Education Research Design and Methods

1. Education Research Design and Methods

2. Session One • Welcome to the class • My name is Jill Bamforth • This morning’s program • Introductory lecture • Administration tasks • Assignment discussion • Questions/issues

3. WELCOME TO THE COURSE Introductions • Name/Job • Special interests – professional and personal: • ‘I am doing this course because…

4. Course Overview Session 1 • Introduction • What is research, part 1 Session 2 • What is research, part 2 Session 3 • Introduction to Quantitative and Qualitative Research

5. Session 4 • What are the ethical implications? Session 5 • What is qualitative research, part 1 - classroom research - case studies Session 6  • What is qualitative research, part 2 • ethnographic studies

6. Session 7  • What is qualitative research, part 3 • action research Session 8  • What is quantitative research?

7. Session 9 • How are data gathered and analysed? Session 10 • What is critical analysis?  Session 11 • How are the assignments organised?

8. What is RESEARCH? You have 30 seconds Write down one word that you associate with the word research. e.g. money / travel

9. Write down all the associated words from all the students in this group • Can you divide the words into 2/3/4 categories? • What does the evidence tell us about attitudes to research?

10. What have we just done? • Attempted to answer a question • Generated information/data • Organised the data into categories • Analysed the date to arrive at some ‘truths’ or conclusions

11. THIS IS RESEARCH

12. Some definitions of research – how do they differ? Which is the best? • A systematic approach to finding answers to questions (Hatch). 2. A scholarly or scientific investigation or inquiry (American Heritage Dictionary). 3. Research is a systematic process of inquiry consisting of a question/hypothesis, data, analysis/interpretation (Nunan). 4. Research is the pursuit of knowledge ( anonymous).

13. What percentage of students has voted for each of the four definitions? Represent this percentage as a pie diagram

14. What is the purpose of research?

15. To expand knowledge • To challenge existing knowledge • To confirm existing knowledge • To solve problems • To generate new questions

16. Research Traditions -Types of Research Research Task A • English language learner (ELL) acquisition of irregular verb forms – does ESL teaching assist acquisition? 2. Research Data Student A B C D E Pre teaching /10 1 9 7 2 3 Post teaching /10 3 9 8 4 3 Conclusions?

17. What are your conclusions?

18. Research Task B What did the students think about the teaching and learning of irregular verb forms? (What did you, as students, think about learning irregular verbs?)

19. How do these two research tasks differ from each other?

20. List the following features under the headings: Research Method A Research Method B

21. Numerical Experiential Experimental Correlations Natural Causes Subjective Intrusive Controlled Meaning Objective Student centered Outcome Process Individual General

22. Quantitative and Qualitative Research Quantitative - A Qualitative - B Numbers/Measures Meaning Causes/Correlations Understanding Control Naturalistic Intrusive Naturalistic Objective Subjective Outcome oriented Process orientated Generalisable Idiosyncratic/individual

23. Research in action! • On a ten point scale, write down your level of understanding of the course so far. - What is the class total? - What are the mean, mode, median? 2. Write down 1 short sentence about your experiences of the class this morning.

24. Do you find the experiential qualitative approach, or the numerical quantitative approach a. more useful? b. more interesting?

25. Where does research data come from?

26. Sources of Research Data • Secondary Sources • Library research, literature reviews • used to review existing knowledge 2.Primary Sources • Qualitative/quantitative analysis of • Tests • Surveys, interviews, questionnaires • Documents: journals, official documents, essays

27. Examples of research data and conclusions

28. Does the research data prove the following research statements ?

29. 1. Second language learners who identify with the target culture will master the language more quickly than those who do not. (Evidence: a case study of an unsuccessful learner.) 2. Affective relationships between teachers and students influence proficiency gains. (Evidence: a longitudinal study over one year of relationships in an inner city high school between 80 students and 8 teachers).

30. 3. Students who are taught formal grammar develop greater proficiency that those who are taught through immersion programs (Evidence: a formal experiment in which one group of students was taught through immersion and another was taught formal grammar)

31. Your course Course assessment: • Analyze and discuss recent research literature related to an identified research topic (≈ 3,000 words) (40%). • Appraise and discuss the research methods used in selected research articles. It is suggested that students use the research articles analyzed for the literature review (≈ 3,000 words) (45%). • Complete class-based tasks (You will be informed about these tasks by your lecturer) (10%). • Attend each lecture (5%).

32. In-Class assessmentStudent journal • Students will be asked to keep a journal of responses to the readings and discussion The journal entries will be about 200 words per session The responses can include the following: • The main ideas raised in the article or in the discussion • Your view of these ideas • The relevance of these ideas to you and your teaching. This part of the course will be completed in class

33. In class assessment:panel discussion of readings • Each day, beginning on Friday this week, four students will present a research article to the class . The students will: • give a brief overview of the assignment/article • give their own views of the assignment/article • answer questions about the assignment/article

34. Choosing a research topic  It is important to start thinking about this as soon as possible. To begin: think about your own English language learning. Where did you learn English, and who taught you? Who were the other students? What were the methods and texts used? What did you think of these classes? Why were you successful in this subject? What is especially memorable about these classes? What improvements could have been made to these classes? And also…

35. Talking about your job • Where do you teach now and who do you teach? • What courses do you teach? • What are the main satisfactions in your job? • What difficulties do you have? • What would you like to achieve in your job? • (Names in the hat)

36. Your research topic • A really good research topic comes from your heart and/or your mind. It should be something that is significant and important to you – something you are really interested in. • A research topic should be very specific. Topics such as ‘writing’, or ‘motivation’ are too large!!! • A mind map can help….

37. Bell J. Doing your research project • Quantative/Qualitative distinction • Action research • – “specific knowledge is required for a specific problem in a specific situation, or when a new approach is to be grafted on to an existing system” 8/28 • - practitioner as researcher • Case study, • - longitudinal, in depth study • - problem of generalisability • Survey • demographic characteristics, social environment, activities/opinions of a specific group • Experiment • - problem of multiple variables and interactions • Ethnography • “The study of people in naturally occurring settings or ‘fields’ by methods of data collection which capture their social meanings and ordinary activities, involving the researcher participating directly in the setting” 16/36 • - “ethnography centers on the participant observation of a society or culture through a complete cycle of events that regularly occur” • - participant observation • - charting • - interaction analysis • - historical records • Grounded theory approach • no prescribed theory – theory arises form the data collected • iterative – data/theory, more data/theory modification etc. • Narrative inquiry and stories • - stories constructed by he narrator – researcher uses open ended questions

38. McDonough/Mcdonough, Research Methods • Good research • Initiation • why is the research undertaken? • Is it original? • Is it specific? • Can it be published? • Methodology • how good are the data? • How ‘objective’ are the data? Question of bias • How valid is the data? • Internal validity – does the data descibe the reality • External validity – can the study be generalized? • How reliable is the study? Will it give the same answer given the same thing to measure? • Is the research falsifiable? • Application • can the research be replicated? • Can it be generalised? • Is it useful? • Ethics • access • confidentiality • protection of data • ownership • publication

39. Condelli/Wrigley, Real World Research: Qual/Quant Research • Need to integrate both approaches: • qual. Is hard to generalise • quant. Is hard to implement • US combined study used quant. Methods - showed: • real world connections worked i.e. faster acquisition • use of L1 worked • varied modalities worked • stress on oral production worked • backed by qual. Methods • observation grid, logs, discussions • qual. data showed that although it was a literacy course only 40% of time spent on literacy skills as opposed to language acquisition

40. Hiep, Researching the Research Culture in Vietnam • Resistance to communicative teaching – why? • Resistance to research: • time • belief that teachers cannot contribute to knowledge • changing uni. guidelines • ethical problems, esp. re confidentiality • lack of skills • lack of publication • West/Viet. Cultural differenes re research purpose/practice • Hiep reviews study of research undertaken by 7 teachers using semi-structured interviews – see interview schedule on p. 19 • “There is currently a call in TESOL to decenralize the hegemonic power, prestige, and authority of the Western scholarship” 15

41. Tudor I. The dynamics of the language classroom • What is language teaching? • Nunan, curriculum as statements of intent – technological approach • Curriculum ‘as reality’ – messy – ecological approach • What is the relationship between the two views? • ‘The reality of language teaching emerges from this meeting of different actors and different perspectives on the nature and goals of learning and teaching” 30/8 • do we follow a set text or improvise from student experience? • importance of diversity – need to respond to all participants’ ‘rationalities’, 33/11 • Student rationalities • Methodological rationalities • Sociocultural rationalities – role of politics and ideology • Institutional and corporate rationalities – private v. public • Teacher rationalities • Types of research: • ‘etic’ – scientific, quantifiable, objective – logical positivism • ‘emic’ – experience, perceptions – ethnography - naturalistic • multiple realities • knower/known interaction • situational • interaction of ‘cause’/’effect’ • role of values • Problem of introducing change • ‘tissue rejection’ • ‘token adoption’