Post on 11-Jan-2016
description
Look Before You Leap: Issues Need to Consider in Research
Ibrahim HossainAssociate ProfessorInstitute of Modern Languages University of Chittagong
Institu
te o
f Mod
ern
lan
gu
ag
es (IM
L),CU
.
2
What is Research?
“a systematic investigation to find answers to a problem.” Burns (1994)
“ the organized, systematic search for answers to the questions we ask” Hatch and Lazaraton (1991)
Two basic ways of finding answers to questions:
▪ Secondary Research- what other people have said about a particular issue
▪ Primary/Emperical research- conducting ones own data based investigation
3
Why Research?▪ to optimize language teaching & learning
▪ to identify problems related to language learning & teaching
▪ to find solutions to some problems
▪ to bridge the gap between theories & practice
▪ to evaluate theories and decide which ones are effective in classrooms & with learners
▪ for strategic planning- EA/Curriculum designers
▪ for academic requirement/ professional development
Institu
te o
f Modern
languages
(IML),C
U.
4
Research Cycle
Selecting an Area for Research
5
▪ What do you know about your potential research area? ▪ Have you previously studied any book/article on this area?
▪ How familiar are you with the terminology, concepts and issues? ▪ How familiar are you with key authors, theories, paradigms?
▪ What do you still need to do or explore in order to develop a basic or better understanding of your research area?
6
Research Area : Issues Need to Consider
7
Narrowing Down Research Area
Writing the Topic of Your Research
8
▪ Is the topic clear and well defined? ▪ Does it involve a problem, question, or hypothesis that sets the agenda and points precisely to what needs to be explored or discovered?
▪ Is the topic of genuine relevance or interest within your subject discipline?
▪ Does it pick up on important or interesting themes or subjects arising from your studies?
Literature Review
9
▪ Have you accessed the most recent literature of relevance to your topic, as well as seminal sources from the past? ▪ Do you refer to major books, articles? Since quality is more important than quantity – how well have you selected your material?
▪ Does the literature review hang together, to show how the ideas and findings have developed, or is it merely a shopping list of books and articles?
▪ Is the review critical? Does it briefly evaluate, showing how your dissertation/article fits into what is mistaken or lacking in other studies?
Methodology: Issues Need to Consider
10
▪ Methodology is determined by the research questions ▪ Quantitative- involves data collection procedures that result primarily in numerical data which is analysed primarily by statistical methods. –survey research using questionnaire.
▪ Qualitative- non-numerical data.-interview, observation
▪ Mixed methods- Combination of quantitative & qualitative
Institu
te o
f Modern
languages
(IML),C
U.
11
Why do students study English?
Quantitative: In the sample, 47% of students study English because they want to work using English in the future, 33% of students because they want to watch American movies and read English books, and 20% of students because they want to travel to an English- ‐speaking country.
Qualitative: Since she was a child, Naomi had had a dream: she really wanted to be a Fluent English speaker. She would dream about talking in perfect English to a native speaker, and being able to understand everything that he said. She imagined living in another country, possibly England, and going walking through the English countryside with her English friends, chatting about their lives.
Institu
te o
f Modern
languages
(IML),C
U.
12
How do students learn vocabulary?
Quantitative: 27% of students used word cards every day, and these students improved their English vocabulary scores by 17 points in three months. 40% of students kept a word list, and these students improved their scores by 12 points. …
Qualitative: Shamim keeps a list of the new words that he reads and hears. Before class, he reads over the textbook, and marks the new words that he sees. He then writes these in his word list, checking the meaning from the dictionary. In the first column, he writes the new word, in the second the part of speech, in the third the main definition in Bangla, and in the fourth an example sentence.
Institu
te o
f Modern
languages
(IML),C
U.
13
Other Important Issues
▪ Have I used the appropriate sample for my study?
▪ Have I analyzed the data properly?
▪ Have I followed any of the accepted styles of referencing system?
▪ Have I followed the research ethics properly?
Institu
te o
f Modern
languages
(IML),C
U.
14
Reference:
Burns , R.B. (1994) Introduction to research methods (2nd ed.) Melbourne:Longman Chelshire.
Dornyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Nunan, D (1992): Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP.