Htrm2009 Student Workshop Session1

Session 1: Introduction to Research An Introduction to Research Methodology in Foreign Language Education

Session 1: Objectives
Students are expected to
understand the importance of research in our modern world as well as in foreign language education,
understand the nature of research,
understand different types of research,
have an overview of the research process,
get familiar with key concepts of research in each step of the research process (e.g. literature review, research problem, research question, research design, data collection, instrument, data analysis, results, findings, implications), and
develop some interest for research.
identify a research area of interest and speculate possible research problems within the area,
draft some research questions based on the speculated research problems
analyze and evaluate sample research questions.

Contents The Nature of Research? 1 Basic Steps in Doing Research 2  Formulation of Research Questions? 3

A good way of understanding the nature of research is to first experience it by doing it, initially in a simple and elementary way.
Brown & Rodgers (2002, p.3)

Question
Which is more dangerous: a gun or a swimming pool?

Situation
Consider the parents of an eight-year-old girl named, say, Molly.
Her two best friends, Amy and Imani, each live nearby.
Amy’s parents keep a gun in their house, so they have forbidden Molly to play there.
Instead, Molly spends a lot of time at Imani’s house, which has a swimming pool in the backyard.

Situation
But according to the data, their choice isn’t smart at all.
The likelihood of death by pool (1 in 11,000) versus death by gun (1 in 1 million-plus) isn’t even close: Molly is roughly 100 times more likely to die in a swimming accident at Imani’s house than in gunplay at Amy’s.

Pigs vs. Sharks
The live pigs, not infected pork that people eat, kill substantially more people than sharks do.

What is research?
systematic investigation into reality to gain knowledge

How do U know what U know?
Problem: Which reaches C first?
research is distinguished from speculation

Is this research?
Research is grounded in data, not imagination .
Data: pieces of reality

Is this research?

What is research?
systematic investigation into reality to gain knowledge

How do U know what U know?
Problem: Which reaches C first?
Research implies a problem of complexity

Is this research?
At a university, students collect data from here and there and then reorganizing them in their paper.
information gathering:
should be systematic and produce some new knowledge to be considered research
Research implies a problem of complexity that requires conscious efforts with clarified methodology

How do you know what you know?
Don’t show your knowledge. Show how you get the knowledge.
? the way to knowledge is not easy secondary primary (empirical)

1. What is research?
A systematic process of inquiry consisting of
three elements or components:
(1) a problem,
(2) data, and
(3) analysis and interpretation of data.
(Nunan, D. 1992, p. 232)

Human needs (Maslow) 1. Physiological (homeostatic) needs 2. Safety & security needs 3. Love & belonging needs 4. Esteem needs 5. Needs for self-actualization 6. Need to know and understand 7. Aesthetic needs

Research- a Social Field
Products of research are socially meaningful.
From research - practice to research = practice
research as a field of production
valuable for all other fields (R&D: research and development)
Research as a means of socialisation

The Importance of Social Research
Knowledge = vehicle of social transformation
Knowledge of the social world = major vehicle of social transformation

Contents The Nature of Research? 1 Basic Steps in Doing Research 2  Formulation of Research Questions? 3 

Basic research process
8. Evaluate results and draw conclusions
1. Identify problem areas 2. Survey literature 3. Formulate research questions 4. Construct research design 5. Specify sources of data 6. Specify data collection & data analysis procedures 7. Execute research plan

Step 1: Identify problem areas
Determine the general topic for investigation
General Topic Experience Reading Interest

Step 1: Identify problem areas
Narrow the general topic
Identify problem areas
Problem areas are more specific than general topic
Problem areas are:
+ what have been little known or unknown
+ what you are interested in finding out

Identify problem areas
Assessment
Writing assessment
Portfolio assessment
Portfolio assessment in the second year at English Department, HULIS, VNU

Research problem
Topic/ Problem: The exploitation of portfolio as an assessment tool in writing classes for second year students at English Department, HULIS, VNU

Step 2: Survey literature General Topic Experience Interest Reading Research problem Surveying related literature

Step 2: Survey the literature
Read the existing literature related to the research problem
What is a literature review?
An account of what has been published on a topic by scholars and researchers
Not just a set of summaries or a descriptive list of material

Review the literature means ….
Finding out what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic
Finding out relationships between different works
Finding out how it relates to your work
Evaluating what their strengths and weaknesses are

Step 3: Formulate research questions
Research questions operationalize the objectives of the research
(Hedrick et. al., 1993 in Mertens, 2005)
Characteristics of a GOOD Research Question
Worth Asking
Answerable

What type of research question is problematic?
It starts with “How can I…”
It suggests a “yes” or “no” answer.
Should..?
It is rhetorical.
It includes vague or ambiguous language.
NCSALL Practitioner Research Group
on Learner Motivation, Retention, and Persistence, 1998.

Formulate research questions
Topic/ Problem: The exploitation of portfolio as an assessment tool in writing classes for second year students at English Department, HULIS, VNU

Formulate research questions
How is portfolio assessment exploited at English Department, HULIS, VNU in terms of portfolio components and scoring procedure?
How is portfolio assessment perceived by the teachers and students in terms of course relevance and students’ involvement?
What kinds of information can portfolio and portfolio assessment provide teachers and students?
What are the obstacles in implementing this form of assessment as perceived by the teachers and students?

Step 4: Construct Research design
Clarify what approach you take as the general orientation for the whole research or a general plan of methods and procedures to answer the research questions

Step 5: Specify sources of data
Choose the participants in order to collect data from
Eg:
Topic: The exploitation of portfolio as an assessment tool in writing classes for second year students at English Department, HULIS, VNU
 Choose several classes of second-year EFL students at English Department, CFL, VNU as the participants

Step 6: Specify data collection and data analysis procedures
Select appropriate instruments (questionnaires, interviews, etc.) for data collection
Specify data collection procedures:
Steps to collect data from the participants by using the instruments
Eg: 1 st step: pilot the questionnaires
2 nd step: revise the questionnaires
3 rd step: deliver the questionnaires to the participants
etc.

Step 6: Specify data collection and data analysis procedures
Specify data analysis procedures
Steps/ Methods used to analyze data collected
Eg: Questionnaire data: group the data under categories which serve to answer the research questions
Factors facilitating students’ participation in in-class group work
Factors inhibiting students’ participation in in-class group work

Step 7: Execute the research plan
Use the instruments to collect data from the participants, following the data collection procedures set before

Step 8: Analyze and evaluate results, and draw conclusions
Follow the data analysis procedures to analyze results (data collected)
Evaluate the results
Highlight findings (typical or significant things among the results) that serve to answer the research questions
Draw conclusions of the research
Draw implications (if any)

Contents The Nature of Research? 1 Basic Steps in Doing Research 2  Formulation of Research Questions? 3  

Work in groups of 4
Think of a research problem of your interest.
Formulate research questions based on the problem.
Think of possible sources of data and data collection methods.

Session 1: Objectives
Students are expected to
understand the importance of research in our modern world as well as in foreign language education,
understand the nature of research,
understand different types of research,
have an overview of the research process,
get familiar with key concepts of research in each step of the research process (e.g. literature review, research problem, research question, research design, data collection, instrument, data analysis, results, findings, implications), and
develop some interest for research.
identify a research area of interest and speculate possible research problems within the area,
draft some research questions based on the speculated research problems
analyze and evaluate sample research questions.

References
Tống Thị Mỹ Liên (2008). Slides for theme 1: Introduction to research . VNU, HULIS.

Contents The Nature of Research? 1 Basic Steps in Doing Research 2  Formulation of Research Questions? 3  

Thank You !

Htrm2009 Student Workshop Session1

by englishonecfl on Nov 29, 2009

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