TESOL Research Guidelines

8/20/2019 TESOL Research Guidelines

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TESOL Quarterly Research Guidelines (retrieved on 02/23/2009 fromhttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(I!"1#$#%&2$9/homepa'e/or)uthor*.html"

Quantitative Research Guidelines

+uantitative re*earch ha* played an important role in ,- for a lon' time but over the year* the*tandard* have *hifted *omewhat. In part becau*e of the educational role TESOL Quarterly play* in

modelin' re*earch in the field it i* of particular concern that publi*hed re*earch article* meet current

*tandard*. ,o *upport thi* 'oal the followin' 'uideline* and reference* are provided for uantitative

re*earch paper* *ubmitted to TESOL Quarterly.

Introduction

-plain the point of the *tudy. hat problem i* bein' addre**ed4 hy i* it intere*tin' or important from a

theoretical per*pective4 5riefly review the literature empha*i6in' pertinent and relevant findin'*

methodolo'ical i**ue* and 'ap* in under*tandin'. 7onclude the introduction with a *tatement of purpo*e

your re*earch ue*tion* and where relevant your hypothe*e*8 clearly eplain the rationale for eachhypothe*i*.

ethod

-plain your *tudy in enou'h detail that it could be replicated.

Participants. 7learly *tate whether there i* a population that you would ideally want to 'enerali6e to8

eplain the characteri*tic* of that population. -plain your *amplin' procedure. If you are u*in' aconvenience *ample be *ure to *ay *o. )r'ument* for repre*entativene** can be *tren'thened by

comparin' characteri*tic* of the *ample with that of the population on a ran'e of variable*. e*cribe the

characteri*tic* and the *i6e of the *ample. hen appropriate de*cribe how participant* were a**i'ned to

'roup*.

Measures. ummari6e all in*trument* in term* of both de*cription* and mea*urement propertie* (i.e.

reliability and validity". ;rovide e*timate* of the reliability of the *core* in your *ample in addition to

reliability e*timate* provided by te*t publi*her* other re*earcher* or both8 when you maefer to *tandard wor


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the *i6e of the *ub'roup*. In place of the term* experimental group and control group, u*etreatment group and contrast group.

• Variables. efine the variable* in the *tudy. a


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>eference* and urther >eadin' on +uantitative >e*earch

)bel*on >. ;. (199&". n the *urpri*in' lon'evity of flo''ed hor*e*: hy there i* a ca*e for the

*i'nificance te*t. Psyc"ological Science, #, 12%1#.

)merican ;*ycholo'ical )**ociation. (199$". Publication manual o$ t"e %merican Psyc"ological

%ssociation ($th ed.". a*hin'ton 7: )uthor.

)merican ;*ycholo'ical )**ociation. (2001". Publication manual o$ t"e %merican Psyc"ological

%ssociation (#th ed.". a*hin'ton 7: )uthor.

)nder*on . (2000". Problems wit" t"e "ypot"esis testing approac". >etrieved Canuary 29 2003 from

http://www.cnr.colo*tate.edu/Dander*on/uote*.pdf

5ailar C. 7. E o*teller . (19??". Fuideline* for *tati*tical reportin' in article* for medical journal*.

%nnals o$ &nternal 'eicine, ()#, 2GG%2&3.

5au'h . (2002". 7orrectin' effect *i6e* for *core reliability: ) reminder that mea*urement and*ub*tantive i**ue* are lin


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Huberty 7. C. (1993". Hi*torical ori'in* of *tati*tical te*tin' practice*: ,he treatment of i*her ver*u* !eyman%;ear*on view* in tetbooobert* C. B. E Hen*on >. (2002". 7orrectin' for bia* in e*timatin' effect *i6e*. Eucational an

Psyc"ological 'easurement, *+, 2$1%2#3.

>o*enthal >. (199$". ;arametric mea*ure* of effect *i6e. In H. 7ooper E . J. Hed'e* (-d*." T"e

"anboo0 o$ researc" synt"esis (pp. 231%2$$". !ew Koru**ell a'e oundation.

chmidt . . (199G". tati*tical *i'nificance te*tin' and cumulative


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,homp*on 5. (2002". hat future uantitative *ocial *cience re*earch could loo< li


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ethod*

Context. ;rovide *ufficient contetual information about the ca*e includin' relevant bio'raphical and

*ocial information (dependin' on the focu*" *uch a* - learnin'/teachin' hi*tory 1 bac


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di*cu** each of the ca*e* in term* of a *mall number of perva*ive and important theme* that run acro**them to varyin' de'ree*.

Interpretation. -*tabli*hin' the *i'nificance or importance of theme* or findin'* i* crucial8 the

di*cu**ion *hould ideally lin< the*e theme* eplicitly to lar'er theoretical and practical i**ue*. However

'enerali6ation to population* i* not appropriate or de*irable in mo*t ca*e *tudie*. 5e cautiou* about

drawin' unwarranted inference* becau*e of the *mall *ample *i6e particularly if the ca*e i* not typical ofother* in the *ame *et. 2 re*earcher* freuently propo*e model* or principle* ba*ed on their re*ult* to be

*upported te*ted compared or refuted by them*elve* or other* in *ub*euent re*earch (e.'. chmidt

19?38 chmidt E rota 19?G".

ata may be analy6ed and interpreted throu'h a variety of ideolo'ical len*e* (e.'. po*itivi*t

po*t*tructurali*t femini*t or critical (uff 20028 erriam 199?8 Kin 199$" althou'h

de*criptive/interpretive approache* are *till the mo*t common in ,-. ;rovide *ufficient evidence for

your claim* or interpretation* to maeport

>eport* of ca*e *tudie* *ubmitted to TESOL Quarterly *hould include the followin' element*:

• a *tatement of the *tudyO* purpo*e and the theoretical contet

• the problem or i**ue bein' addre**ed

• central re*earch ue*tion*

•

a detailed de*cription of the ca*e(*" and eplanation of deci*ion* related to *amplin' and *election• contet of the *tudy and ca*e hi*tory where relevant

• i**ue* of acce** to the *ite/participant* and the relation*hip between you and the re*earch

participant (ca*e"

• the duration of the *tudy

• evidence that you obtained informed con*ent that the participant*O identitie* and privacy are

protected and ideally that participant* benefited in *ome way from ta


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7re*well C. . (199?". Qualitatie in7uiry an researc" esign: 4"oosing among $ie traitions.,hou*and a. ). Baplan (-d." T"e Ox$or "anboo0

o$ applie linguistics (pp. 13%23". ford: ford Aniver*ity ;re**.

uff ;. (in pre**". 4ase stuy researc" in applie linguistics. ahwah !C: -rlbaum.

alti* 7. (199&". 7a*e *tudy method* in re*earchin' lan'ua'e and education. In !. Hornber'er E .

7or*on (-d*." 3esearc" met"os in language an eucation (pp. 1$#%1#2". ordrecht !etherland*:

Bluwer.

Fall . . 5or' . >. E Fall C. ;. (199G". Eucational researc": %n introuction (Gth ed.". ondon:

on'man.

Hatch -. (-d.". (19&?". Secon language ac7uisition: % boo0 o$ reaings. >owley ): !ewbury Hou*e.

Cohn*on . . (1992". %pproac"es to researc" in secon language learning . !ew Kor. (19?3". Interaction acculturation and the acui*ition of communicative competence: ) ca*e

*tudy of an adult. In !. olf*on E -. Cudd (-d*." Sociolinguistics an secon language ac7uisition (pp.

13&%1&$". >owley ): !ewbury Hou*e.

chmidt >. . E rota . !. (19?G". evelopin' ba*ic conver*ational ability in a *econd lan'ua'e: )

ca*e *tudy of an adult learner of ;ortu'ue*e. In >. >. ay (-d." Tal0ing to learn: 4onersations in secon

language ac7uisition (pp. 23&%322". >owley ): !ewbury Hou*e.

ilverman . (2000". Doing 7ualitatie researc": % practical "anboo0 . ,hou*and a


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Qualitative Research: Conversation nalysis Guidelines

,he followin' 'uideline* are provided for *ubmi**ion* u*in' an ethnomethodolo'ical approach to

conver*ation analy*i* (7)" a* ori'inated by aceport* of 7) *tudie* *hould meet the followin'criteria:

1. ,he


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?. -ternal material* *uch a* cla**room material* interview *chedule* or draft* of paper* may beintroduced into the databa*e when relevant and appropriate *uch a* when participant* them*elve*

orient to the*e material*.

ata )naly*i*

ata analy*i* i* 'uided by the ethnomethodolo'ical philo*ophy method* and 'oal* of 7) re*earch.

• Kou *hould provide a comprehen*ive treatment of the data under di*cu**ion by demon*tratin'

how participant* collaboratively co%con*truct their taleport

7) report* *ubmitted to TESOL Quarterly *hould include the followin' information:

• a clear *tatement of the re*earch i**ue*

• a de*cription of the re*earch *ite participant* procedure* for en*urin' participant anonymity and

data collection *trate'ie*

• an empirically ba*ed de*cription of a clear and *alient or'ani6ation of pattern* found throu'h data

analy*i*=includin' repre*entative eample* not anecdotal information

•

interpretation* in which you trace the underlyin' or'ani6ation of pattern* acro** all contet* inwhich they are embedded

• a di*cu**ion of how the data analy6ed in the *tudy connect with and *hed li'ht on current

theoretical and practical i**ue* in the acui*ition and u*e of -n'li*h a* an 2

>eference* and urther >eadin' on 7onver*ation )naly*i*

)t


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irth ). (199G". ,he di*cur*ive accompli*hment of normality: n @lin'ua franca@ -n'li*h andconver*ation analy*i*. 1ournal o$ Pragmatics, +*, 23&%2#9.

irth ). E a'ner C. (199&". n di*cour*e communication and (*ome" fundamental concept* in )

re*earch. T"e 'oern Language 1ournal, #(, 2?#%300.

Foodwin 7. (19?1". 4onersational organi!ation: &nteraction between spea0ers an "earers. !ew Kor


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tiver* ,. (2001". !e'otiatin' who pre*ent* the problem: !et *peae*earch approache* that u*e the ualifier critical differ from escriptie or interpretie approache*

which hi*torically adopted a more detached objective value%free orientation to


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hermeneutic* *ymbolic interactioni*m critical theorie* femini*t theorie* po*tmoderni*m*con*tructivi*m and critical humani*m.

• tate eplicitly your *pecific approach and it* underlyin' a**umption* and belief* about the nature

of ethno'raphic


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o a broadened under*tandin' of the contet of the culture. )lthou'h contet i* bein'

con*tantly (re"created throu'h tal< even a* the informant* interact with the re*earcher

reflect in the data the way lar'er force* out*ide the community *hape culture. tudy how

*ocial in*titution* and political a'encie* affect the local culture and *imilarly *ee<

hi*torical data on the *tatu* of the culture before and after the re*earch.

• 5ecau*e ethno'raphic analytical procedure* vary by re*earcher*O *chool* of thou'ht you mayincorporate uantitative a* well a* ualitative procedure* and in*trument* if appropriate (*ee e.'.

5ernard 2002".

)naly*i* and Interpretation

• -mpha*i6e emic=or participant=attitude* belief* behavior* and practice* a* the objective of

ethno'raphy i* to come to a deeper under*tandin' of how people in particular contet* eperience

their *ocial and cultural world*.

• ;ractice refleivity a proce** of *elf%eamination and *elf%di*clo*ure about a*pect* of your own

bac


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well%con*tructed *tatic *y*tem=critical ethno'raphy con*ider* culture a* open to hi*toricalinfluence* and it*elf *hapin' hi*tory thou'h it i* relatively autonomou* from other *ocial

in*titution*.

o between interpretin' and eplainin'. 7ritical ethno'raphy reco'ni6e* that culture%a*%

ideolo'y can lead to certain mi*interpretation* of *ocial life. imilarly a culture that i*

merely lived out i* not alway* open to critical reflection for in*ider*. ith *ufficientre*pect and *en*itivity to the community you may attempt to eplain *ome of the

ue*tion*/contradiction* left open in the informantO* interpretation of thin'*.

o between the part* and the whole of the culture. ,o eplain away the ten*ion* in a culture i*

to impo*e a con*i*tency and uniformity on the community that *erve* to *tereotype

e**entiali6e and 'enerali6e it* culture reductively. ,hu* a critical interpretation

repre*ent* the culture in all it* compleity in*tability and diver*ity.

o between the different *ubject po*ition* of the re*earcher. )dopt a refleive approach8

interpret your own bia*e* baceport

-*tabli*hed 'enre* of the re*earch article may not alway* be *uitable for reportin' ethno'raphic *tudie*that practice a critical ethno'raphy. ,he dominant Introduction%ethod%>e*ult*%i*cu**ion *tructure i*

often more amenable to reportin' de*criptive and *cientific *tudie* informed by -nli'htenment value*typically pre*entin' a detached controlled authorially impo*ed ver*ion of the findin'*. ther emer'ent

'enre* of re*earch reportin' adopt 'reater re$lexiity (in repre*entin' the per*onal *hapin' of the findin'*

in li'ht of the chan'in' bia*e* *ubject po*ition* and involvement of the re*earcher" narraties (for a

more indirect contet%bound per*onal form of theori6ation" multiocality (for tetuali6in' the plural

per*pective* and voice*=of different informant* re*earcher* participant*=on the *ame culture" aut"orial

collaboration (in involvin' the participant*/informant* in the repre*entation of the findin'*" and open/

eneness (in dramati6in' the ten*ion* in interpretation and data from the field and encoura'in' the

reader* to form alternate paradi'm* of interpretation". evelop a mode of tetual repre*entation that *uit*

your re*earch eperience objective* belief* about the nature of ethno'raphic


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)t. I. E haw . . (199#". =riting et"nograp"ic $ielnotes. 7hica'o: Aniver*ity

of 7hica'o ;re**.

Bubota >. (1999". Capane*e culture con*tructed by di*cour*e*: Implication* for applied lin'ui*tic*re*earch and -,. TESOL Quarterly, 55, 9%3#.

arcu* F. E i*cher . . C. (19?G". %nt"ropology as cultural criti7ue: %n experimental moment in

t"e "uman sciences. 7hica'o: Aniver*ity of 7hica'o ;re**.

!a*ta*i 5. B. (1999". )udiovi*ual method* in ethno'raphy. In C. C. chen*ul . . e7ompte 5. B.

!a*ta*i E . ;. 5or'atti (-d*." En"ance et"nograp"ic met"os: %uioisual tec"ni7ues, $ocuse group

interiews, an elicitation tec"ni7ues (pp. 1%#0". alnut 7ree


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TESOL Research Guidelines