Experimental Research Methods in Language Learning

1
Experimental Research Methods in Language Learning

• Chapter 16
• Experimental Research Proposals

2
Leading Questions

• What is a research proposal?
• What do you think should be included in a
  research proposal?
• Do you think it is important to develop a
  research proposal prior to an experimental study?
  Why or why not?

3
What is a Research Proposal?

• A research proposal is a carefully-crafted,
  written document that describes what the proposed
  research is trying to achieve, how it will go
  about achieving the aim, what it will add to
  existing knowledge, and why it will be worthwhile
  conducting.
• According to Paltridge and Starfield (2007), a
  good research proposal should be original,
  significant to advance knowledge, feasible and
  manageable by the researcher within a given
  timeframe and resources, and of interest to
  people in the field of research.

4
The Structure of a Research Proposal
5
The Structure of a Research Proposal

• Of course, components of a research proposal can
  vary, depending on a specified length or focused
  aspects to be addressed.
• The proposal committee usually makes a decision
  on
• (a) a review of the relevant literature
• (b) a proposed research methodology.

6
Title of a Proposed Study

• The title of your proposed study tells the reader
  about the topic of your research.
• It should not be too long because it can confuse
  the reader. Try to keep your title down to 15
  words if you could.
• It should contain what will be investigated and
  how it will be investigated.
• The context of the proposed study may be
  indicated.
• Experimental study may have a title which
  includes phrases such as the effects of, the
  effectiveness of, and the roles of, and the
  comparison of.

7
Summary of the Proposed Study

• Give an overview of your proposal
• Present key research constructs, research
  problem, the purpose of the study, research
  method and the significance of the proposed
  study.
• It is similar to an abstract of a research
  article, but it does not have actual data
  analysis, findings, and discussion.

8
Introduction

• Convince the reader to see the importance of a
  proposed topic, and the problem being chosen to
  investigate
• Start your introduction broadly enough to cover
  the area of your research and narrow it down to
  your research problem soon after
• State the research problem explicitly and clearly

9
Research Problem

• A research problem can be about the lack of
  understanding of the effects of the independent
  variable on the dependent variable of interest.
• A limited body of knowledge or conflicts in
  previous research findings can be considered a
  research problem.

10
Aim(s) of the Proposed Study

• Experimental researchers often use infinite verbs
  such as
• to investigate, examine, evaluate, and compare to
  indicate the aim(s) of their study.

11
Definitions of Key Terms

• This section may or may not be required.
• Theoretical or specific terms are often explained
  in the literature review.
• It prepares the reader for what they will read in
  the literature.
• Present only important theoretical constructs or
  methodological terms that will be used in the
  proposal.

12
Review of the Relevant Literature

• A literature review has three main functions
  (Wolery and Lane 2010).
• It articulates what is known and not known about
  your research topic.
• It builds a foundation and rationale for your
  proposed study.
• It identifies successful designs, instruments or
  measures, and data analysis methods used by other
  previous researchers that can be applied in
  future research.

13
Review of the Relevant Literature

• A review of the literature should provide some
  connectedness between the theoretical framework,
  previous relevant research, the proposed research
  problem and aims, and the proposed research
  methodology.
• See, for example, Creswell (2014), Johnson and
  Christensen (2008), and Paltridge and Starfields
  (2007).

14
Implications of the Literature on the Proposed
Study

• This section may be at the end of the review of
  the literature.
• But it is clearer to present this on its own, so
  your identification of the research gap or
  problem can be seen more explicitly.
• Make sure to consider both theoretical
  implications and methodological implications if
  possible.

15
Research Questions or Hypotheses

• Research questions are used to help you focus on
  your research problem and proposed aim.
• Experimental research questions should include
  variables such as participants, key independent
  variable(s), and dependent variable(s)
• For example What are the effects of explicit
  instruction on the acquisition of generic and
  non-generic article usages in L2 English, as
  measured by (a) tests of implicit knowledge, and
  (b) tests of explicit knowledge? (Akakura 2012,
  p.16)

16
Proposed Research Methodology

• Research methodology refers to the framework
  which your proposed study will be based on (e.g.
  experimental research framework, mixed methods
  design)
• Proposed research method is related to your
  proposed research instruments, materials and data
  collection procedures

17
Proposed research method

• Proposed Setting and Prospective Participants
• Experimental Conditions
• Research Instruments
• Data Collection Procedures
• Ethical Considerations
• Data Analysis

18
Significance of the Proposed Study

• It is concerned with how your proposed
  methodology and method can successfully address
  your research problems, answer your research
  questions, and shed light on the topic being
  investigated.
• Theoretical significance (i.e., in what way your
  study may advance the relevant theory or improve
  existing knowledge)
• Methodological significance (i.e., in what way
  your study may advance the research methodology
  in this area of research)
• Pedagogical significance (i.e., in what way your
  study may advance teaching practice).

19
Anticipated Limitations of the Proposed Study

• Limitations are related to claims about the
  research validity.
• Potential threats in your study that do not allow
  you to draw firm conclusions
• Sometimes, authors include delimitations in
  this section. Delimitations are related to the
  scope of the proposed study, so the study is more
  feasible. But of course, when an area/aspect is
  delimited, we will not gain a more complete
  picture from our research, thereby a limitation.

20
Proposed Timeline of Completion

• Steps required to complete your proposed study
  and an estimate of the time that will be needed
  to complete each step
• Assign a date of completion for each stage
• Required Resources and Budget
• State what resources and budget are required for
  your proposed study.

21
References

• References you have cited in your proposal
• Check if there is a requested reference style and
  follow it strictly.
• Appendices (if any)
• More or less optional.
• Any additional documents (e.g., proposed research
  instruments, and treatment procedures) can be
  included here.

22
Discussion

• What are research topics you would like to
  investigate using an experimental research
  designs?
• Paltridge and Starfield (2007) point out that a
  good research proposal should be original,
  significant to advance knowledge, feasible and
  manageable by the researcher within a given
  timeframe and resources, and of interest to
  people in the field of research. What are these
  characteristics?