Researching vocabulary mixed methods research vu van duy

Child Pragmatic Development Biographies 170 Cognitive Second Language Acquisition 56 Conversation Analysis 35 Corpus Linguistics 37 Critical Discourse Analysis 13 Culture and Context 42

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Child Pragmatic Development

Biographies (170)

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Conversation Analysis (35)

Corpus Linguistics (37)

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Discourse (31)

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Translation and Interpreting (43)

World Englishes (30)

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First published: 30 January 2013

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ISBN: 9781405198431 | DOI: 10.1002/9781405198431

THEENCYCLOPEDIAOF APPLIEDLINGUISTICS

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Accent Reduction

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Open Science and Transparency in Applied Linguistics Research

Emma Marsden

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Researching Vocabulary: Mixed Methods Research

Thi Ngoc Yen Dang , Duy Van Vu , Thi My Hang Nguyen

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Corpus Linguistics: Mixed-Methods Research

Peter Crosthwaite

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Translation and Interpreting: Mixed-Methods

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L2 Pragmatics Research and the Problem of L1 Norms

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Researching Vocabulary: Mixed Methods

Research

THI NGOC YEN DANG, DUY VAN VU, AND THI MY HANG NGUYEN

Introduction

According to Creswell and Plano Clark (2018), mixed methods research combines both quanti-tative and qualiquanti-tative approaches to investigate a phenomenon from different angles to provide researchers with an insightful understanding of the phenomenon Mixed methods research can

be classified into convergent, explanatory sequential, and exploratory sequential designs In the convergent design, researchers collect quantitative and qualitative data parallelly (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018) After that, they compare, combine, or compare and combine the results of these datasets to triangulate the findings from each set to achieve a fuller understanding of the phenomenon In the explanatory sequential design, researchers collect and analyze quantitative data first Then, they collect qualitative data to explain or expand the findings of the quantitative data analysis In contrast, in the exploratory sequential design, researchers start with collecting and analyzing qualitative data to explore the features of a phenomenon Next, they collect quantitative data to see the degree to which these features can be generalized to a population While most vocabulary research is quantitative, a small number of studies have employed the mixed methods research This entry discusses how this approach has been used in three major lines of vocabulary studies, namely, description, pedagogy, and assessment

Mixed Methods Research in Vocabulary Description

Vocabulary description studies examine the lexical demands of written and spoken texts, explore the nature of different kinds of vocabulary, and develop vocabulary lists for pedagogy and assessment Most of these studies are quantitative in nature That is, researchers start with creating corpora (i.e., principled collections of texts in electronic formats that represent the language used in a certain kind

of discourse) Then, they use specialized programs (e.g., RANGE and AntConc) to run these corpora against prebuilt base lists to automatically count the occurrences of words or sequences of words

in the corpora However, there are a small number of vocabulary description studies adopting the mixed methods research approach

Most of these studies have the explanatory sequential design In lexical demand studies, researchers use specialized programs to conduct initial quantitative analysis of vocabulary in cor-pora These programs automatically classify the vocabulary into groups based on their frequency Words that are not recognized by these programs because they are misspelled or not listed in the base lists are classified as “off list” words The initial quantitative analysis is then followed by qualitative analysis of “off list” words This process involves qualitatively checking concordance lines of these lexical items in context Based on this qualitative analysis, researchers then update the base lists, correct misspelled words in the corpora, and adjust the results of the corpus analysis accordingly Without this qualitative analysis, the results of the quantitative corpus analysis could

be misleading Apart from the qualitative corpus checking, lexical demand research also collects

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DOI: 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal20015

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2 RESEARCHING VOCABULARY: MIXED METHODS RESEARCH

interview data to provide further insights into the findings of corpus analyses For instance, to

investigate the lexical demand of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) learning materials, Lu

and Dang (2022) analyzed the vocabulary in a corpus of learning materials in an EAP course and

tested the vocabulary knowledge of students in this course Their analysis of these quantitative

data indicated that the learning materials were too lexically demanding for the students After

that, Lu and Dang conducted follow-up interviews with teachers in the examined course for their

comments on this finding Results of these qualitative data enabled them to identify possible

reasons why the learning materials were difficult for the students

Similar to lexical demand research, research on the nature of different kinds of vocabulary and

vocabulary list construction also starts with quantitative analysis That is, it begins with

devel-oping corpora, using specialized programs to analyze occurrences of vocabulary in corpora, and

applying statistical measures (e.g., frequency, range, and keyness) to identify core lexical items

in the corpora However, relying solely on this quantitative analysis would result in long lists of

core items, and some items in the lists may not be relevant to list users Therefore, researchers also

perform qualitative analysis (e.g., checking dictionaries and concordance lines of words in context

and consulting experts) to filter items in these lists An example is Dang’s (2020) development of

the Medical Spoken Word List After creating an initial list from a medical spoken corpus, Dang

checked the occurrences of items from this list in two well-known medical English dictionaries and

removed the items that occurred in none of the dictionaries The remaining items were then rated

by two experts in medicine with the assistance of a semantic scale and concordance lines of the

words in the corpus Items rated by the experts as having no relationship with medicine were then

removed from the list

Compared to the explanatory sequential design, the other designs have received less attention in

vocabulary description studies One example of studies adopting the convergent research design is

Coxhead et al.’s (2017) research on vocabulary in university small group discussions First, Coxhead

et al interviewed international university students and found that although these students had

difficulty in processing content in small group discussions, vocabulary was unlikely to be the major

reason for this difficulty To triangulate this finding, Coxhead et al also quantitatively analyzed

vocabulary in a corpus of small group discussions Their analysis showed that the lexical demand

of small group discussions was just the same as that of general conversation, which supported the

interview finding

In vocabulary description studies, the exploratory sequential design mainly focuses on

develop-ing instruments and materials (e.g., vocabulary lists and tests) Therefore, it is more likely to be

com-bined with other designs rather than being used on its own For example, Coxhead and Demecheleer

(2018) combined the exploratory and explanatory sequential designs (QUAL→ QUAN → QUAL)

to examine technical vocabulary in plumbing They interviewed plumbing tutors and found that

understanding technical vocabulary in their course reading materials and teacher talk was the main

challenge for their students To help these students overcome this challenge, they then developed

a list of technical vocabulary in plumbing Similar to Dang (2020), they conducted a quantitative

analysis of the corpora of course reading and teacher talk and applied statistical measures to

cre-ate an initial list of technical vocabulary After that, they performed several qualitative analyses

(technical dictionary checking, concordance checking, and expert rating) to amend the initial list

Taken together, the mixed methods approach enabled researchers to achieve better understanding

of the lexical demand of texts and the nature of different kinds of vocabulary as well as developing

vocabulary lists that better meet the needs of end users

Mixed Methods Research in Vocabulary Pedagogy

Vocabulary pedagogy research investigates the effectiveness of different kinds of activities,

learning strategies, and tools on vocabulary learning Quantitative approaches, including both

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RESEARCHING VOCABULARY: MIXED METHODS RESEARCH 3

nonexperimental (e.g., questionnaires) and experimental (e.g., pretest–posttest) research designs,

are predominant in research on vocabulary pedagogy Nonetheless, different types of mixed

methods designs can add value to vocabulary pedagogy research

The explanatory sequential design is currently the most common in mixed methods research on

vocabulary pedagogy This design allows vocabulary researchers to explain or expand

quantita-tive results of an experiment or a questionnaire For example, Ranalli (2008) examined the effect of

structured play of a computer simulation game combined with supplementary materials on second

language (L2) vocabulary learning Quantitative data were collected first, including a vocabulary

pretest and posttest together with weekly quizzes After that, qualitative data were obtained from

a postproject survey with closed- and open-ended questions to probe into learners’ perceptions of

the game and its potential for language learning While the quantitative data showed that

combin-ing supplementary materials with structured play of the computer simulation game significantly

contributed to L2 vocabulary acquisition, the qualitative data further revealed that some learners

either found that the game provided insufficient examples of target vocabulary in context or did not

have enough time to attend to unknown vocabulary in the game As can be seen from this study,

quantitative data merely demonstrate the magnitude of the effect of a pedagogical intervention,

whereas qualitative data can uncover other aspects and therefore provide us with a fuller picture

of the whole intervention

The convergent mixed methods design with triangulation purpose has also been adopted in

vocabulary pedagogy research, but to a lesser extent compared with the explanatory sequential

design To illustrate, Godfroid and Schmidtke (2013) examined the relationship between attention

and awareness as well as their contributions to vocabulary learning First, they collected

quantita-tive data including learners’ eye fixation durations acquired from eye tracking during reading (as a

measure of attention) and a vocabulary surprise posttest Afterward, they gathered qualitative data

from verbal reports in a posttask interview with learners to gauge their conscious recollection of

encounters with target words (as a measure of awareness) The triangulation of eye fixation times

and verbal reports with vocabulary posttest scores showed a close relationship between attention

and awareness, both of which had a significant effect on vocabulary learning Triangulating

different sources of quantitative and qualitative data in this mixed methods study helped to shed

greater light on L2 learners’ cognitive processes than if only one of the two approaches, quantitative

or qualitative, had been adopted independently

Similar to vocabulary description studies, the exploratory sequential design is not as popular as

the other designs in mixed methods research on vocabulary pedagogy This may be because the

primary objective of vocabulary pedagogy research is usually to investigate the effectiveness of

vocabulary learning activities, strategies, and tools as well as factors that predict learning, which

could be applied in a wide range of contexts Therefore, quantitative data often play a primary

role in contemporary vocabulary pedagogy research, while qualitative data tend to be used to add

to the depth of an investigation with illuminating details That is not to say that the exploratory

sequential mixed methods design is not useful for vocabulary pedagogy research It can be used

with a development purpose For instance, a researcher might collect interview data on learners’

opinions or perceptions of a new vocabulary learning activity, strategy, or tool that has not yet been

explored and then identify themes emerging from those qualitative data Afterward, the researcher

can construct a quantitative survey on a larger number of participants to collect data and

ana-lyze them quantitatively to see if the emerging themes identified from the qualitative data can be

generalized

Mixed Methods Research in Vocabulary Assessment

Vocabulary assessment studies focus on developing and validating new vocabulary tests,

measur-ing learners’ vocabulary knowledge, and investigatmeasur-ing issues related to test designs to provide

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implications for test developers Most vocabulary assessment studies follow purely quantitative

methods by collecting and analyzing test scores to reach a conclusion about test quality or learners’

vocabulary knowledge However, there are still a few vocabulary assessment studies, though not

explicitly framed as using a mixed methods approach, combining both quantitative and qualitative

methods

Most mixed methods studies on vocabulary assessment follow the explanatory sequential design

After collecting and analyzing test scores, researchers conduct interviews with test-takers to further

explain or expand findings from the quantitative analysis For example, to validate the

Vocabu-lary Levels Test (VLT), Schmitt et al (2001) delivered the test to a large number of participants and

applied different kinds of quantitative analyses based on the test scores (e.g., item analysis,

relia-bility, and factor analysis) The findings indicated that the VLT provides a reasonable estimate of

learners’ vocabulary knowledge The quantitative analysis, however, could not provide a thorough

interpretation of whether test-takers’ correct answers were due to their actual word knowledge

or guessing, and whether test-takers had partial knowledge of a word even if their answers were

blank To address these issues, Schmitt et al also conducted retrospective interviews with a

num-ber of participants The interviewees were asked to give their opinions about the test, describe their

test-taking process, go through the test items again, and explain the word meanings to confirm

their knowledge of the target vocabulary Data from the interviews supported the findings of the

quantitative analysis, indicating that the test scores do reflect test-takers’ lexical knowledge

Com-bining quantitative and qualitative evidence provides more robust support for claims made about

vocabulary tests (i.e., validity argument)

The convergent research design has occasionally been used in vocabulary assessment studies

Researchers can collect and analyze quantitative data (i.e., test scores) and qualitative data (e.g.,

verbal report) separately and then combine the findings to reach a conclusion about test design

or validity of test results For instance, Gyllstad et al (2015) looked into the issue of guessing in

multiple-choice test format to measure vocabulary size They asked their participants to complete

a 30-item multiple-choice paper test first and then join in follow-up interviews In the interviews,

these participants were provided with a list of 100 words including those in the multiple-choice

test and were asked to explain the meanings of those words The findings showed that there was

a mismatch between the scores on the multiple-choice test and those on the interview measures,

and that test-taking strategies were more commonly used than blind guessing Gyllstad et al.’s

(2015) study illustrates how quantitative and qualitative evidence can complement each other

to contribute to a better understanding of the characteristics of multiple-choice vocabulary size

tests

The exploratory sequential research design is not common in vocabulary assessment This is

because the primary instruments for data collection (vocabulary tests) and analysis (test scores)

are quantitative in nature The statistical analysis of test scores enables researchers to evaluate test

quality, generalize findings to different occasions or contexts, extrapolate test scores to tasks that

learners can do in real-life settings, and utilize test scores to make decisions (e.g., course placement)

Yet, it would be useful to start testing research with qualitative elements, such as conducting a need

analysis through interviews with stakeholders about the kinds of tests needed Following the test

development, the stakeholders can be interviewed again to determine whether their expectations

have been met In this way, the exploratory design with a development purpose could be used in

conjunction with the explanatory design Altogether, the mixed methods approach to vocabulary

assessment helps to provide better insight into conclusions about vocabulary tests or test results

There are many factors that can affect test scores (e.g., individual differences in test-taking strategies

and the quality of the test itself) Although quantitative analysis remains the primary method in

vocabulary assessment research, using only quantitative methods cannot thoroughly resolve issues

concerning test-takers’ cognitive processes or their opinions about the tests

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RESEARCHING VOCABULARY: MIXED METHODS RESEARCH 5

Challenges

The review has shown that most vocabulary studies are quantitative Very few have employed the

mixed methods research approach This is because collecting both quantitative and qualitative data

apparently requires more time, efforts, and resources than collecting only either qualitative or

quan-titative data Moreover, analyzing data in mixed methods research undoubtedly requires expertise

or mastery in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, which can be a daunting task for

vocab-ulary researchers who are only familiar with either of the approaches However, compared to the

purely quantitative research, the mixed methods research offers researchers a more

comprehen-sive understanding of vocabulary description, pedagogy, and assessment and therefore should be

further promoted in vocabulary research Future research adopting the mixed methods research

approach should consider the following issues First, several vocabulary studies (Vu & Peters, 2022)

combine both quantitative and qualitative data in one single study without being explicitly labeled

as mixed methods studies Only analyzing quantitative and qualitative data is not sufficient to label

a study as mixed methods, because mixed methods research requires integrating the analysis of

both quantitative and qualitative data to provide additional insight into a topic under

investiga-tion (Riazi, 2016, 2017; Riazi & Candlin, 2014) Such integrainvestiga-tion is sometimes lacking even in many

vocabulary studies that are labeled as mixed methods Second, very few previous mixed methods

vocabulary studies provided justifications for their use of this approach As with any empirical

research, it is crucial for vocabulary studies to explain the reason for choosing a particular method

of investigation, whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed

Conclusion

Vocabulary and lexical development are complex, nonlinear, and multidimensional, which can

hardly be captured by a single research approach Mixed methods research allows us to achieve

a fuller understanding of the nature of vocabulary in a language as well as vocabulary learning

processes and outcomes Given the limited number of mixed methods vocabulary studies, more

research following this approach is needed

SEE ALSO:Mixed Methods; Teaching Vocabulary; Vocabulary Acquisition in Second Language

Acquisition; Approaches to Second Language Vocabulary Teaching

References

Coxhead, A., Dang, T N Y., & Mukai, S (2017) Single and multi-word unit vocabulary in university

tuto-rials and laboratories: Evidence from corpora and textbooks Journal of English for Academic Purposes,

30, 66–78.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.11.001

Coxhead, A., & Demecheleer, M (2018) Investigating the technical vocabulary of Plumbing English for

Specific Purposes, 51, 84–97.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2018.03.006

Creswell, J E., & Plano Clark, V L (2018) Designing and conducting mixed methods research SAGE

Publications.

Dang, T N Y (2020) The potential for learning specialized vocabulary of university lectures and seminars

through watching discipline-related TV programs: Insights from medical corpora TESOL Quarterly,

54(2), 436–459.https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.552

Godfroid, A., & Schmidtke, J (2013) What do eye movements tell us about awareness? A triangulation of

eye-movement data, verbal reports and vocabulary learning scores In J M Bergsleithner, S N Frota,

& J K Yoshioka (Eds.), Noticing and second language acquisition: Studies in honor of Richard Schmidt (pp.

183–205) University of Hawai’i

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Gyllstad, H., Vilkait ˙e, L., & Schmitt, N (2015) Assessing vocabulary size through multiple-choice

for-mats: Issues with guessing and sampling rates ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 166(2),

278–306.https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.166.2.04gyl

Lu, C., & Dang, T N Y (2022) Vocabulary in EAP learning materials: What can we learn from teachers,

learners, and corpora? System, 106.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102791

Ranalli, J (2008) Learning English with The Sims: exploiting authentic computer simulation games

for L2 learning Computer Assisted Language Learning, 21(5), 441–455. https://doi.org/10.1080/

09588220802447859

Riazi, A M (2016) Innovative mixed-methods research: Moving beyond design technicalities to

episte-mological and methodological realizations Applied Linguistics, 37(1), 33–49.

Riazi, A M., & Candlin, C N (2014) Mixed-methods research in language teaching and learning:

Oppor-tunities, issues and challenges Language Teaching, 47(2), 135–173.

Riazi, M (2017) Mixed methods research in language teaching and learning Equinox Publishing.

Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C (2001) Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new

versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test Language Testing, 18(1), 55–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/

026553220101800103

Vu, D V., & Peters, E (2022) Learning L2 vocabulary from reading-only, reading-while-listening, and

reading with textual input enhancement: Insights from Vietnamese EFL learners RELC Journal, 53(1),

85–100.https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220911485

Suggested Readings

Durrant, P., Siyanova-Chanturia, A., Kremmel, B., & Sonbul, S (2022) Research methods in vocabulary

stud-ies John Benjamins.

Nation, I S P., & Webb, S (2011) Researching and analyzing vocabulary Cengage Learning.

Riazi, M (2017) Mixed methods research in language teaching and learning Equinox Publishing.

Webb, S (2020) The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies Routledge.

Tiêu đề	Researching Vocabulary Mixed Methods Research Vu Van Duy
Tác giả	Thi Ngoc Yen Dang, Duy Van Vu, Thi My Hang Nguyen
Trường học	Unknown University
Chuyên ngành	Applied Linguistics
Thể loại	Article
Năm xuất bản	2013

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Số trang	10
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