How Do You Feel When You Are Assigned A Research Project? Do Research Projects Frighten You ?
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INTRODUCTION
.
How do you feel when you are assigned a research project? Do research projects frighten you ?
RESEARCH FRIGHT
This module is designed to help you overcome your "research fright" by... ...helping you to understand what research is and why it is important, and... ...showing you how to go about planning your own research projects, and... ...getting you started on the actual writing of the research project you have planned
GOALS
By the time you're finished with this whole module, you should be able to... ...Understand and interpret research reports when you read them, identifying their major elements and underlying methodologies. ... Plan and carry out your own research projects
GOALS In addition... ...This module is intended to supplement what you will learn from your coursework and reading. It may also help you get an idea of what research is before you take courses in research methods. ...This module will also introduce you to basic terminology and concepts common to the research.
Definition of Research
In order to plan and carry out research, it is necessary for you to know what we mean by research-in general Research is an ORGANIZED and SYSTEMATIC way of FINDING ANSWERS to QUESTIONS.
Definition of Research
ORGANIZED in that there is a structure or method in going about doing research. It is a planned procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific scope.
Definition of Research
SYSTEMATIC because there is a definite set of procedures and steps which you will follow. There are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get the most accurate results.
Definition of Research
FINDING ANSWERS is the end of all research. Whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or even a simple question, research is successful when we find answers. Sometimes the answer is no, but it is still an answer.
Definition of Research
QUESTIONS are central to research. If there is no question, then the answer is of no use. Research is focused on relevant, useful, and important questions. Without a question, research has no focus, drive, or purpose.
EPISTEMOLOGY
First of all, you should realize that research is only one of several ways of "knowing." The branch of philosophy that deals with this subject is called EPISTEMOLOGY. Epistemologists generally recognize at least four different sources of knowledge: INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE takes forms such as belief, faith, intuition, etc. It is based on feelings rather than hard, cold "facts." AUTHORITATIVE KNOWLEDGE is based on information received from people, books, a supreme being, etc. Its strength depends on the strength of these sources. LOGICAL KNOWLEDGE is arrived at by reasoning from "point A" (which is generally accepted) to "point B" (the new knowledge).
EPISTEMOLOGY
EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE is based on demonstrable, objective facts (which are determined through observation and/or experimentation). Research often makes use of all four of these ways of knowing: INTUITIVE (when coming up with an initial idea for research) AUTHORITATIVE (when reviewing the professional literature) LOGICAL (when reasoning from findings to conclusions) EMPIRICAL (when engaging in procedures that lead to these findings)
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
What is EMPIRICAL RESEARCH? A common image of "research" is a person in a laboratory wearing a white coat, mixing chemicals or looking through a microscope to find a cure for an exotic disease. Well, empirical research about language learning and teaching is similar to that in some ways, but different in many others. There are many organized and systematic ways of conducting empirical research: Questioning
Eliciting behavior
Observing/describing
Experimenting This list is certainly not complete. Each form of empirical research offers its own perspective and follows its own set of procedures. These methods will be discussed later in this module.
KINDS OF RESEARCH
Generally speaking, in second language research it is useful to distinguish between BASIC (or theoretical ), APPLIED, and PRACTICAL research. BASIC RESEARCH is concerned with knowledge for the sake of theory. Its design is not controlled by the practical usefulness of the findings. APPLIED RESEARCH is concerned with showing how the findings can be applied or summarized into some type of teaching methodology. PRACTICAL RESEARCH goes one step further and applies the findings of research to a specific "practical" teaching situation.
KINDS OF RESEARCH
A useful way to look at the relationships among these three research types is illustrated in the diagram below. Each of the three different types of research contributes to the other in helping revise and frame the research from each category.
For example, practical research may be based on theory that came from previously done basic research. Or, theory may be generated by the combination of results from various practical research projects. The same bidirectional relationship exists between applied research and basic research or practical research.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
Research is like a plant that grows and grows and grows and grows...
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS When it is grown it throws off seeds of all types (basic, applied, and practical), which in turn sprout and create more research projects.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS The process continues with all of the new research 'plants' throwing off seeds, creating additional, related research projects of various types.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
Soon there is a body of basic, applied, and practical research projects related to similar topics. And the process goes on and on...
INTRODUCING THE PARAMETERS
Because the scope of research is so broad and there are so many variables involved, it is sometimes difficult to find any hard and fast rules to follow when doing research. On the next few screens you will see a useful set of interrelated and independent PARAMETERS to guide you as you plan research. They are independent in that they can be considered separately. But they are interrelated because in actual practice researchers' choices within one parameter will influence choices in others.
INTRODUCING THE PARAMETERS The parameters are...
GENERAL APPROACH Synthetic (Holistic) Analytic (Constituent) RESEARCH AIM Deductive (Hypothesis Testing) Heuristic (Hypothesis Generating) CONTROL OVER THE RESEARCH CONTEXT Low High EXPLICITNESS OF DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES Low High
PARAMETERS IN DEPTH
The choices you make in one parameter may reduce your options in the other parameters. In order to understand this system better, let's look at each parameter in a little greater depth. GENERAL APPROACH Synthetic A synthetic approach to research looks at the research question or topic from a holistic point of view. The researcher tries to understand the parts of the problem by looking at the whole (Holistic) Analytic (Constituent) . An analytic approach to research would look at a topic from a constituent point of view. The researcher tries to understand the whole phenomenon by looking at the separate parts. RESEARCH AIM Deductive (Hypothesis Testing) The deductive approach is driven by a particular hypothesis. The researcher has a specific, focused statement in mind and his/her objective is to prove or disprove that specific hypothesis Heuristic (Hypothesis Generating) .A heuristic approach starts with few preconceived notions or hypotheses about the focus of the research. The researcher observes a phenomenon in order to generate questions or hypotheses for subsequent research.
PARAMETERS IN DEPTH
CONTROL OVER THE RESEARCH CONTEXT Low A low degree of control would exist in a situation where the researcher does little to affect the context in which the research is carried out. The researcher may observe classes that are already set up. The researcher does not introduce any kind of treatment to the testing group High . In a study with high control, the researcher manipulates the research context in various ways. The researcher could choose and arrange the groups to be tested, or a specific treatment could be administered to the subjects. EXPLICITNESS OF DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES Low Many kinds of data are collected by researchers. Sometimes the data collection procedures or instruments are relatively "loose" or open. Subjects have more latitude in the ways they can respond. Also, there is more room for the personal judgments of the researcher to enter in High . Other data-collection procedures or instruments are highly explicit. They follow carefully controlled, objective procedures which allow for little variation in subjects' responses or researchers' interpretations
.
How do you feel when you are assigned a research project? Do research projects frighten you ?
RESEARCH FRIGHT
This module is designed to help you overcome your "research fright" by... ...helping you to understand what research is and why it is important, and... ...showing you how to go about planning your own research projects, and... ...getting you started on the actual writing of the research project you have planned
GOALS
By the time you're finished with this whole module, you should be able to... ...Understand and interpret research reports when you read them, identifying their major elements and underlying methodologies. ... Plan and carry out your own research projects
GOALS In addition... ...This module is intended to supplement what you will learn from your coursework and reading. It may also help you get an idea of what research is before you take courses in research methods. ...This module will also introduce you to basic terminology and concepts common to the research.
Definition of Research
In order to plan and carry out research, it is necessary for you to know what we mean by research-in general Research is an ORGANIZED and SYSTEMATIC way of FINDING ANSWERS to QUESTIONS.
Definition of Research
ORGANIZED in that there is a structure or method in going about doing research. It is a planned procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific scope.
Definition of Research
SYSTEMATIC because there is a definite set of procedures and steps which you will follow. There are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get the most accurate results.
Definition of Research
FINDING ANSWERS is the end of all research. Whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or even a simple question, research is successful when we find answers. Sometimes the answer is no, but it is still an answer.
Definition of Research
QUESTIONS are central to research. If there is no question, then the answer is of no use. Research is focused on relevant, useful, and important questions. Without a question, research has no focus, drive, or purpose.
EPISTEMOLOGY
First of all, you should realize that research is only one of several ways of "knowing." The branch of philosophy that deals with this subject is called EPISTEMOLOGY. Epistemologists generally recognize at least four different sources of knowledge: INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE takes forms such as belief, faith, intuition, etc. It is based on feelings rather than hard, cold "facts." AUTHORITATIVE KNOWLEDGE is based on information received from people, books, a supreme being, etc. Its strength depends on the strength of these sources. LOGICAL KNOWLEDGE is arrived at by reasoning from "point A" (which is generally accepted) to "point B" (the new knowledge).
EPISTEMOLOGY
EMPIRICAL KNOWLEDGE is based on demonstrable, objective facts (which are determined through observation and/or experimentation). Research often makes use of all four of these ways of knowing: INTUITIVE (when coming up with an initial idea for research) AUTHORITATIVE (when reviewing the professional literature) LOGICAL (when reasoning from findings to conclusions) EMPIRICAL (when engaging in procedures that lead to these findings)
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
What is EMPIRICAL RESEARCH? A common image of "research" is a person in a laboratory wearing a white coat, mixing chemicals or looking through a microscope to find a cure for an exotic disease. Well, empirical research about language learning and teaching is similar to that in some ways, but different in many others. There are many organized and systematic ways of conducting empirical research: Questioning
Eliciting behavior
Observing/describing
Experimenting This list is certainly not complete. Each form of empirical research offers its own perspective and follows its own set of procedures. These methods will be discussed later in this module.
KINDS OF RESEARCH
Generally speaking, in second language research it is useful to distinguish between BASIC (or theoretical ), APPLIED, and PRACTICAL research. BASIC RESEARCH is concerned with knowledge for the sake of theory. Its design is not controlled by the practical usefulness of the findings. APPLIED RESEARCH is concerned with showing how the findings can be applied or summarized into some type of teaching methodology. PRACTICAL RESEARCH goes one step further and applies the findings of research to a specific "practical" teaching situation.
KINDS OF RESEARCH
A useful way to look at the relationships among these three research types is illustrated in the diagram below. Each of the three different types of research contributes to the other in helping revise and frame the research from each category.
For example, practical research may be based on theory that came from previously done basic research. Or, theory may be generated by the combination of results from various practical research projects. The same bidirectional relationship exists between applied research and basic research or practical research.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
Research is like a plant that grows and grows and grows and grows...
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS When it is grown it throws off seeds of all types (basic, applied, and practical), which in turn sprout and create more research projects.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS The process continues with all of the new research 'plants' throwing off seeds, creating additional, related research projects of various types.
INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
Soon there is a body of basic, applied, and practical research projects related to similar topics. And the process goes on and on...
INTRODUCING THE PARAMETERS
Because the scope of research is so broad and there are so many variables involved, it is sometimes difficult to find any hard and fast rules to follow when doing research. On the next few screens you will see a useful set of interrelated and independent PARAMETERS to guide you as you plan research. They are independent in that they can be considered separately. But they are interrelated because in actual practice researchers' choices within one parameter will influence choices in others.
INTRODUCING THE PARAMETERS The parameters are...
GENERAL APPROACH Synthetic (Holistic) Analytic (Constituent) RESEARCH AIM Deductive (Hypothesis Testing) Heuristic (Hypothesis Generating) CONTROL OVER THE RESEARCH CONTEXT Low High EXPLICITNESS OF DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES Low High
PARAMETERS IN DEPTH
The choices you make in one parameter may reduce your options in the other parameters. In order to understand this system better, let's look at each parameter in a little greater depth. GENERAL APPROACH Synthetic A synthetic approach to research looks at the research question or topic from a holistic point of view. The researcher tries to understand the parts of the problem by looking at the whole (Holistic) Analytic (Constituent) . An analytic approach to research would look at a topic from a constituent point of view. The researcher tries to understand the whole phenomenon by looking at the separate parts. RESEARCH AIM Deductive (Hypothesis Testing) The deductive approach is driven by a particular hypothesis. The researcher has a specific, focused statement in mind and his/her objective is to prove or disprove that specific hypothesis Heuristic (Hypothesis Generating) .A heuristic approach starts with few preconceived notions or hypotheses about the focus of the research. The researcher observes a phenomenon in order to generate questions or hypotheses for subsequent research.
PARAMETERS IN DEPTH
CONTROL OVER THE RESEARCH CONTEXT Low A low degree of control would exist in a situation where the researcher does little to affect the context in which the research is carried out. The researcher may observe classes that are already set up. The researcher does not introduce any kind of treatment to the testing group High . In a study with high control, the researcher manipulates the research context in various ways. The researcher could choose and arrange the groups to be tested, or a specific treatment could be administered to the subjects. EXPLICITNESS OF DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES Low Many kinds of data are collected by researchers. Sometimes the data collection procedures or instruments are relatively "loose" or open. Subjects have more latitude in the ways they can respond. Also, there is more room for the personal judgments of the researcher to enter in High . Other data-collection procedures or instruments are highly explicit. They follow carefully controlled, objective procedures which allow for little variation in subjects' responses or researchers' interpretations
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