Characteristics of a good researcher

The following are characteristics benchmarked from Stefanadis (2006), Pereyra, L

(2012) and Elsevier.

Communication Skill

Good researchers need to be great communicators. Much more of language

researchers studying language itself. When one gets involved in research, a lot of
communications are considered.
You would need to write letters of request to authorities, to respondents, and research
process is also more of writing skills. Upon completion for publication, you may also need
to communicate with editors, reviewers, co-authors, and funders at the very least.

Through research papers, you need to be able to effectively communicate your

research with readers. At conferences, you need to know how to present your research
to an informed audience. A compelling abstract can pique interest in your paper, leading
to more readers and eventually to increased citations. A well-constructed language
proposal leads to a greater chance of consideration and perhaps even an approval.
A good characteristic of a researcher therefore is to sharpen this skill and utilize
them successfully in both written and spoken mode.

Excellence

When doing research, the researcher should be ready to excel in developing the
research idea, the research hypothesis, the experimental design, and the appropriate
collection of data. Taking into consideration these various stages of research is
fundamental in the completion of the research protocol. Excelling or excellence also
applies to the analysis and interpretation of the data, including the writing of the study and
its presentation, which will culminate the long hours of dedication to the research.

Focus-oriented

It is one thing to have an aim, and quite another to never lose sight of it. The difference
is focus. This is what distinguishes successful researchers, feels Linqi Zhang, Chair of the
Department of Basic Medical Sciences and Comprehensive Aids Research Center at
Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He believes that it is single-mindedness that helps
researchers concentrate on solving problems. He explains: “When [others] encounter a
mountain too high, they will take a detour... The successful researcher will find the solution
no matter how long that takes.”

Focus helps you continue looking at the bigger picture and the greater goal of your
research – through all the false starts, dead ends, rejects, and revisions – because you
know where you want to be at the end of it all.

Your thesis has to be done in a set time-frame. Losing focus on your research may
ruin what you had started.

Honesty

Research is built on facts. And facts call for honesty. Good researchers are those who
are intellectually honest in collecting data and interpreting the data and reporting the
data.

Inquisitiveness

This quality is not difficult to introduce since an inquisitive mind is almost a requirement
for a good research experience. Without inquisitiveness it would be in many ways
impossible to advance the research enterprise. At the conceptualization, a researcher
needs the characteristics of inquisitiveness to be able to ask what gaps are not yet being
address, or what mechanisms need to be unfolded. Asking frequent questions and
showing eagerness for knowledge completes the sphere of the inquisitive mind or the
inquisitive individual. Pereyra, L (2012) emphasized that asking frequent questions and
showing eagerness for knowledge completes the sphere of the inquisitive mind or the
inquisitive individual. In research, this is a fundamental quality that accompanies the
initial interest and motivation expressed for research matters.

Knowledge

It is evident that knowledge is a quality that the researcher cannot do without, since the
whole research project depends on it. Knowledge equals advancement, which at the
same time equals innovation and discovery. In order for the research idea to progress,
one needs knowledge to support it and eventually move it forward . Knowledge is behind
any substantive progress in research. Acquiring knowledge becomes then the main
foundation on which research will stand.

Motivated

Even though this quality is very close to the previous one of having
interest/desire/disposition toward research, it is somewhat different in that motivation
takes us one step further to the initial interest reflected toward the research field. The
dictionary gives an accurate characterization of motivation as “providing for a reason to
act in certain way,” the equivalent of “inducement, cause, impetus” . In this way,
motivation provides the reasoning behind the initial interest in research. It gives the
impetus for advancing the initial desire expressed toward the research process. It gives
us the inducement for continuing our path of research interest.
Self-motivation:

Surround yourself by an environment where you see examples of success, where you
see people you admire, people who inspire us to think about what we might aspire to be,
who we want to be and how do we want to get there. Find colleagues who’re asking
questions, trying to seek knowledge to improve people lives and don’t limit this search to
people just in front of you, but look for opportunities across institutions and across
borders.

Passionate

Passion speaks on the drive to start up and finish the research journey. You must
be passionate about your topic, about your research study.

Determination & Resilience in the face of challenges:

Everyone among the top successful researchers have faced challenges at one or more
junctures of their life. Everyone faces difficult times when people don’t believe in them or
doubt their capabilities. However, what made them stand apart was the resilience they
displayed in the face of challenges. When times are hard, don’t quit easily because
success only comes to those who work hard.

Which of the characteristics mentioned are you strong and weak at? What mechanisms
would you employ to the characteristics you are weak at?
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Other than the list of characteristics mentioned in the lesson segment, what other
ETHICAL character can you think a language researcher needs in a language related
research project? List them down in the character box.

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Interview a language researcher whom you personally know and ask him or her of the
top 10 qualities she considers a researcher should possess.

Arranged the interview response with an Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Also
provide a bio-profile of your interviewee.
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UNIT
2 ETHICS, AND STANDARDS IN LANGUAGE RESEARCH

The Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), a
code of professional conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First and foremost, do
no harm"), a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("Thou Shalt not
kill..."), or wise aphorisms like Confucius' sayings come to mind when most
people think of ethics (or morals), Resnik, 2020.

The most popular definition of "ethics" is "conduct norms that separate

 acceptable from inappropriate behavior." Research ethics provides guidelines
for the responsible conduct of research. In addition, it educates and monitors
authors researching to ensure a high ethical standard, making it the codes of
scientific investigations.

Closely related to ethics is the principle of social responsibility. While research

covers a broad context of collaboration working with committee members,
adviser, respondents and authorities, researchers need to gain confidence in
ensuring the reliability and transparency of data.

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

a. Formulate and present probable research topics

b. Justify the choice of the topic for research by using concepts specific to language
teaching
c. Submit a concept paper on a topic of your interest

LESSON 4: GETTING STARTED: CHOOSING A TOPIC

Systematic research begins with a research problem. In a classic work, John

Dewey (1933) spoke of the first step in the scientific method as the recognition of a felt
difficulty, an obstacle, or problem that puzzles the researcher. Your first step in the
research process is therefore to select a problem for investigation. Selecting and
formulating a problem is one of the most important aspects of doing research in any
field. Beginning researchers are often surprised to find that this initial stage can take
up a large part of the total time invested in a research project. There is no way to do
research until a problem is recognized, thought through, and articulated in a useful
way.

By now, I believe you now have strong scaffold on the concepts and nature of
language research. The previous lesson just presented to you fundamental information
needed to understand language research. This lesson discusses practical steps in
planning your study. It starts from choosing a topic and goes through different stages.
 Activity 1:

Using direct observation and experience, List down at least ten pressing
issues in language learning that you think is worth studying to address. You would need
to go back from this after the knowledge presentation.

Activity 2: From the listed issues, rate the needs, problems, gaps, interests in language
teaching and learning acording to seriousness. Justify your reason for the top 3 most
serious issue.
TOPICS RANK JUSTIFICATION

Research Topics

As your starting point, topics are important. Some topics are better researched using
quantitative research while others fit best for qualitative. One interesting topic among
researchers this day is on the impact of Covid-19. This is because while children are
not considered to be the most susceptible victims of COVID-19, the harm they may
Read the information carefully understanding the major content of topic
writing. As lesson from this is the starting point to your research and the
succeeding episodes, try to take notes on the key information, concepts, and
principles as these shall be important in performing the subsequent tasks.
suffer because of endeavors to diminish the spread of the pandemic may alter their
potential for educational success. Before the pandemic, a student was likely to
experience school disruption. This common situation is exacerbated by several factors
– prolonged school closures, difficulty affording fees, uniforms or books, lack of access
to computers and the Internet or because children may need to work to support their
families. Multiple questions must be asked regarding the academic, affective, cultural,
and linguistic wellbeing of students who are language learners by necessity. Factors
stemming from school disruption and other pandemic-related challenges that may inhibit
second language acquisition and acculturation point to the following inquiries:

 What are the academic/cognitive, linguistic, and affective effects of

long-term school closure?
 How may second language acquisition be stifled by the lack of face-
to-face interaction?
 What may be expected of children who have already missed
significant aspects of their education because of school disruption and
who are now expected to learn in seclusion?
 When students do not have access to technology, what alternative
methods of teaching may be employed?
 What research-proven strategies can be implemented to ease culture
shock and prevent language shock and loss while teaching and
learning online?

Considerations in choosing a topic

Below are the considerations you need to reflect in choosing a topic

a) Choose a topic that you like

You are going to live with your topic for the entire process of your research journey.
Thus, you should choose something that will hold your interest. Your attitude towards
your topic will come across in your writing. Therefore, there has got to be a chemistry
between you and your topic. It should be a love affair that makes the two of you
inseparable. If you research on a topic that you do not like or love, it is as if entering in
a relationship without love. The ending will make you likely fail. Choose therefore a topic
that you like.

b) Choose a topic within your field

Some people commit the mistake of choosing a topic simply because they are
interested in it, no matter in which field it is found. Do not study mathematics when you
are supposed to study English. Venturing into a topic not aligned in your field makes
your study questionable.

c) Choose a current topic

Topics should always be about a current issue unless you major in history or similar
field. A current topic is a topic that at the center of the ongoing discussion in your fiield.
You can easily discover the current issues by looking at the trends of topics in leading
journals of your field.

d) Choose a Manageable topic

One of the problems you face is the tendency to bite on way more than you can chew.
Therefore, you should choose a manageable topic. For example to discover the impact
of online teaching to success” is a noble intention but it may not be realistic and
attainable. Terms like this cannot be an objective rather this grand and futuristic term
is best considered as a vision. To discover impact is to wait for this learners to graduate
using the LENS as the platform and see after graduation their employability. You want
to study something that is more palpable so it could serve as recommendations towards
the improvement of language education through the platform.

e) Consider the major criteria

Simon & Francis, 2004 says that a research must be doable, original and
contributory to your field or to the society.

Fundamentals in Writing Research Title

Does the title describe what the study is all about?

Does the title contain high specificity level?
Is the title academically phrased and is not verbose?
Is the title within the twelve (12) substantive word requirement of the American
Psychological Association (APA)?

The title should be no longer than 12 words in length and should avoid superfluous
words such as “a study of” or “an investigation of.” It should be able to stand alone in
clarity and be self-explanatory. This means that all words should be clear to a reader
without definition. A concisely stated title will enable a researcher to compress it into a
“header” that can be placed on each page of the manuscript, and this “header” will
provide key words for use by indexing services for the literature databases. In addition
to these components mentioned in the APA (2010) manual, you might also consider
what elements go into a good title from both a quantitative and a qualitative perspective.

Evaluating the Problem

After you have tentatively selected a question that interests you, you need to ask if it is
a question that warrants an expenditure of time and effort to investigate.
The following are criteria that one can use to evaluate a research problem:
The problem should have significance—that is, it should be one whose
solution will make a contribution to educational theory or practice. The problem
may fill in gaps in current knowledge or help resolve some of the inconsistencies
in previous research. You should be able to answer the question “So what?” with
respect to your proposed study. Would the solution make any difference to
educational practice? Would other educators be interested in the findings?
Would the findings be useful in an educational decision-making situation?

The problem should be one that will lead to new problems and so to further
research. A good study, while arriving at an answer to one question, usually
generates a number of other questions that need investigation. Avoid trivial
problems that have little or no relationship to theory or previous research. It may
be helpful if students familiarize themselves with the research efforts of their
professors, who not only can suggest related problems needing investigation but
also may later serve as a mentor or a doctoral committee member.

The problem must be researchable. Although this criterion would seem

self-evident, in practice, many proposed problems are not researchable. A
researchable problem is one that can be attacked empirically; that is, it is possible
to gather data that answer the question. Many interesting questions in education
cannot be answered by scientific research. Philosophic questions,
for example, that ask what should be done are not researchable and should be
avoided. Questions such as “Should we offer more vocational training in the high
school?” or “Should schools give more attention to character education?” cannot
be answered by scientifically gathering and analyzing data. It is possible to restate
philosophic questions to make them researchable.
The previous question could be restated as follows: “What is the effect of a
character education program on the incidence of cheating in high school?” It
would be possible to gather data on this question, which could then be used by
educators to help make decisions about a character education program.

The problem should be suitable for the researcher. The problem may be
excellent from the standpoint of the previous criteria but inappropriate for the
individual. First, the problem should be one in which you, the researcher, have
a genuine interest and about which you can be enthusiastic. It should be a
problem whose solution is personally important because of what it could
contribute to your own knowledge or to improving your performance
as an educational practitioner. Unless the problem is meaningful and interesting,
it is doubtful whether you would be willing to expend the time and energy to do
a thorough job. In addition to interest, one must have the necessary research
skills to carry the study through to completion. One may have to develop
and validate instruments or do complex statistical analyses. Another
consideration is whether you will have access to participants and the data
necessary to answer the research question. Lastly, one should choose a
problem that can be investigated in the allotted time and with the resources
available. Do not select a problem that is too large or too involved, and be sure
to allow adequate time for constructing instruments, administering instruments,
conducting interviews or observations, analyzing data, and writing the report.

The problem should be ethically appropriate. That is, the problem should be one
that you can investigate without violating ethical principles. Unlike researchers
in the physical sciences, educational researchers are dealing with human
subjects with feelings, sensitivities, and rights who must be treated ethically.

The researcher should consider:

a. Consent.
Researchers need to obtain consent from the intended subjects. Subjects
should be able to choose whether they wish to participate in the study or not.
Obtain consent from subjects after taking steps to ensure that they have a
complete understanding of the procedures to be used, any risks involved, and
any demands that will be placed on them. Obtain parental consent if minor
children are to be involved in the study.

b. Protection from harm.

Do not plan research that may cause physical harm or psychological harm
such as stress, discomfort, or embarrassment that could have lasting adverse
effects. Fortunately, most educational research does not involve great risk of
harm to subjects. However, the potential for harm always exists, and a
researcher should be prepared if a participant
requests counseling or other help after participating in the study.

c. Privacy.
A researcher should invade the privacy of subjects as
minimally as possible.

A) Subjects

For example, a researcher may plan to use an inventory that asks

adolescents questions about sexual experiences, religious beliefs,
attitudes toward parents, or other sensitive topics. In this case, the
researcher should not attach names to the inventories. Subjects have the
right to expect that their anonymity will be preserved. Most educational
researchers are interested in group data rather than individual responses;
the scores or responses of individuals are generally pooled and reported
as group averages, which tends to minimize the risk of invading privacy.

B) Setting

One more thing to keep in consideration about writing title is the

confidentiality of the research settings. By default the research setting
 should not be revealed. This is because, in most cases, the research is
about a problem. Discussing that problem may have a negative effect on
the research setting.

The following strategy may be used to keep the confidentiality

Do not write the actual name of the research participants or research

setting in the title of the study undertaken. The only time you can use them
is if doing so (a) is somehow beneficial to the organization and (b) they
either insist or give permission to have their name in there. Therefore
instead of saying, Cagayan State University in your title, this can be
reworded with “a public higher education institution in the northern
Philippines”.

Quick Tips in Writing Title

Be mindful of punctuations.
The period generally has no place in a title.
Likewise, any kind of dashes to separates title parts (however, hyphens
to link words is fine)
Avoid question marks (this tends to decrease citations
Semi-colons, as in “;” (the colon, however, is very useful to make two-
part titles)

Be concise
Abbreviations must be spelled out (except for RNA, DNA which is
standard now and widely known)
Avoid Initialisms and acronyms.
Uncommon words (a few are okay, but too many can influence altmetric
scoring)
Vague terms (e.g., “with” could be re-written with a more specific verb;
“amongst” rectified by simpler word ordering)
Obvious or non-specific openings with a conjunction: e.g., “Report on”,
“A Study of”, “Results of”, “An Experimental Investigation of”, etc. (these
don’t contribute meaning!

Keep it short.