience and events

• is strongly influenced by the structural linguistics of Saussure;

• understands language as an autonomous and closed system of internal relationships or rules that precede and structure consciousness;

• society becomes intelligible through the study of its linguistic and other communicative structures;

• society cannot be understood in isolated parts, but in the system of relationships which make up the whole

Research Design

Research design provides the glue that holds the research project together A design is used to structure the research, to show how all of the major parts of the research project work together

to try to address the central research questions

In other words, once the problem has been carefully defined, the researcher needs to establish the plan that will outline the investigation to be carried out The research design indicates the steps that will be taken and in what sequence they occur

There are two main types of research design:

Exploratory Research

As the term suggests, exploratory research is often conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined as yet, or its real scope is as yet unclear It allows the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or concept to be studied, and perhaps generate hypotheses to be tested It is the initial research, before more conclusive research is undertaken Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and selection of subjects, and sometimes it even concludes that the problem does not exist!

Another common reason for conducting exploratory research is to test concepts before they are put in the marketplace, always a very costly endeavor In concept testing, consumers are

provided either with a written concept or a prototype for a new, revised or repositioned product, service or strategy

Exploratory research can be quite informal, relying on secondary research such as reviewing available literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with students, teachers, or educational administrators, and more formal approaches through in-depth interviews, focus groups, case studies or pilot studies

The results of exploratory research are not usually useful for decision-making by themselves, but they can provide significant insight into a given situation Although the results of qualitative research can give some indication as to the "why", "how" and "when" something occurs, it cannot tell us "how often" or "how many" In other words, the results can neither be generalized; they are not representative of the whole population being studied

Conclusive Research

As the term suggests, conclusive research is meant to provide information that is useful in reaching conclusions or decision-making It tends to be quantitative in nature, that is to say in

the form of numbers that can be quantified and summarized It relies on both secondary data,

particularly existing databases that are reanalyzed to shed light on a different problem than the original one for which they were constituted, and primary research, or data specifically gathered for the current study .

The purpose of conclusive research is to provide a reliable or representative picture of the population through the use of a valid research instrument In the case of formal research, it will also test hypothesis

Conclusive research can be sub-divided into two major categories:

Descriptive Research

Descriptive research or statistical research provides data about the population or universe

being studied But it can only describe the "who, what, when, where and how" of a situation, not what caused it Therefore, descriptive research is used when the objective is to provide a systematic description that is as factual and accurate as possible It provides the number of times something occurs, or frequency, lends itself to statistical calculations such as determining the average number of occurrences or central tendencies

One of its major limitations is that it cannot help determine what causes a specific behavior, motivation or occurrence In other words, it cannot establish a causal research relationship between variables

The two most commonly types of descriptive research designs are observation and survey

techniques (See Data Collection for more details)

Causal Research

If the objective is to determine which variable might be causing a certain behavior, i.e whether there is a cause and effect relationship between variables, causal research must be undertaken In order to determine causality, it is important to hold the variable that is assumed

to cause the change in the other variable(s) constant and then measure the changes in the other variable(s) This type of research is very complex and the researcher can never be completely certain that there are not other factors influencing the causal relationship, especially when dealing with people’s attitudes and motivations There are often much deeper psychological considerations, that even the respondent may not be aware of

There are two research methods for exploring the cause and effect relationship between variables:

Experimentation

One way of establishing causality between variables is through the use of experimentation

This highly controlled method allows the researcher to manipulate a specific independent

variable in order to determine what effect this manipulation would have on other dependent

variables Experimentation also calls for a control group as well as an experimentation group, and subjects would be assigned randomly to either group The researcher can further decide whether the experiment should take place in a laboratory or in the field, i.e the "natural" setting as opposed to an "artificial" one Laboratory research allows the researcher to control and/or eliminate as many intervening variables as possible

The experimental design is conclusive research that is primary research in nature Experimentation is a quantitative research technique, but depending on how the experiment is set up, it may relate more to observation than direct communication

Simulation

Another way of establishing causality between variables is through the use of simulation

A sophisticated set of mathematical formula are used to simulate or imitate a real life situation By changing one variable in the equation, it is possible to determine the effect on the other variables in the equation However, in language teaching and learning, computer simulation and model building is rarely used Its use tends to be limited to a few rare impact and forecasting studies

The simulation design is conclusive research that is secondary research in nature Simulation

is a quantitative research technique

D ATA COLLECTION

Primary and secondary data

There is a basic distinction in data collection between primary and secondary data Primary data are data collected by the immediate user(s) of the data expressly for the experiment or survey being conducted It is this data that we will normally be referring to when we talk about "collecting data"

By contrast, secondary data refers to any data collected by a person or organization other than the user(s) of the data Where does such data come from? If, as we have suggested, a wide variety of individuals and organizations actually collect data, it follows that at least some of that data will come to be made available to other individuals and organizations This data may

be of considerable value, although the exact value will depend upon the type of study being carried out

Data collection techniques

Data collection techniques (Summerhill & Taylor, 1992) include document studies, screening records and reports, direct observation of behavior, face- -face interviews, telephone tointerviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaires If valid information is readily available in records and reports, then further data collection may not be necessary; or, if direct observation is feasible and will provide the information needed, then there may be no need to ask people to respond to questions However, these techniques are often not feasible or are inadequate to provide the quality or quantity of information desired Consequently, survey instruments may be necessary to gather data from which judgments about programs can be made

To select a survey instrument, there are several factors to consider:

1 technical adequacy: reliability, validity, freedom from bias, etc

2 practicality: cost, political consequences, duration, personnel needs, etc

3 ethics: protection of human rights, privacy, legality, etc

One should consider all of these factors to arrive at a decision Usually a compromise is reached that will produce a balance among these criteria without violating any of them to the point that the technique is inadequate, unfeasible, or ethically indefensible (Stufflebeam, 1985)

Reliability and validity

It is generally agreed that "good" measures must be reliable and valid Reliability is usually concerned with stability over time Validity is concerned with whether or not the item actually elicits the intended information Understanding these two terms is important to understanding measurement in both theoretical and applied data gathering settings (Carmines & Zeller, 1979)