more research questions

• Instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) has been defined as “any systematic attempt to enable or facilitate language learning by manipulating the mechanisms of learning and/or the conditions under which these occur”.
• ISLA research is not a method in and of itself, but draws on many different methodologies to help provide answers about specific questions related to the effects of L2 instruction.
• Early ISLA research was represented by so-called “comparative method studies”, but associated with methodological and technological advancements in the teaching of languages in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the audiolingual method and use of language laboratories.
• Data elicitation methods play a major role in case studies, ethnographies, and other qualitative classroom-based research as well as in mixed-methods studies.
• Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) propose a four-step loop for action research: initial planning, action, observation, and reflection.
• Action research has a number of unique characteristics, including the researcher being a participant in the process under investigation, the research being context-specific, process-oriented, and often described as cyclical.
• The purpose of non-interventionist quasi-experimental studies is to investigate the effectiveness of existing classroom practices and this type of research is similar to action research; however, it is not necessarily the teacher who conducts the study, and the study is not conducted with only the local context in mind and focus on theoretical questions
• A major limitation is the lack of data on the nature of the intervention in practice, and most researchers aim to provide description and verification of the instructional procedures.
• The quality of the obtained data improves if the questionnaire is presented in the respondents’ own mother tongue.
• Choosing between content analysis and discourse analysis depends on the researcher’s purpose and theoretical framework.
• Observational studies are often used to investigate the effects of L2 instruction, and researchers have often begun by describing what occurs naturally in the classroom.
• Observational studies: Descriptive coding systems such as the Communicative Orientation of Language Teaching (COLT) have been developed to facilitate the comparison of different studies.
• In the survey research literature a range of between 1% and 10% of the population is usually mentioned as the “magic” sampling fraction,
• Multivariate statistical procedures such as factor analysis or structural equation modeling require a minimum of 100 subjects.
• Quantitative and qualitative approaches do not map neatly onto post-positivist (quantitative) and postmodern (qualitative) paradigms; qualitative research in SLA has been and continues to be conducted from a post-positivist perspective.
• Research approaches are plans and procedures for research that span from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection, analysis, and interpretation
• The selection of a research approach is based on the nature of the research problem, researchers' personal experiences, and the audiences for the study
• Three key terms in research are research approaches, research designs, and research methods
• The research approach involves philosophical assumptions, research designs, and specific methods or procedures
• Qualitative research designs include narrative research, phenomenological research, grounded theory, ethnography, and case studies
• Explanatory sequential mixed methods start with quantitative research and then explain the results with qualitative research
• Exploratory sequential mixed methods start with qualitative research and then explore the views of participants with quantitative research

  
  

  Carried out an unknown or little studied subject
• Types of literature reviews:

  • Integrative
  • Critical
  • Building bridges among topics
  • Identifying central issues
• Use of literature in different research approaches:

  • Qualitative studies: use sparingly in the beginning for an inductive design, separate section, end for comparison
  • Quantitative studies: ate the beginning use deductively to advance research questions or hypotheses and revisit at the end for comparison
  • Mixed methods studies: use consistent with the major type of strategy being used
• Steps in conducting a literature review:

  • Identify key words
  • Search databases for relevant material
  • Locate about 50 research reports
  • Design a literature map
  • Draft summaries of relevant articles
  • Structure the literature review thematically or by important concepts
• A Literature Map of the Research:

  • Organize existing research about a topic
  • Design a visual summary of the literature
  • Include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies
  • Write a narrative description of the literature map
• A definition of terms section may be separate from the literature review, included in it, or placed in different sections of a proposal
• Develop a separate section for the "Definition of Terms" or include them within the literature review
• The introduction of a study includes establishing the problem, reviewing the literature, identifying deficiencies, targeting an audience, and stating the purpose of the study
• The significance of the study for audiences should be described to convey the importance of the problem for different groups that may benefit from the study
• Experimental Procedures:

  • Identify the type of experimental design used
  • Types of experimental designs: pre-experimental, quasi-experimental, true experiments, single-subject designs
  • Provide a diagram or figure to illustrate the specific research design
• Threats to Validity:

  • Internal validity threats involving participants, experimental treatments, and procedures
  • External validity threats related to generalizing beyond the sample
• Qualitative designs include narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study, and grounded theory
• study individuals (narrative, phenomenology) explore processes, activities, and events (case study, grounded theory), or learn about broad culture-sharing behavior (ethnography) of individuals or groups
• Narrative Research:

  • Employs restorying participants' stories using structural devices like plot, setting, climax
  • Understand experiences, perspectives, and theories
  • Chronology
  • Socio/cultural
• Grounded Theory:

  • Involves systematic steps like open coding, axial coding, selective coding
• Qualitative Validity:

  • Validation occurs throughout research process
  • Use multiple validity procedures like triangulation, member checking, rich description
• Credibility


  The researcher's ability to take into account the complexities that present themselves in a study and to deal with patterns that are not easily explained. Methods to establish credibility include prolonged participation, persistent observation, peer debriefing, triangulation, member checks, structural corroboration, and referential adequacy.
• Transferability


  The goal of qualitative research is not to develop "truth" statements that can be generalized to larger groups of people, but to collect detailed descriptive data that permit comparison of a given context to other possible contexts to which transfer might be contemplated.
• Dependability


  The stability of the data, which can be established through overlapping methods and an external audit trail.