Chapter%202%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%202%20Survey%20Research

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Chapter 2 2 Survey Research

• Brown (2001, 2)
• Language surveys are any studies that
  gather data on the characteristics and views of
  informants about the nature of language or
  language learning through the use of oral
  interviews or written questionnaires.
• Three types of information surveys can provide
  (Dornyei 2003)
• i) Factual information (e.g., students age,
  gender ethnicity,
• 
  language background, proficiency level, etc.)
• ii) Behavioral information (e.g., students are
  asked to report how often they look
  
• up
  unfamiliar words in a dictionary or
• 
  make an outline before they write an essay)
• iii) Attitudinal information seek to find out
  more about
• the
  opinions, beliefs, or interests of teacher or
  learners
• 
  (e.g., what learning goals ss have or
• 
  what skill areas they are most interested)

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Chapter 2 2.1 Designing
Surveys

• (1) Selecting Respondents
• i) identify clearly the population of interest
  in the survey
• ii) assign an identification number to each of
  the pupulation
• iii) choose the members of the sample (random
  numbers) (Brown 2001, 72-3)
• (2) Writing Questions
• open-ended vs. close-ended questions
• a.
  alternative-answer (yes or no)
• b.
  Likert-scale to select one of 4-several even
  numbers
• c. checklist
  format to check all the answers applicable

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Chapter 2 2.1 Designing
Surveys

• (3) Wording Questions
• Avoid
• i) Negative questions ( not ..)
• ii) Double-barreled questions ( we should do
  A and non-A)
• iii) Leading questions (Do you use the
  effective learning strategy of ?)
• iv) Embarrassing questions (What is your
  fathers occupation?)
• v) Biased questions (I like doing sth because
  women are better .)
• 
  
  (Brown 2001)
• (4) Final Survey Form
• a. short statement that describe the
  purpose of the survey
• b. instructions regarding what the
  respondents should do
• c. Questions in some organized manner
• d. a brief thank you

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Chapter 2 2.1 Designing
Surveys

• Additional suggestions
• a. no more than four pages (30 min. to complete)
• b. begin by generating a theoretically driven
  list
• c. state the topic and importance of the
  questionnaire,
• a request for hones responses, and a
  promise of confidentiaity
• d. exemplify how to answer the questions
• e. make the opening questions particulary
  involving
• f. questionnaires of clear, logical, and
  well-marked structure
• g. avoid lengthy answers
• h. open-ended questions are least intrusive
  toward the end of the questionnaire
• i. attractive and professional design for the
  questionnaire
• j. be certain to thank the participants

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• (5) Piloting a Survey giving the survey to a
  group of teachers or learners who are
• similar to
  the group that will be surveyed
• (from three
  or four for one or two class groups)
• i) check the same response
• ii) look for whether or not any items tended to
  be omitted
• (6) Reliability
• i) the same survey given on two occasions,
  and then check the consistency
• ii) two forms to be tested
• iii) check the internal consistency similar
  questions in different forms
• (7) Compiling and Displaying Survey Results
• (7-1) for Close-Ended Questions
• three types of compiling numerical
  scales
• a. nominal scale e.g., assign 1 to male,
  2 to female
• b. ordinal or ranked scale e.g., rank 1
  to 4, in the order of the importance
• c. interval scale e.g., strongly agree1,
  , strongly disagree4

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• (7-2) alternative ways in displaying the results
• a. simply report the frequency
• b. describe in percentages
• c. describe the data in terms of central
  tendency
• - mean or average e.g., 1.6 (of the
  points stgly agree1, .., stgly disagree4)
• - median
• - mode the most common number
• (7-3) For Open-Ended Questions
• a. transcribe the answers
• b. read the responses by highlighting
  key ideas
• c. and go over the data several more
  times to look for reoccurring themes
• d. use the reoccurring themes to
  summarize the data

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This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons
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Interviews

• (1) Purpose to find out more about teachers and
  students
• i) background
• ii) reported behavior
• iii) opinions and attitudes
• (2) Types of Interviews
• a. the informal conversational interview
  (different questions)
• b. the general interview guide approach
  (the same person on several occasions)
• c. the standardized open-ended interview
  (no fixed length)
• Content Analysis
• Two popular software programs for analyzing
  qualitative data
• QSR NUDIST
• QSR NVivo

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Chapter 2 3
Introspective Research
(???? ??)

• - Verbal reports/protocols for studying thought
  processes
• first
  used by Newell and Simon (1972)
• Kasper (1998, 358)
• Verbal reports are oral records of
  thoughts, provided by subjects when
• thinking aloud during or immediately
  after completing a task.
• Two kinds of verbal reports
• think-aloud retrospective reports
• Kasper (1998, 358)
• Verbal protocols represent (a subset of) the
  information currently available in
• short-term memory rather than the processes
  producing the information.
• Criticisms highly unnatural, obtrusive, do not
  elicit all of the cognitive processes
• subject to idiosyncratic
  interpretations of the researcher not valid

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Chapter 2 3.1 Verbal
report research

• Analyzing the Data
• a. transcribe the data
• b. segment the transcript into thought units
• c. code them according to the function (the
  most difficult part)
• - review the coding systems in the
  literature
• - find or combine them into a suitable
  code system
• - test your code system by getting a
  second rater (discussant), or
• by doing the second time coding for
  intra-coding reliability
• Block (1986)s research the subjects used
• two general modes in the thought processes
  reflexive extensive modes
• two strategies
• general strategy comprehesion-gathering
  comprehension-monitoring
• local strategy to understand specific
  linguistic units

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Chapter 2 3.2 Diary
Studies
-relatively new method-

• Bailey and Ochsner (1983, 189)
• The diarist studies his own teaching or
  learning he can report on affective factors,
  language learning strategies and his own
  perceptionsfacets of the language learning
  experience which are normally hidden or largely
  inaccessible to an external observer.
• introspective a case study of a linguist
  himself,
• by using the learners
  diary,
• or the data of some
  public version
• Weaknesses/doubts
  benefits
• - a small number of learners,
  - information from experience
• - data from linguists or teachers (so-far),
  by teachers and learners
• - subjective data
  - accessiblity of data
  collection
• - the extent is questionable

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Chapter 2 4 Qualitative
Research

• Case Studies
• A case study is a single instance of some
  bound system, which can range from
• one individual to a class, a school, or an
  entire community.
• Distinctive features of a case study (Hitchcock
  and Hughes 1995, 317)
• i) a rech and vivid description of events
  relevant to the case
  
• ii) a chronological narrative of events
  relevant to the case
• blends a description of events with the analysis
  of them
• focuses on individual factors of groups of actors
  and
• seeks to understand their perceptions of
  events
• highlights specific events
• portray the richness of the case

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Chapter 2 Case Study
Research

• Analyzing case studies (Johnson 1992, 91)
• What is the research questions?
• In what context was the research conducted?
• Who were the participants in the study? How were
  they selected?
• What were their relevant characteristics
• 4. What was the theoretical orientation of the
  researcher?
• 5. What was the role of the researcher?
• 6. What data-collection procedures were used?
• How much time was spent collecting data?
• 7. How were data analyzed? What were the
  findings?
• 8. What conclusions are drawn? Are they logically
  related to the descriptive data?
• 9. What is the contribution of the study to our
  knowledge of social or contextual factors in
  second language learning?
• 10. What are the stated implications for teaching?