Research Methods
1. Experimental research
2. Ethnography
3. Case studies
4. Classroom Observation and Research
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1. Experimental Research
Using experiments as a means to collect and analyze data
Investigating the language behavior of groups under controlled
conditions.
Being analytic and deductive.
Exploring the strength of relationships between variables; i.e.,
the variables of a control group and those of experimental
group.
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1. Experimental Research
Examples:
A study of how the wide access to books affect
schoolchildren’s reading habits
Research on the effectiveness of using stories and dramas in
improving the language proficiency of first-year students of
English
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1. Experimental Research
Components of experimental research
Population:
Treatment
Measurement of the treatment
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1. Experimental Research
Population: experimental + control group.
Single group design: one group receives a treatment and
observed, tested, or measured ( effects of treatment compared
with that of non-treatments or natural)
Control group treatment: one group receives a treatment while
the other does not receive the treatment.
Factorial designs: similar to control group treatment, for
investigating many treatments at the same time.
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1. Experimental Research
Treatment: anything done to groups in order to measure its
effect - controlled and intentional.
Measurement of the treatment: how the effects of the treatment
will be evaluated or observed (by means of a language test, a
judgment, or a communicative task)
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1. Experimental Research
Pre-experiment: may have pre- and post-treatment tests, but
lacks a control group.
Quasi-experiment: has both pre- and posttests and
experimental and control groups, but no random assignment of
subjects.
True experiment: has both pre- and posttests and experimental
and control groups, and random assignment of subjects.
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2. Ethnography
Investigating subjects’ behavior in natural context (not in
the experimental laboratory)
Involving the study of the culture or characteristics of a
group in real world.
Not manipulating the phenomena under investigation
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2. Ethnography
Example:
Freeman (1992) became a participant observer in a French as FL
classroom (with lesson transcripts, field-notes, interviews)
a discursive + interpretive picture of
teachers’ + students’ roles in classroom
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2. Ethnography
Characteristics:
1. Contextual: the research is carried out in the context in
which the subjects normally live and work.
2. Unobtrusive: The researcher avoids manipulating the
phenomena under investigation.
3. Longitudinal: The research is relatively long-term
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2. Ethnography
Characteristics:
4. Collaborative: The research involves the participation of
stakeholders (researchers/ teachers/learners)
5. Interpretive: The researcher carries out interpretive
analyses of the data.
6. Organic: There is interaction between questions /
hypotheses and data collection / interpretation. (data
generalisations)
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3. Case studies
Yin’s (2014) defined a case study as an empirical inquiry that:
“investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within
its real-life context, especially when
the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not
clearly evident.”
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3. Case studies
copes with the technically distinctive situation many variables
of interest
relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to
converge in a triangulating fashion,
is guided by the prior development of theoretical propositions
in data collection and analysis.
(Yin, 2014, pp.16-17)
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3. Case studies
Centering on ONE or A FEW individuals,
Studting an ‘instance in action’ by:
selecting an instance from the class of objects/phenomena (eg.: a
L2 learner or a language classroom)
investigating the way this instance functions in real-life
context.
Naturalistic, process-oriented, intensive
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3. Case studies
Of holistic description and analysis of data
Utilizing a range of collecting and analyzing data:
qualitative (observations, interviews, histories)
quantitative + statistical methods
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3. Case studies
1. A study of phonological development of an adolescent
Vietnamese learner of English as a second language
2. An investigation into semantic and grammatical
development of three children acquiring their L1
3. A study of a child managing to function with two linguistic
systems at a time in a bilingual home environment
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3. Case studies
CS are initiated in two ways:
Propose an issue / hypothesis elect an instance from the
class/group study it.
A case is selected and studied in its own right (rather than an
exemplar of a class)
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4. Classroom Observation and Research
RESEARCH CONTEXT: Classroom (for observation)
Typical methods:
Experimental
Stimulated recall
Observation schemes
Interaction analysis
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4. Classroom Observation and Research
Experimental: comparison studies seeking to evaluate the
relative claims of different methods (experimental and control
groups)
Ex: Do authentic listening texts lead to greater language gains
than non-authentic listening texts?
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4. Classroom Observation and Research
Stimulated recall: the researcher records + transcribes parts
of a lesson gets the teacher / the students to comment on
what was happening at the time that the teaching and learning
took place.
Ex: Why do teachers decide to correct some errors and not
others?
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4. Classroom Observation and Research
Observation schemes:
Structured Observation
Unstructured Observation
Ex: In mixed ability classrooms, how often are low proficiency
students addressed by the teacher?
Interaction analysis: discursive analysis of classroom talk.
Ex: How do teachers maintain power and control through
classroom discourse?
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Task
1. Find THREE research of different types
Identify their components (problem, research method, data
collection tools)
2. Think of the area of your interest
Define a topic / problem, research method
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