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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