Designing qualitative research in english language education

1. Junjun M. Ramdani, PhD (Cand)
University of New South Wales, Australia
Designing qualitative research in
English language education

2. My short CV

3. Junjun Muhamad
Ramdani
087797795245
junjunmuhamad@unsil.ac.id Junjun Muhamad
Ramdani

4. CURRENT AWARD
The awardee of LPDP Scholarship (PhD), University of
New South Wales (UNSW), Australia (2019-2023)

5. Outline:
The nature of qualitative research
Qualitative research approaches
Designing qualitative research

6. How do feel when you’d like to start
doing research?

7. • Research is an ongoing process of questioning
and beginning to know the world.
• Research is purposeful, systematic, ethical,
and critical investigation which takes place in a
socially constructed world, with the aim of
deepening human understanding.
(Hanks, 2017)
What is research?

8. What is meant by (Re)search for
undergrad. students?

9. What is qualitative research?
PERSIJA 0 – PERSIB 2
There was more excitement in the car park
than on the soccer pitch

10. Qualitative research Vs Quantitative
research

11. Important values of qualitative research
• In whole, qualitative research values people’s lived
experiences and is inherently subjective and sensitive to
the biases of both researchers and participants.
• That subjectivity, while considered a serious flaw from the
positivist perspective, speaks to the core value of
qualitative research and the interpretivist/ constructivist
paradigms.
• These fundamental epistemological foundations are key
for developing the right research mindset before
designing and conducting qualitative research
(Tomaszewski, et a., 2020, p. 2).
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12. Think of these three questions
before conducting your
research
do you want to
research (topic/ ideas to
investigate?
do you think this
topic needs further
research?
do you want to
investigate/research your
identified topic?

13. Current topics in (English) language education
• Technology-enhanced language education
What challenges do teachers face in integrating technology into their
teaching practice?
In what ways do teachers integrate technology into their teaching
approaches? (Barrot, 2019)
• Research on Creativity in Language Use, Language Learning
and Teaching
How is creativity reflected in language teachers’ practices and
language learning tasks?
How can we design language learning tasks to promote learners’
creative language use? (Tin, 2019
12

14. • Research on interest and language learning/teaching
What maintains students’ interest in language learning in the long term and how
does it affect their language learning?
How can teaching practices be transformed to maximize teachers’ and students’
learning? (Tin, 2019)
• Understanding how professional development works
What do pre-service/ in-service English teachers [in a particular setting] need to
adapt to the global trends of technology integration in language learning and
teaching?
How do they [in a particular setting] adapt to new circumstances in their teaching?
• Teacher confidence
How is student teachers’ confidence during teaching practicum program?
How does student teachers’ confidence impact the way they teach in the
classroom? (Borg, 2019; Freeman, 2019)
Current topics in (English) language education

15. • Academic Writing
What knowledge and skills do undergraduate students need to develop in
academic writing?
What challenges do students encounter in academic writing?
How do students cope with the academic writing demands during a thesis writing?
(Wette, 2019)
• Emotions in language teacher education and practice
What kinds of language do teachers use when describing their emotional
experiences?
What is the relationship between teacher emotions and teaching practice?
What classroom activities increase, decrease, or have minimal effect on student
anxiety?
What do pre-service/in-service language teachers use most frequently to manage
students’ negative emotions (e.g., anger, fear, boredom) in the classroom?
(Miller, 2019; Prior, 2019)
Current topics in (English) language education

16. What to research…??

17. Tips to choose your research topic
• Frame from what is known (your interest);
• Ground the topic in a context you know and care about;
• Think what contribution you offer from your proposed
research;
• Familiarize yourself to recent professional publications
through digital surf;
• Consult with other researchers, teachers, more capable
peers;
• ...what else? (Freeman, 2019; Prior, 2019; Widodo,
2013)

18. LOOKING FOR CURRENT ISSUES IN
LANGUAGE EDUCATION

19. Research corpus 1: Looking for current
issues

20. https://www.tandfonline.com – Research
Corpus 1
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rill20/current (Innovation in Language
Learning and Teaching)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ncal20/current (Computer Assisted
Language Learning)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ulri19 (Reading Research and
Instruction)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rlae20/current?nav=tocList (
Language and Education)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rllj20/current (The Language Learning
Journal)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/reie20/current (English in Education)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hijl20/current (International Journal of
Listening)

21. https://www.tandfonline.com
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcjo20/current?nav=tocList (The
Curriculum Journal)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rclp20/current?nav=tocList (Current
Issues in Language Planning)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/reng20/current (Asian Englishes)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hlie20/current (Journal of Language,
Identity & Education)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hlaq20/current (Language Assessment
Quarterly)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/caeh20/current (Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education)

22. https://www.tandfonline.com
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ctat20/current (Teachers and Teaching)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rtde20/current (Teacher Development)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjie20/current (Professional
Development in Education)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/capj20/current (Asia-Pacific Journal of
Teacher Education)
• https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjet20/current (Journal of Education for
Teaching)

23. List of journals related to technology in
language education

30. List of journals related to technology in
language education
8. Educational Media International,
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/remi20/current
9. Computers & Education, https://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-and-
education
10. The Journal of Research on Technology in Education,
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ujrt20/current
11. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, https://online-
journals.org/index.php/i-jet/index
12. the International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and
Teaching (IJCALLT), https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-
computer-assisted-language/41023#open-access-articles
13. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning,
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652729
14. Technology, Pedagogy and Education,
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rtpe20

31. Research designs for
undergraduate/postgraduate students
1. Narrative Inquiry
2. Ethnographic Classroom
Research
3. Textbook Analysis
4. Case Study: Descriptive
and Exploratory
5. Classroom Action Research/
Action Research/
Participatory Action
Research
6. Research 2.0/ Net Action
Research
7. Corpus Research
8. Survey Research
9. Design-Based Research
10.Community-based
participatory research
11.Anything else?

32. Narrative inquiry

33. What is narrative inquiry?
32
It is an approach to investigate how people (e.g., teachers,
students, policy makers) tell or share their personal or
professional experiences and the relationship that those
stories have with the context in which they engage in a
particular social and ecological practice (Tomaszewski et
al., 2020).
Storytelling
A single participant
or more
Biographical or
autoethnography

34. Designing narrative inquiry in ELT
Topic:
Using narrative frames to investigate students’ public speaking
experience: Lesson learned from Indonesian higher education
Why:
• Lack of empirical evidence focusing on learners’ experience on public
speaking through narrative frames
• Public speaking always challenges foreign language learners to have
different speaking anxiety
• Etc.
How:
Implementing Narrative Frame (see Barkhuizen & Wette, 2008; Barkhuizen,
2014 for the details)
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35. Preparing the “frame” to help you (as researcher)
investigate the experiences
34
(Barkhuizen, 2014)

36. IN THE PAST
When I first participated in public speaking class, my English was
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………. Soon after I was assigned to speak up in the
class, my problem was
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………. Another problem I had related to public speaking
was
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………. Etc. (See Barkhuizen, 2014 for elaboration)
35

37. NOW
Now my public speaking skill is
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………. I find I can more easily
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………. What I can really do well when speaking in a
public space is
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………….Also, I remember once
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………. However, I still have problems with
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………. To cope with these problems, I’d like to
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
36

38. FUTURE
In the future, I would like to …… (Please add more ideas…….)
37

39. Your story part 3: if you wish, please tell me another story about
your successes and challenges in public speaking as you learn in a
university
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
I am pleased for Junjun to use my story for his undergraduate research project:
Name :
Date :
Signed :
38

40. Narrative Studies: Methodology
Researcher Roles: Story tellers
What to Investigate: Lives of people (Lived Experience)
How to Collect Data: Digital Recordings, Field Notes, Photo
Novella or Story, Reflective Journals/Diaries, Stimulated Recall
How to Analyze Data: Thematic Content Analysis, Discourse
Analysis, Critical Narrative Analysis, Critical Reflection
How to Interpret Data: Theoretical Lenses

41. Further readings
Barkhuizen, G. (2014). Revisiting narrative frames: An instrument for investigating
language teaching and learning. System, 47, 12-27.
Barkhuizen, G., & Wette, R. (2008). Narrative frames for investigating the experiences of
language teachers. System, 36(3), 372-387.
Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P., & Chik, A. (2013). Narrative inquiry in language teaching and
learning research. Routledge.
40

42. Case Study
41

43. Case study in multiple perspectives
(Yin, 2003)

44. Questions to ponder
Why...?
How...?
2019
2023
2023
2023
WELCOME TO UMP

45. Types of case study
Intrinsic case study – lived experience
Instrumental case study – evaluation and interpretation
Collective or multipe case study -- (See Hood, 2009)
Descriptive case study
Exploratory case study (See Yin, 2003)
Explanatory case study – longitudinal (See Duff, 2008)
Before-and-After Case Study Design
Comparative case study (See, Mills, Eurepos, & Wiebe, 2010)

46. Conducting interview-based study
Why Interview?

47. Different types of Interview
Structured interviews
In-depth or unstructured interviews
Semi-structured interviews
Life story or biographical interviews
Narrative interviews

48. What you need in conducting the interview
• Digital recorder (+ spare batteries, charger)
• Note taking instruments: notepad, laptop or tablet (plus
chargers) plus pens
• Participant information statements and consent forms
• Business cards
• Research diary
• Backup system (e.g. external drive, USB or Dropbox
account)
Tips: always have a backup plan!

49. How to begin the interview?
• Chat generally with the respondent to help build rapport
• Explain:
• who you are
• your role in the research project
• the purpose of the interview
• how the information will be used
• how confidentiality will be protected
• the voluntary nature of participation.
• Address any concerns raised
• Ask if it is ok if the interview is recorded

50. Types of Questions
1. Descriptive
questions
ask questions about descriptions of people,
experiences or places.
• Can you tell me about….?
• Where do you spend most of your time on Saturdays?
2. Contrasting
questions
ask participants to make comparison of situations and then to
discuss the meaning of the situations.
• You say you get hassled by the police and by other people
living in your apartment complex – which is the hardest for
you to deal with?
3. Opinion/value
questions
aimed at gaining access to or understanding what
people think about an event or issue.
• What did you hope to achieve by doing that?
• What do you think is the best way to engage students in
learning English?

51. Types of Questions
4. Feeling questions aimed at understanding emotional responses.
• How did you feel about…?
• What feelings did this provoke in you?
5. Knowledge
questions
aimed at finding out what factual knowledge the
respondent has.
• What do you know about….?
• How well did you know this patient’s history?
6. Hypothetical
questions
where a scenario is presented and the respondent is
asked to comment on how they would deal with it.
• If there was a centre for youth built in your neighbourhood
would you make use of it?

52. Types of Questions
7. Posing the ideal
questions
8. Reflecting
questions
ask the respondent to outline what they see as the
ideal situation.
• You tell me you are not happy having nowhere to live, but you don’t
want to return to your parents’ home. If you could choose any type of
housing, what would it look like?
questions that reflect the answers back to the respondent
to verify or clarify that you have understood.
• So you were feeling _______ when that happened?
• So, you didn’t think the way your sister was treated by the
police was fair?
9. Summary
questions
questions that summarise and can allow clarification of
the main things the respondent has said. Basically this
allows you to clarify meaning by asking ‘This is what I
got. Did I get it right?’
So what I’ve understood from what you said is that you…

53. Case study
(Widodo, 2015)

54. Comparing Narrative inquiry and case study
Narrative inquiry Case study
Goal Describe the stories people tell
about their lives and lived
experiences
Describe/ cases to develop an in-
depth understanding of the
context of specific case/ cases
Formulating
research
questions
What is the story of the lived
experience?
What are the qualities/
characteristics of the unique/
representative case?
Sampling People who contribute to the
story of the experience
People with roles that exist within
the boundaries/ criteria/ context of
the case
Collecting data One-on-one interviews in which
participants tell a story about
their experience, narrative
writing, etc.
One-on-one interviews or focus
groups in which participants
describe the case, observation,
etc
Analyzing data Thematic Narrative analysis
53
(see Tomaszewski, et al., 2020)

55. Public speaking course: A comparison of
design
Narrative inquiry Case study
FOCUS The stories students tell about
their experiences in the course
The way the course is
implemented at particular
univ./Faculty/ Department
POSSIBLE
RESEARCH
QUESTION(S)
What stories do students tell
about their experiences in public
speaking course?
How are the public speaking
course designed in this
university?
DATA
COLLECTION
On-one-one interview
Narrative writing
One-on-one interview
Documents (syllabi, exams,
website courses, etc.)
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(see Tomaszewski, et al., 2020)

56. Classroom Research (Observational Study)

57. WHAT IS A CLASSROOM RESEARCH?
“Classroom research, in the sense that I refer to it here, is an act undertaken by teachers, to
enhance their own or a colleague’s teaching, to test the assumptions of educational
theory in practice, or as a means of evaluating and implementing whole school
priorities. So, when I write of classroom research or of the teacher as researcher, I am not
envisioning scores of teachers carrying out technical research projects to the exclusion of
their teaching. My vision is more of teachers who have extended their role to include
systematic reflection upon their craft with the aim of improving it”. (Hopkin, 2008, p. 1)
“This research design (classroom research) tries to look at classroom phenomena (e.g.,
teacher talks, students‘ talks, teacher-student interactions, seating arrangements) without
providing any pedagogical treatments in the classroom. This research attempts to
examine naturally occurring phenomena in the language classroom”. (Widodo, 2013, p. 16)

58. Classroom observation
I define classroom observation as nonjudgmental description of classroom events
which can be analyzed and given interpretation.
By judgment I mean forming an evaluative opinion or conclusion. This opinion
can be negative (“That lesson was terrible today!”) or positive (“Great class
today!”).
By description I mean a verbal or written account of classroom interaction.
by interpretation I mean understanding what went on in the classroom in a
particular way, to give meaning to the observed descriptions of teaching and
classroom interaction
(Gebhard, 1999)

59. What is a classroom observation for?
To evaluate teaching,
Supervisor >> teacher
To learn to teach, pre-
service teacher
>>teacher
To learn to observe
To collect data for
research purposes
To observe to become
more self-aware >> to see
teaching differently.
Interpreted in a variety of ways
(e.g., through theory and research).

62. CLASSROOM
RESEARCH
Participatory
Self
Classroom
Observation
Non-
Participatory
Researcher
Roles: Teacher or
peer
Researcher Roles:
Teachers, Supervisors,
Mentors, Co-Researchers
Researcher Roles:
Reflective teacher or
practitioner

63. CLASSROOM RESEARCH
What to Investigate: Classroom Events (Pre-Lesson, While-Lesson, and Post-
Lesson), Classroom Behaviors (Teachers-Students, Students-Peers, Teachers-
Materials, and Students-Materials)
How to Collect Data: Digital Recordings, Field Notes, Photo Novella or Photovoice,
Focus Groups, Interviewing, Reflective Journals, Stimulated Recall or Think Alouds
How to Analyze Data: Thematic Content Analysis, Discourse Analysis, Critical
Narrative Analysis, Verbatim Analysis, Micro-ethnographic analysis
How to Interpret Data: Theoretical Lenses
(Widodo, 2015)

64. Situation in UNSIL before Curicullum changes
• The influence of using English songs on students’ vocabulary mastery (an
experimental study at the fourth grade of SD Negeri 5 Mekarsari)
• The influence of using KWL strategy on the students reading comprehension in
report text (an experimental study at the eleventh grade of SMA Islam Cipasung
Singaparna)
• Improving the students’ reading comprehension by using interactive compensatory
model (an action research at the ninth grade of SMPN 15 Tasikmalaya)
• Improving the students’ reading comprehensions by using two stay two stray
technique (an action research at the ninth grade of SMPN 15 Tasikmalaya)
• The analysis of students’ error in converting direct speech into indirect speech (a
case study at the students at the eleventh grade of SMKN 1 Tasikmalaya)
• The analysis of students’ responses on ‘Alice in Wonderland’ film directed by Tim
Burton (a case study at the fourth grade of English department students Siliwangi
University Tasikmalaya)

65. Changes and Innovation phase 1 in 2015 (Without
any curriculum changes)
• Learning vocabulary through cartoon movie
• Lesson Planning in a Pre-Service English Teaching Program: A Case
Study
• Interpersonal Relation Analysis among Debaters in World Schools
Debating Championships (WSDC)
• Investigating Learning Style by Recalling Self Experience Seen from the
Help of Video Clips
• The Roles of Peer Feedback in Writing the Research Proposal
• Beyond Chatting: Self-Regulation on an undergraduate Student in
Learning English through KIK Messenger

66. Changes and Innovation phase 2 in 2018 (After
curriculum changes since 2016)
• The emotional geographies of students' creative writing course tasks: A
narrative inquiry
• Breaking classroom silence through negotiated learning
• Speaking 2.0 : Exploring university students' emotional responses towards
peer feedback
• " Thanks Facebook, You make me more confident to speak English" : A
narrative inquiry of an undergraduate student in Indonesia
• Investigating an Indonesia pre-service English teacher’s professional
development: A diary study
• Learning to research through a collaborative research project: The lived
stories of undergraduate students in an Indonesian EFL Context

67. Thank you for your participation
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68. 67