M.A. English material. Research Methodology. Introspective Method

2. DEFINITION:
Examination of one’s own conscious
thoughts and feelings.
The process of observing and reflecting on
one’s thoughts, feelings, motives,
reasoning processes and mental states
with a view to determine the ways in which
these processes and states determine our
behaviour.

3. METHODS:
In general, introspective method is divided
into two categories:
1. Verbal Reports
2. Diary studies.

4. 1. VERBAL REPORTS:
Oral records of thoughts provided by subjects
when thinking aloud during or immediately after
completing a task.
Verbal reports are further divided into two
categories:
a. Think aloud
b. Retrospection
Now, we will elaborate think aloud and
retrospection.

5. (A) THINK ALOUD:
Asking learners to verbalize their thought
processes while they are involved in
processing language, typically reading a
text or writing an essay.

6. (B) RETROSPECTION:
Learners verbalize their thought processes
immediately after they process the
language.

7. PRINCIPLES OF VERBAL
REPORTS:
1. Time intervening between mental operations and report is
critical and should be minimized as much as possible.
2. Verbalization places additional cognitive demands on
mental processing that requires care in order to achieve
insightful results.
3. Verbal reports of mental processes should avoid the usual
social conventions of talking to someone.
4. There is a lot of information in introspective reports aside
from the words themselves.
5. Verbal reports of automatic processes are impossible.
Such processes include visual and motor processes and
low attention, atomised linguistic processes such as the
social chat of native speakers.

8. PROCEDURES OF VERBAL
REPORTS:
1. Provide students with a practise activity.
2. Give simple directions.
3. Be as unobtrusive (careful) as possible.
4. Ask students to report their thought processes at
particular points.
5. Don’t ask leading questions.
6. Record the session.
7. Pay attention to students’ non-verbal behaviour.

9. DATA ANALYSIS OF REPORT:
1. Transcribe the data.
2. Segment the transcript into thought units.
3. Code each unit.
4. Use inter-rater reliability.

10. 2. DIARY STUDIES:
It is an account of a second language
experience as recorded in a first person
journal; the diarists may be a language teacher
or a language learner.
Its main characteristics are:
1. They are introspective; the diarist studies
his/her own teaching and learning.
2. The diarist can report on affective factors,
language learning experience which are
normally hidden or largely inaccessible to an
external observer.

11. PROCEDURES OF
CONDUCTING DIARY STUDIES:
1. Providing an account of personal language
learning or teaching history.
2. Recording events, details and feelings about the
current language experience in the diary.
3. Revisiting the journal entries, looking for patterns
and significant events.
4. Identifying important factors to the language
learning or teaching experience are interpreted
and discussed in diary study.

12. BENEFITS:
Providing information about L2 learners and
teacher and their perspectives on the affective and
instructional factors that affect L2 learning and
teaching.
Allowing researchers to see factors identified by
teachers and learners.
Being a vehicle for data triangulation.
The data collection process itself is more
accessible in that.

13. MERITS OF INTROSPECTION:
Gives direct information about one’s own self.
Does not need any tool or laboratory.
Economical method.
Makes base for other methods such as
experimental and observation method.
Subjective observation provides an opportunity to
check the results obtained through other methods.

14. DEMERITS OF INTROSPECTION:
It is subjective in nature.
Human mind is not static like inanimate objects.
Conflicting reports.
It lacks validity and reliability.
It cannot be applied on children, abnormal persons
and animals.
A highly matured and skilled person is required to
carry out this method.

15. THANKS