TABLE OF CONTENTS ! Chapter 1. What is Research?. Kinds of Research Papers. The Applications of Research.
Types of Research. Steps in Planning and Conducting Research. Definition of Literature Review?. Contents of a Literature Review.
Steps of the Literature Review Process. Citation and plagiarism. Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing. The Qualitative Method (Phương pháp nghiên cứu định tính).
The Quantitative Methods (Phương pháp nghiên cứu định lượng). INSTRUMENTS FOR DATA COLLECTION. What is a Questionnaire. Ways of Administering a Questionnaire.
Kinds of Questionnaires. Constructing the Questionnaire. Types of Interviews. Planning and Conducting Interviews.
Definition of Observation. Types of Observation. Situations in which observations can be made. Conducting Observations for Research.
ESTABLISHING THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF A RESEARCH INSTRUMENT. The Concept of Validity. Types of Validity in Quantitative Research. Face and Content Validity.
The Concept of Reliability. Factors Affecting the Reliability of a Research Instrument. Methods of Determining the Reliability of an Instrument in Quantitative Research. External consistency procedures.
Internal consistency procedures. Validity and Reliability in Qualitative Research. WRITING UP A RESEARCH PAPER. HOW TO STRUCTURE A RESEARCH PAPER.
HOW TO WRITE THE STRUCTURES OF A RESEARCH PAPER. Results and discussion chapter. Writing the conclusion. Referencing the research paper: the APA .85! Course objectives By the end of this course, students should be able to: •! distinguish different research types; •! recognize the basic steps in planning and conducting a research study; •! identify a research area in foreign language education (FLE); •! formulate good research questions for a research study in FLE; •! develop an appropriate research design; •! construct some means of data collection in survey research in FLE such as the questionnaire, interview and observation; •! write a research proposal and research paper in FLE Students are expected to •! Actively prepared for the class (read and reflect on what they have read for each class meeting) •! Actively participate in class activities •! Work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers •! Complete all the assignments by the due date Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION In this chapter >>> * Identifying research areas: sources of research ideas * Categorizing types of research * Narrowing down the topic: focusing the question, deciding on the objectives * Developing research questions: good research questions * Deciding on the research design: choosing the right type of research, deciding on the data, the target population, the data collection and analysis methods * Other considerations 1.
What is Research? Nunan (1992, p. 3) defines that ‘research is a systematic process of inquiry consisting of three elements or components: (1) a question, problem or hypothesis, (2) data, (3) analysis and interpretation of data’. Kothari (2004) states that the term research refers to the systematic method consisting of enunciating the problem, formulating a hypothesis, collecting the facts or data, analysing the facts and reaching certain conclusions either in the form of solution(s) towards the concerned problem or in certain generalisations for some theoretical formulation. Kinds of Research Papers 1.
Academic Papers Academic papers (also called scholarly papers), which are in academic journals, contain original research results or reviews existing results or show a totally new invention. Assignments and Term Papers (Bài tập lớn, tiểu luận) Written work is an integral part of a university education. Assignment and research papers perform an individual function in prompting students to think independently about issues and subjects. Students also learn how to assess, select and evaluate information from different sources and to formulate ideas.
Typically, written assignments and term papers are geared to course work covered by a series of lecturers. Students are assigned a particular topic to write about or given a list of topics from which to choose. They receive instructions as to the length of the essay and the due date for submission. Some guidance may be given to students in the form of a suggested reading list.
In courses that are well planned, lecturers usually inform students of the written work commitments for the full course at the beginning of the semester so that students can plan their study program effectively. The topics set for written assignments may give a useful guide to important content areas of a course of study. Assignments encourage students to read critically in a particular content area, to research for and select from available material, to organize their thoughts on a topic, and to submit to the discipline of communicating their thoughts through the presentation of evidence that they have sifted and evaluated to arrive at certain conclusions. Apart from learning the subject matter of a course, this process of independent study has considerable educational value.
Theses and Dissertations (Luận văn, Luận án) Students who enroll for an honor degree, a postgraduate diploma or a higher degree are almost invariably required to submit a thesis or dissertation. A thesis is much more than a large term paper. It normally presents the culmination of a substantial piece of original work over a period of at least a year. Some research replicates previous research with the object of testing the reported findings of that research or testing the relevance of findings of research completed in a different cultural milieu.
Other research builds on existing studies to follow up new leads or to refine or qualify the findings of earlier studies. In either case, the thesis is expected to make an original contribution to knowledge. Students embarking on a thesis are usually much more responsible for selecting and delimiting an area of study than are students writing assignments or essays. However, it is not uncommon for students commencing a thesis to be given a topic or to be guided into areas that are of special interest to department members with whom they will work.
Indeed, students may seek enrolment in a particular university because of the special interests of department there. The Applications of Research The application of research can be viewed from four different perspectives: 1.! the service provider; 2.! the service administrator, manager and/or planner; 3.! the service consumer; and 4. Types of Research Figure 1: Types of research Types of Research: Application Perspective Pure research involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future. Thus such work often involves the testing of hypotheses containing very abstract and specialised concepts.
Pure research is also concerned with the development, examination, verification and refinement of research methods, procedures, techniques and tools that form the body of research methodology. Examples of pure research include developing a sampling technique that can be applied to a particular situation; developing a methodology to assess the validity of a procedure; developing an instrument, say, to measure the stress level in people; and finding the best way of measuring people’s attitudes. The knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the existing body of knowledge of research methods. Applied research is used in most of the research in the social sciences.
In other words, the research techniques, procedures and methods that form the body of research methodology are applied to the collection of information about various aspects of a situation, issue, problem or phenomenon so that the information gathered can be used in other ways – such as for policy formulation, administration and the enhancement of understanding of a phenomenon. Types of Research: Objectives Perspective Descriptive study attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or programme, or provides information about, say, the living conditions of a community, or describes attitudes towards an issue. For example, it may attempt to describe the types of service provided by an organisation, the administrative structure of an organisation, the living conditions of Aboriginal people in the outback, the needs of a community, what it means to go through a divorce, how a child feels living in a house with domestic violence, or the attitudes of employees towards management. The main purpose of such studies is to describe what is prevalent with respect to the issue/problem under study.
3 Correlational study is to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/association/interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation. What is the impact of an advertising campaign on the sale of a product? What is the relationship between stressful living and the incidence of heart attack? What is the relationship between fertility and mortality? What is the relationship between technology and unemployment? What is the effect of a health service on the control of a disease, or the home environment on educational achievement? These studies examine whether there is a relationship between two or more aspects of a situation or phenomenon and, therefore, are called correlational studies. Explanatory research attempts to clarify why and how there is a relationship between two aspects of a situation or phenomenon. This type of research attempts to explain, for example, why stressful living results in heart attacks; why a decline in mortality is followed by a fertility decline; or how the home environment affects children’s level of academic achievement.
Exploratory research is from the viewpoint of the objectives of a study. This is when a study is undertaken with the objective either to explore an area where little is known or to investigate the possibilities of undertaking a particular research study. When a study is carried out to determine its feasibility it is also called a feasibility study or a pilot study. It is usually carried out when a researcher wants to explore areas about which s/he has little or no knowledge.
Exploratory studies are also conducted to develop, refine and/or test measurement tools and procedures. Types of Research: Mode of Enquiry Perspective A study is classified as qualitative if the purpose of the study is primarily to describe a situation, phenomenon, problem or event; if the information is gathered through the use of variables measured on nominal or ordinal scales (qualitative measurement scales); and if the analysis is done to establish the variation in the situation, phenomenon or problem without quantifying it. The description of an observed situation, the historical enumeration of events, an account of the different opinions people have about an issue, and a description of the living conditions of a community are examples of qualitative research. On the other hand, the study is classified as quantitative if you want to quantify the variation in a phenomenon, situation, problem or issue; if information is gathered using predominantly quantitative variables; and if the analysis is geared to ascertain the magnitude of the variation.
Examples of quantitative aspects of a research study are: How many people have a particular problem? How many people hold a particular attitude? 1. Steps in Planning and Conducting Research 4 Figure 2: Steps in Planning and Conducting Research FF" FF" Review"the"literature" Review"concepts"and" theories" Define Design" research" Analyse" data" (Test" ! Formulate" (including" sample" Collect" data" hypotheses"if"any)" Interpret Research Review"previous" hypotheses" (Execution)" and report design)" Problem research"finding" F" F" V" VII" III" VI" I" IV" II" F" F: feedback (Helps in controlling the sub-system to which it is transmitted) FF: feed forward (serves the vital function of providing criteria for evaluation) 5 1. Formulating the Research Problem: There are two types of research problems, viz., those which relate to states of nature and those which relate to relationships between variables. At the very outset the researcher must single out the problem he wants to study, i., he must decide the general area of interest or aspect of a subject-matter that he would like to inquire into.
Initially the problem may be stated in a broad general way and then the ambiguities, if any, relating to the problem be resolved. Then, the feasibility of a particular solution has to be considered before a working formulation of the problem can be set up.