The document provides guidance on conducting effective research. It discusses several key steps: 1) Identifying a clear research question that can be answered through investigation and data analysis. The question should address a current issue and be narrow enough to study. 2) Collecting and recording data in an organized manner, typically through a research report that outlines the study's purpose, methodology, findings, and conclusions. 3) Analyzing the results using appropriate methods depending on whether the data is quantitative or qualitative. 4) Ensuring ethical research practices, including obtaining participants' informed consent, protecting confidentiality, and considering participants' needs and perspectives. Pilot testing is also important to address any issues prior to the full

2. Many times we ask questions to solve daily problems and to
start solving it we research using some specific data to analyze
and get new knowledge. Below I am going to explain some
characteristics of the research to make it easy.
To get a valid result we should identify the research type in
order to apply the best method to manage data. As most of us
know data has a particular characteristics to be tabulated: by
numbers (quantitative) or by percentages (qualitative). The
methods of analysis used could vary according the data.
After collecting data, it is necessary to write it down. The best
manner to do it is by a research report which provides a guide
for readers as to what to expect in a research field:

3. Name of autor (s)
Title of paper
Contact information
It presents a summary of the
topic of the paper and the
major
findings of the research.
The introduction sets the scene and
provides the reader with background
material (statement of topic area and
general issues) as well as an outline of
the purpose of the research.
The reader can expect to be informed
about all aspects of the study. For
example, how many participants were
there? What are their characteristics
(e.g., male/female, native language,
age, etc.)
The materials used to conduct the study
are usually presented in detail. Example:
Target words were selected from a
primary-school dictionary (Verburg &
Huijgen, 1994), to warrant that relevant
concepts would be selected,
representative of the words young readers
encounter during reading.

4. The next questions that a reader
can expect to be informed of
include logistical issues related to
what was actually done.
It shows how will analyze the
results.
The results are presented with
verbal descriptions of data that are
also often displayed in charts,
figures, or tables.
The main idea of the study
maybe restated and the
findings summarized.
It includes contact information,
information concerning prior
presentations based on the research
presented in the paper, and
acknowledgments.
Everything cited in the
paper appears in the
reference list, and all
sources listed in the
reference list are cited in
the paper.
It includes examples
of the actual materials
used in the study.

5. To develop this paper the researcher must identify the appropriate question to the
investigation, otherwise it could be a waste of time and even of money. The questions
need to be interesting in the sense that they address current issues; at the same time,
they need to be sufficiently narrow and constrained so that they can be answered.
Moreover the data collected by questions have to have feasibility in order to obtain the
data necessary to answer the question considering a number of factors.
As well as information is rising up, the hypotheses generated can be used to express what
the researcher expects the results of the investigation to be. The hypotheses are based on
observations or on what literature suggest the answer might be.
Subsequently, the replication is an important part in a research because if it one cannot
repeat the results of a particular study, the validity of the results of the original study
might be called into question. Likewise, Albert Valdman, the editor of the journal Studies
in Second Language
Acquisition, asserted that "the way to more valid and reliable SLA research is through
replication" (1993, p. 505).
To conclude, the conclusion that is a brief summary of the research and the findings of the
field.

7. All research papers must have an ethical code to be developed, it is essential in an
investigation, keep save the values and do not cross the line of confidentiality.
To start it is important to mention that a second language research is a little bit
different of any other research, researchers must have prudency and touch to gather
the data. To get enough information we have to be sure about the source we are going
to use because, people who could read or listened the paper could identify the source
and it could be a risk in our process. We have to be sure to supply enough information
and who provides this information has to be willing to do it. The participant must know
the steps and the right if s/he decides to participate (policy of confidentiality, the use of
numbers instead of names, the methods of assignment, and so on). For second
language research, care must be taken, for example, when classroom teachers invite
their students to participate in a study. Even when it is clear that there will be no extra
points or higher grades for participation and no penalty for declining to participate, the
simple fact that the teacher is the one requesting the students' participation may
constitute undue influence.

8. Withholding information depends on the purpose of the research, it the information is not
going to alter the sample of data. The human subjects committee approves it when this could
happened otherwise, participants should have get all the necessary information.
Because of English is a world language most of the papers are written in English. To a second
language learner is a little bit confusing to read an explanation or statements of a research in
other language so, it is the responsibility of the researcher to provide the information in
understandable words or in the native language (oral or written) of the participant. In this
way the participant is conscious to give information. Research has to take into account the
age of the participants, be sure that a child will not be treated as an adult because their
capabilities, perspectives, and needs are different. The paper to sign, to authorize the
participation and the use of information must be clear, must be explained the general
procedure of the research (time, risks, benefits), parental permission if it is needed and final
provide a copy of the document that they sign to avoid misunderstandings.

9. , there is a protocol to follow in order to apply this system. Researchers must to
show strategies for recruitment, a description of benefits and an explanation of
the risks (physical, psychological, social, legal, or other), their likelihood, and what
steps the researcher will take to minimize those risks and a description of the
consent procedure. Thus, even if research feels constrained by the requirements,
the research have to think these steps are going to be helpful and s/he has to feel
encouraged to develop his/her research.
To conclude it is important to mention the information gathered is essential to a
research but we have to consider all the aspects of the participants, broke the law
or abuse of the rights might carry bad consequences and even thought a no
research.

11. The pilot testing considered a small-scale trial, it is used to test
often to revise; to uncover any problem and to address them
before the main study is carried out. It is important because is a
good way to assess the feasibility and usefulness of the data
collection methods and making any necessary revisions before
they are used with the research participants.

12. The prior aim to RESEARCHis
to uncover
information.
 Syntax research: the research wants to elicit the
information of what are the learner-language forms that
are being used at various stages of Japanese proficiency?
Then research has to collect the data and measure thinking
about the learner’s environment and attitude. A way to get
the acquired facts is to use what are known as acceptability
judgments (sec. 3.3.1), by which a list of grammatical and
ungrammatical sentences is presented to learners who are
then asked to indicate whether they consider them
acceptable Japanese sentences or not. This is followed by a
request to the learners to correct those sentences they
have judged to be incorrect.

13.  Interaction research: your interest is to find whether recasts or negotiation will lead to
faster development of relative clauses in a second language. You find groups of English
learners of Italian who are at four different stages of development in their knowledge
of relative clauses. For each group, half of them will serve in your "recast" group and
the other half in your "negotiation" group. You first give a pretest to ensure
comparability of groups. Everyone does a picture-description task in which correction is
provided by a native speaker of Italian, either in the form of recasts or negotiation. At
the end of the session, you give each group a posttest on relative clauses and then a
second posttest 3 weeks later. You find that there are no differences between the
groups. When you go back to analyze the actual transcripts of the sessions, however,
you realize that your findings are probably due to a lack of relative clause examples in
the data. This example illustrates how important it is in task-based research to first
ascertain whether or not your tasks will, in fact, elicit your targeted grammatical
structures and provide opportunities for interactional feedback.

14.  Pragmatic research: Assume that you want to conduct
research on pragmatic problems that a particular group of
students might have (e.g., English speakers learning
Chinese). You obtain permission to observe interactions
between these two groups of people in order to determine
what sorts of pragmatic errors may occur, but after 5 days
of observations you have little in the way of consistent
results. Why might that be the case? One reason might be
that you have not narrowed down your research question
sufficiently. A second reason is that waiting for a language
event to occur may be dependent on luck.

15. In the collection data measurements there is a common paradigm that is used in this part, the Universal Grammar
(UG). The UG is a theory which refers to the innate system that a human being has to develop a language. Taking this
theory learners can ask themselves whether a particular sentence is acceptable or not in the second language. So this
is acceptable judgement. Those sentences will be the sample we will take to explain the next.
 The materials applied in the research are necessary to order so it will not affect
the results.
 It is important to number the sentences that learners might to judge because it
could become unreliable data.
 Similarly, the time has to be controlled between each activity.
 The context must be addressed to avoid distractions.
 Keep in mind to make a comparison to allow participants judge the sentences
exposed.
 According to the directions of the research the sentences could be given orally,
written or on a computer.
 The correction has to be the same to native and nonnative speakers.
 The instructions and the examples provided need to be carefully crafted.
 Scoring will depend on how the task is set up

16. Another collection data measurement is the elicit imitation that the tasks are presented to participants auditorily and
the participants are then asked to repeat them. Sentences are made to a specific purpose of grammar and the
person’s ability to repeat accurately is the reflection of his or her internal grammatical system. Recommendations:
 The length has to be appropriate according the proficiency
level of the participant.
 Prerecord sentences for uniformity.
 Randomize all sentences.
 Include enough symbols of each grammatical structure so
that you can make reasonable conclusions.
 Ensure that there is enough time between the end of the
prompt and the time that a learner begins to speak.
 Pilot test everything.

17. The next is sentence matching; this tool is operated on computer, and has its origins in another
discipline, the psycholinguistics. It consist on decide if a sentence showed is or not identical to the next
one, the participant has to match. The time for the appearance of the second sentence to the
participant’s pressing the key is recorded and forms he database for analysis.
• How long the two sentences remain on the screen.
• Delay time between the two sentences.
• Whether or not the two sentences remain on the screen until the participant
has responded.
• Whether or not the screen goes blank after a predetermined time.
• Whether standard orthography or upper-case letters are used.
• The physical placement of the second sentence relative to the first.
• Whether participants are provided with feedback after each response.
• How the keys are labeled (same, different; different, same).
• The number of items included.
• The number of practice items included.
• Whether participants control the onset of each pair of sentences

18. processing research focuses on grammar formation and the mechanism involved in
learning
Sentence interpretation:
what information people use in coming to an understanding of
the relationships of words in a sentence.
Reaction time
how people process certain parts of language. It is assumed
that the more time it takes to respond to a sentence, the more
processing "energy" is required
Moving window
Moving window techniques can provide information about
processing times for various parts of the sentence.

19. It focuses in learners'
conversational interactions
with others (e.g., other
learners, native speakers,
and teachers) and the
developmental benefits of
such interactions.

20. Picture
description
task:
one person is given a picture with
instructions to describe the picture so
that another person can draw it.
Instructions must also indicate that the
person with the picture cannot show the
picture to the other person.
Spot the
Difference:
utilize pictures that are different in
predetermined ways. Participants are
asked to find the differences, and the
number of differences can be pre-
specified so that the participants have a
goal toward which to work.
Jigsaw
tasks:
it is a two-way task, individuals have
different pieces of information. In order
to solve the task, they must orally
interact to put the pieces together. One
example of a jigsaw task is a map task in
which participants are given a map of a
section of a city.

21. Consensus
tasks
it generally involves pairs or groups of
learners who must come to an
agreement on a certain issue.
Consciousness-
raising tasks:
are intended to facilitate learners'
cognitive processes in terms of
awareness of some language area or
linguistic structure. In these tasks,
learners are often required to
verbalize their thoughts about
language on their way to a solution
Computer-
mediated
research
(CMC) involves learners in
communicative exchanges using the
computer. CMC software generally
allows users to engage in both
simultaneous (chat-based) and
asynchronous (forum-based)
communication.

22. Its aim is to determine the strategies used when learning a second language
together with the variables that determine the selection of strategies
• when students are moving their lips, which might be an indication that they are preparing themselves
to speak by practicing under their breath,
• to what extent and which students are "buying processing time" by using such markers as 'uh' or 'well'
or other discourse markers designed to show that they wish to keep their turn,
• to what extent students are employing the compensation strategy of circumlocution (finding
alternative ways of saying something they don't know how to say),
• which students are asking a friend for help when they don't understand,
• which students are sounding out words before saying them,
• which students are reasoning by deduction ("it must mean this because of this"),
• which students are focusing on every word rather than the gist, perhaps by observing them as they
move their finger from word to word,
• which students plunge straight into [an] activity and which students spend some time planning their
work, and
• which students use the dictionary and with what frequency. (Macaro, 2001, p. 66)

23. Introspective measures: taps participants'
reflections on mental processes. In general, we can think of
introspective reports as differing along a number of
dimensions: currency (time frame), form (oral or written), task
type (think-aloud, talk-aloud, or retrospective), and amount of
support for the task. Verbal reporting is a special type of
introspection and consists of gathering protocols, or reports, by
asking individuals to say what is going through their minds as
they are solving a problem or completing a task. Cohen (1998)
outlined three primary types of verbal reporting used in second
language research:
1. Self-report: With self-report
data, one can gain information
about general approaches to
something.
2. Self-observation: Self-
observation data can be
introspective (within a short
period of the event) or
retrospective. In self-
observation, a learner reports
on what she or he has done-
3. Self-revelation (also known
as "think-aloud"): A participant
provides an ongoing report of
his or her thought processes
while performing some task.

24. Stimulated recall: It is a mean by which a
researcher, in an effort to explore a learner's thought processes
or strategies, can prompt the leaner to recall and report
thoughts that she or he had while performing a task or
participating in an event. Recommendations for stimulated
recall research (adapted from Gass & Mackey, 2000) include:
Think-alouds or online tasks: individuals are asked what is
going through their minds as they are solving a problem or completing a task. Through
this procedure, a researcher can gather information about the way people approach a
problem-solving activity. Example a math problem two procedures one answer. In
second language research, an example of a think-aloud task can be seen in research by
Leow (1998), who investigated issues of attention in second language learning. Leow
used crossword puzzles as the task that learners had to perform.
Immediate recalls: Immediate recall is a
technique used to elicit data immediately after the completion
of the event to be recalled.

25. sociolinguistic – pragmatics-
based research
both specialized in the study of
language in social and variable
context as the specific task
required of a learner, the social
status of the interlocutor, and
gender differences, among
others. There are certain
commonly used methods for
doing this, and we discuss them
in the following sections.Naturalistic settings
Elicited narratives
Silent film
Discourse completion test (DCT)
Role play
Video playback for interpretation

26. questionnaires
and surveys
It is one of the
most common
methods of
collecting data.
• Simple, uncluttered formats.
• Unambiguous, answerable questions.
• Review by several researchers.
• Piloting among a representative sample of the research
population.

28. Hypotheses
This is a statement about what we expect to happen in a study; there are two types of hypotheses, research and
null. The last one is neutral used for testing and show the relationship between X and Y. We can form the research
hypotheses in two ways: predicting a difference, although we do or have enough information. On the other hand we
could have sufficient information to predict a difference in one direction to another. This is called a directional or
one-way hypothesis.

29. OPERATIONALIZATION
MEASURING VARIABLES: SCALES OF MEASUREMENT
VALIDITY Content Validity: it refers to the representation of the measurement about the phenomenon we want
the information. Researcher must be sure to include all the information to measure it.
Face Validity: it refers to the familiarity of our instrument and how easy it is to convince others that
there is content validity to it.
Construct Validity: This is complex to measure because the variables such as language proficiency,
aptitude, exposure to input and linguistic representations are not directly measurable in the way of
height, weight or age. In research, construct validity refers to the degree to which the research
adequately captures the construct of interest.
Criterion-Related Validity: it refers to the extent to which tests used in a research study are
comparable to other well-established tests of the construct in question.
Predictive Validity: it deals with the use that one might eventually want to make of a particular
measure.
Internal Validity: it refers to what extent are the differences that have been found for the dependent
variable directly related to the independent variable? A researcher must control for (i.e., rule out) all
other possible factors that could potentially account for the results.

30. Internal
validity
factors
Participant Characteristics
Participant Mortality
Participant Inattention and Attitude
Participant Maturation
Data Collection: Location and Collector
Instrumentation and Test Effects
Equivalence Between Pre- and Posttests.
Giving the Goal of the Study Away
Instructions/Questions

31. External
validity
Sampling: particular group pf participants, here we have the
concept of random sampling that refers to the selection of
participants from general population that the simple will
represent.
Nonrandom Sampling. Systematic sampling is the choice of
every nth individual in a population list (where the list should
not be ordered systematically).
Representativeness and Generalizability: a sample must be
representative of the population in order for the results to be
generalizable.
Collecting Biodata Information: the researcher has to include
enough information for the study to be replicable. In reporting
information about participants, the researcher must balance
two concerns. The first is the privacy and anonymity of the
participants; the second is the need to report sufficient data
about the participants to allow future researchers to both
evaluate and replicate the study.

32. RELIABILITY
consistency of the
materials used in
the research.
Rater Reliability: It refers to the consistent scale between two
or more rates
Interrater reliability
begins with a well-defined
construct. It is a measure of
whether two or more raters judge
the same set of data in the same
way. If there is strong reliability,
one can then assume with
reasonable confidence that raters
are judging the same set of data
as representing the same
phenomenon.
Intrarater reliability
it is similar, but considers one
researcher's evaluations of data,
attempting to ensure that the
researcher would judge the data
the same way at different times—
for example, at Time 1 and at Time
2, or even from the beginning of
the data set to the end of the data
set.
Instrument Reliability
Test-Retest: this method is
used twice in different
period of time.
Equivalence of Forms: This
method is administered to
the same individuals and a
correlation coefficient is
calculated.
Internal Consistency: These are
statistical methods to
determine reliability

35. RESEARCH MATERIALS
Materials are the key components in a research, they are important in order
to achieve the goal. However there are some facts that could be a trouble
in the process such as:
- Insufficient tokens.
- Not appropriate elicitation of the target structure.
- Imprecise instructions.
- Insufficient examples for learners to understand what to do.
As we noticed, these problems can occur and the only way to
ensure the materials allow to you to answer the research
question is to pilot-test them before to apply it.
INTACT CLASSES
In this section the randomization is not feasible and in a
language research it is used for the sake of convenience. Intact
classes are nor typical in experimental research however it may
have the advantage of enhancing the face validity if certain
types of classrooms research. If intact classes are used, the
researcher should carefully consider how the classes are
assigned to treatment groups. One way of dealing with non-
randomization of individuals is to use a semi-randomization
procedure by arbitrarily assigning classes to one treatment or
another.
COUNTERBALANCING
It refers to an experimental design where the ordering of test
or task are different for different participant. See the designs
below:
Design 1: Nonrandom Assignment of Participants to Groups
Design 2: Counterbalanced Design

36. RESEARCH DESIGN TYPES
Correlational (Associational) Research
Experimental and Quasi-
Experimental Research
The randomization is used in this part,
depending on the situation Design
types can range from truly
experimental (with random
assignment) to what is known as
quasi-experimental (without random
assignment). A typical experimental
study usually uses comparison or
control groups to investigate research
questions. Many second language
research studies involve:
Comparison Group Design: In a comparison
group design, participants are randomly
assigned to one of the groups, with treatment
(the independent variable) differing between or
among the groups
Control Group Design: the difference to the
earlier one is the treatment that the groups
receive. Group take the same pretest and
posttest but one group does not receive the
same treatment in between tests.

37. Measuring the Effect of Treatment
Pretest/Posttest Design: These
tests are designed to reveal an
artificial improvement for the
participants. The pretest is
made to ensure comparability
of the participant groups prior
to their treatment. And the
posttest to measure the effects
of the treatment. Both tests
must have comparability,
otherwise the results will not be
feasible. They allow to
determine the immediate effect
of treatment.
Posttest-On/y Design: It is used
when research do not want the
participants know about the topic
of the treatment. However there
are some facts to consider.
Researcher will not know if the
participants are compatibles with
the process. This design is
focused in performance instead
of development. If a research
decides not to have a pretest
should consider:
 Gender
 Age
 Years of language
study
 Languages spoken at
home
 Class grades
 Placement test

38. Repeated Measures Design
The basic characteristic of a repeated measures design (also
known as a within-group design) is that multiple measurements
come from each participant
Factorial Design
A factorial design involves more than one independent variable
and can occur with or without randomization. A factorial design
allows researchers to consider more than one independent
variable, generally moderator variables.
Time-Series Design
A time-series design involves repeated observations (both
pretest and posttest) over a set period of time in order to
establish a baseline and to ascertain the effects of the
treatment.
One-Shot Designs
This is not common used because it is
not a treatement. Nevertheless, one-
shot designs are often used in second
language research within the UG or
processing paradigms when the study
does not have a pretest/posttest design,
but simply raises questions along the
lines of: What do learners know at this
particular point in time?

39. FINALIZING YOUR PROJECT
Some considerations before to design a research project:
• Are your groups matched for proficiency?
• If you are using a particular type of task (e.g., listening), are
your groups matched for (listening) abilities?
• Are your participants randomized?
• If intact classes are used, are their treatments randomly
assigned?
• Are your variables clear and well described?
• Do you have a control group?
• Are control groups and experimental groups matched for
everything but the specific treatment (including the time spent
on the control and experimental tasks)?
• Have you described your control and experimental groups?
• Do you have a pretest?
• If you are testing development, do you have a posttest or even
multiple posttests?
• If using a repeated-measures design, are the treatments
counterbalanced?