Research design methodology

Introduction
This study aims to discover the rationale for code-switching, or reverting to the use of L1
instead of L2 in HE classrooms by EFL lecturers and the consequence of such
phenomenon on students' language development. This section describes the research
design adopted for the study and the data collection methods employed, and how the data
was analysed. It also provides a description of the participating lecturers and the selection
procedure involved.
Research design
The main reasons for such research design were conditioned by the nature of the study,
the research questions posed, and the kind of information needed to be collected in
response to those questions. For the purpose of the present research, a descriptive case-
study qualitative approach was espoused. A descriptive study is one in which the major
purpose is a description of the state of affairs as it exists at the time of research. The main
characteristic of such type of research is that the researcher has no control over the
phenomena or activities being investigated; he or she can only report what has happened
or what is happening and perhaps provide an explanation or justification of such
occurrence or occurrences.
The present study is a case study design. Case study research allows for an in-depth study
to be carried out on a particular observable activity or phenomenon, such as in this case:
code-switching. Stake (1995, cited in Creswell 2008) reminds us that
case studies are a strategy of inquiry in which the researcher
explores in depth a programme, event, activity, process or one or
more individuals. Cases are bounded by time and activity and
researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data
collection procedures over a sustained period of time.
Qualitative research deals with qualitative and aims at discovering underlying motives or
desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Qualitative research is specially
important in education and behavioural sciences where the aim is to discover underlying
motives of human behaviour. Through such research, human behaviour can be observed
and analysed to reveal the rationale which motivates people to behave in a particular
manner.
Creswell (2009) asserts that rather than relying on a single data source, qualitative
research typically gathers data triangulated from multiple sources in order to produce
reliable and trustworthy results. The present qualitative case study thus provided an in-
depth understanding of the code-switching phenomenon and the factors influencing its
occurrence. The gathered data in this study was based on a triangulated combination of
three sources of data collection methods: classroom observation, teachers’ retrospective
semi-structured interviews, and a students’ focus group.
Sampling
Convenient sampling was used to assign participants for the study, since the participant
lecturers were part of a set teaching programme at the Department of English, University
of Almergeb. In order to guard against the Hawthorn effect, the lecturers were not
informed of the real purpose of the study- investigating code-switching by EFL teaching
staff. Instead, they were told that the purpose was to study teacher-student interaction. It
was believed that if they had realised the real objective of the study, the lecturers are
more likely to modify their language behaviour, either consciously or unconsciously, by
avoiding code-switching, which would obviously jeopardise the data and render the
results invalid.
Participants
The study was conducted on twelve staff members within the English department at Al-
mergib University. Six of the participants were males and the other six were female,
which provided a good balance of gender and resulted in fair generalisations of findings.
The participants' years of teaching experience ranged from 3 to 15 years. The
participants, who welcomed the observation and interviewing request, were assured that
any data gathered will only be used for the purpose of the research and that the data
published will be used to identify them in person.
Data collection procedure
The researchers collected data in two phases. In phase one, from 18th to 28th of December
2017, the researcher conducted twelve classroom observations on twelve lecturers in
order to determine the extent of code-switching by the Libyan staff members. The
observed lecturers were audio-recorded and then transcribed. In phase two, from 9th to
21th of February 2018, retrospective interviews were carried out with the observed
teachers to remind them of the code-switching incidents and to uncover their rationale for
doing so at each occurrence.
Classroom observation
A non-participant observation was carried out where the observer sat at the back of the
classroom. With prior permission by the participant teachers, the observations were
audio-recorded and later transcribed for further analyses. An observation checklist
(Appendix A) was also used to tick the frequency of code-shifting to L1 with a brief note
on the circumstances of code-switching. These code-switching incidents were later
referred to when conducting retrospective interviews with the observed teachers.
Transcription of classroom observations
Transcribing the classroom observations was the hardest and the longest part of the
research; twelve lectures that needed to be listened to and pick out the code-switching
incidents for transcription. The code-switching utterances were transcribed as they were
said and isolated separately in chronological sequence for each lecturer (Appendix B).
Transcribing the observed teacher talk was a very important part in the data analysis. It
helped to establish, not just the incidents of code-switching, but also the circumstances
under which they happened. Moreover, in the post-observation retrospective interviews
with the observed lecturers, reading the code-switching extracts made it easier for the
participant lecturers to recall the code-switching incidents and provide credible and valid
explanations for utilizing code-switching.
Retrospective interviews
After completing the transcriptions and printing out the code-switching extracts, the next
phase of data collection involved conducting retrospective interviews (Appendix C) with
the lecturers concerned. As with the recorded observations, permission was obtained
from the interviewees to audio-record the retrospective interviews, which were later
transcribed for analysis.
In addition to some personal questions at the beginning of each interview, the lecturers
were asked about their attitudes towards code-switching in the Libyan TEFL context and
to what extent they believe it to be useful to the Libyan students in particular. The
lecturers were also questioned on whether they use code-switching, and for what purpose
or purposes, and if they think it is of benefit to students’ progress in second language
learning. One of the questions required the lecturers to position themselves either for or
against code-switching, and to justify their decision. After that, the lecturers were
presented with the code-switching extracts from their observed lectures and were asked to
provide their rationale for each of the code-switching incidents.
Students’ focus group discussion
In order to triangulate data and arrive at valid and reliable findings on the phenomenon of
code-switching by Libyan EFL teaching staff, students at the receiving end of code-
switching were invited to add their insight into the issue. Therefore, a focus group
discussion was arranged with eight students randomly selected from 42 volunteers.
Student selection for participating in the focus group was made on the basis of two-tier
random sampling (males and females), so that an appropriate gender balance of four
males and four female students was randomly selected. This randomised selection
process served two purposes; guarding against students’ bias of opinion, and giving an
opportunity for both sexes to voice their concerns and put forward their opinions on the
issue under investigation. The central theme of the discussion was based on the students’
perceptions of and reactions to lecturers’ code-switching and to the extent to which it is
pedagogically constructive to students’ progress.