Session 1

Dimensions of Research in Applied Linguistics

 An overview
• Applied Linguistics
• Research Definition
• Primary and Secondary Research
• Basic and Applied Research
• Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Research
• Quantitative (Quan), Qualitative (Qual), and Mixed-
methods Research (MMR)
 Research Defined
• Research can be described as a systematic process of inquiry
to address a research problem or question of interest.
• Applied linguists may use a theoretical framework to guide
their research inquiry as well as a methodological approach
inherent to a particular theory.
• Research needs to be systematic in the sense that it requires
researchers to understand the underlying principles associated
with the tools that it employs. These tools include the
particular research instrument or technique used and the data
analysis techniques the researcher has chosen to use.
• Such an understanding is needed to ensure the validity or
trustworthiness of research findings.
 In other words

• Good research practice requires an understanding of what

constitutes good research:

• transparency of data collection and analysis,

• ethical conduct,
• and evidence-based inferences and conclusions
 Applied Linguistics (AL)

• AL is a broad, evolving, interdisciplinary field of language

and lg-related study across diverse social contexts.
• AL emerged in the latter of half of the 20th century
• A common misunderstanding: AL only apply linguistic
knowledge.
• However, due to its interdisciplinary nature, AL sits at the
intersection of a diversity of fields.
• Research fields that are related to and influence AL research
are linguistics, education, philosophy, psychology, and
sociology.
 Primary and Secondary Research

• Primary research: involves the collection and analysis of

empirical data (observed data from a source). Primary research
applies to those empirical studies that collect firsthand data
from participants and provide an analysis of the collected
primary data.

• Journal articles and theses or dissertations, which collect and

analyze new empirical data and analysis to address a research
problem, are examples of primary research.
 Examples

• In primary research, researchers are direct witnesses of or are

directly involved in the observations and data collection.
Examples of primary data sources are participants’
performance on tests or questionnaires, their diaries, and their
participation in interviews.
 Secondary Research

• Secondary research analyzes and synthesizes existing theories,

hypotheses, and/or research findings from published sources to
help a researcher understand a research topic or issue.
• Secondary research refers to the library-based type of research
in which researchers use published materials as their data
source.
• Examples of secondary research include a literature review, a
state-of-the-art journal article, a book chapter on a particular
research issue or topics, and a research synthesis.
 Important note
• Secondary research is one of the required stages in doing primary
research because researchers need to first conduct a thorough
literature review before they embark on their own proposed
research. A review of the relevant literature, for example, helps
researchers identify a research gap or a significant problem to be
addressed, understand methods (e.g., instruments and types of
analysis) other researchers have used, and decide on a research
question to be asked and methods to be used.
• The outcome of the secondary research is usually presented as a
chapter in the thesis (chapter of literature review).
• Secondary research also helps researchers avoid researching a
topic that is already well-understood.
 Basic and Applied Research
• Primary research may also be further categorized as basic or
applied research.

• Basic research aims to develop fundamental knowledge about

an issue or topic in applied linguistics (what, why, and how
something takes place or is present).

• Basic research helps researchers understand a phenomenon in

a real-world context (e.g., how people learn and use a
language or how and why a group of politicians use language
as a tool to discriminate against immigrants).
 Basic Research
• It aims at collecting empirical data to expand theory and not
necessarily solving immediate practical problems.
• This is why basic research is also called theoretical research and is
conducted to expand frontiers of knowledge. Many research studies
in the field of first- and second-language acquisition can be
classified as basic research because the researchers aim at
developing theories related to language acquisition.
• The developed theories provide an explanation for how first- and
second-language learners may acquire a language by explaining
different stages involved in the process of language acquisition.
• One outcome of basic research is a theory or a set of hypotheses that
explain human behaviors, thoughts, or beliefs about language and
language use.
 Applied Research
• Applied research (not to be confused with applied linguistics
as a field of inquiry) is related to researchers or practitioners’
attempts to solve real-world problems in language learning or
use by applying principles or theories from primary research.
• In language teaching, researchers may examine whether a
particular teaching technique or approach helps learners
achieve higher proficiency.
• In language policy and planning, researchers may investigate
whether a popular framework or idea can be used in another
setting (e.g., whether the CEFR (Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages) might be adopted as
part of government policy for teaching English in Thailand).
 Recently
• The classification of research into applied and basic as
mutually exclusive is getting blurred now, and the tendency is
to consider them along a continuum with different
permutations.

• This is especially true in light of the emergence of mixed-

methods research (MMR), which recognizes and aims at
addressing both practical problems and theory development in
a single study.
 Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Research

• Cross-sectional research takes place when researchers collect

data from a group of research participants at a single point in
time using instruments, such as tests, questionnaires,
interviews or observations.

• Most quantitative research studies are deemed to be cross-

sectional because the data collection is completed in particular
points in time to examine relationships among them, as is done
in survey research studies. Cross-sectional studies are very
popular in applied linguistics given their feasibility.
 Longitudinal Studies

• Longitudinal research requires researchers to collect data over

a period of time (e.g., over several years or time points) to
understand changes or developments.

• Some quantitative studies such as experiments and time-series

studies can be categorized as longitudinal research because the
data collection in these studies takes place over time and in
more than one point in time.
In line with the dynamic shift in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) domain
and the need for the development of suitable methods to explore the dynamics
of emerging concepts in the field such as grit and enjoyment, in the present
research, we intended to investigate the growth of foreign language enjoyment
(FLE) and L2 grit over time. To do this, we used a bivariate latent growth
curve model (LGCM) to examine the covariance between 437 EFL learners'
initial and growth levels of L2 grit and FLE in four measurement occasions of
2 week intervals. The data were collected via the original foreign language
enjoyment scale and the L2 grit scale. The model including the covariance
between intercepts and slopes of FLE and L2 grit was tested via Mplus 7. The
findings indicated an increasing trend in the association between the growth
levels of both variables.
In this research study, unlike previous studies that have examined the
advantages of peer review for low proficiency students, an action mixed
methods design is used to explore the impact of peer review on the academic
writing of students with low English proficiency. The researcher analyzed the
written peer review feedback, essays, and reflections of 40 learners. Results
indicated that at the beginning of the study, the students experienced
challenges in identifying problems with rhetorical content of their peers and
by the end of 11 weeks, they were able to provide succinct peer feedback that
included examples and explanations of classmates’ grammatical and
rhetorical errors. Results also revealed improvement in their own writing
skills.
EFL learners inevitably will enter the world of academia, which makes it
mandatory for them to write academic writings, especially in the form of
research articles. Unfortunately, academic writing has always been a serious
challenge for them. This present study is therefore intended to assist EFL
learners, particularly those who have just started their academic writing
experience. Insight and ideas on how to write a research article are presented
in this paper. To do that, a qualitative methodology on discourse analysis was
employed. The data was taken from a research article focusing on discourse
marker comparisons between academic and non-academic writings. The
article is broken down in detail to provide a clear picture of how it is
constructed by the authors. The analysis revealed that even though it contains
some minor weaknesses, the research article overall is well-written and
follows the author guidelines. This study allows EFL learners to receive more
explicit input and, hopefully, adapt and adopt the steps of how the article is
written.