Second_Language_Research_Methods-Chap3-4-Seliger-Shohamy - Pombero 00

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'Have you guessed the riddle yet?' the Hatter said ,turning to Alice 
again. 
LNo, I give it up,' Alice replied, 'what's the answer?' 
'1 haven't the slightest idea,' said the Hatter. 
'Nor I,' said the March Hare. Alice sighed wearily. 'I think you 
might d o something better with time,' she said, 'than waste it asking 
riddles with n o answers.' 
(Lewis Carroll : Alice in Wonderld?t~i) 
42 Second Language Research M e t h o d s 
might research be different in these different settings? What are 
some problems you might foresee? 3 The preparatory stages of research 
3 Assume that language competence is an internal representation 
of what people know when they know a language. What are 
some problems created by this view, particularly for second 
language research? H o w might they be overcome? 
4 Consider an aspect of the speech act system such as the ability to 
make a request . H o w rnight the acquisition of requests be studied 
from the two perspectives of Parameter I ? 
5 Compare two studies on the same research question in second 
language in terms of the four factors affecting degree of control 
discussed under Parameter 3 . 
6 Analyze the instruments of two second language acquisition 
studies purportedly examining the same question. T o what 
degree d o you think the findings of the studies are comparable, ~ntroduction 
given the manner in which data were collected in each study? 
In Chapter 2, we developed a set of parameters which help to define 
7 Select a topic of research. Show how that topic can lead to the conceptual and operational dimensions of second language 
different research plans according to the different parameters. research. In this chapter we shall be concerned with the beginning 
Keep your plan in outline form. stages of setting up actual research from the general conception of 
the research idea to the formulation of a research plan o r 
References hypothesis. That is, the idea of research will be approached as a 
disciplined form o f scientific inquiry. Iniplicit in this concept of 
Cohen, A. and Hosenfeld, C. 1981. 'Some uses of mentalistic data in 
second language research.' Language Learning 3 1/2:285-314. research is the need to develop a careful plan for carrying ou t 
Cohen, A. 1984. 'Studying second language learning strategies: H o w d o we 
get the information?' Applied Linguistics 5/2:101- 112. A problem which novice researchers in second language acquisition 
Ellis, R. 1985. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: , may have is selecting a topic for research. Sometimes the researcher 
Oxford University Press. does not know how o r where to begin the creative act of starting a 
loup, C . and Weinberger, S. H. 1987. Interlunguage Phonology: The new research endeavor. Sometimes the topic chosen is trivial o r 
Acquisition of a Second Lunguage Sound System. Cambridge, Mass.: impractical o r there is a leap from the conception of an idea to a 
Newbury House. full-blown experiment with no consideration of other alternatives 
Seliger, H. 1983. 'The language learner as linguist: Of metaphors and or obstacles which may arise. All of this makes it very important to 
realities.' Applied Linguistics 4/3: 179-1 9 1. consider carefully the preparatory stages to research, which are 
Tarone, E. 1982. 'Simplicity and attention in interlanguage.' Lunguage discussed in this chapter. 
Learning 3 1/1:69-84. 
Tarone, E. 1979. 'Interlanguage as chameleon.' Language Learning 29/ A word of caution is necessary a t this point. Conceiving and 
1:181-191. carrying ou t research is as much a creative process as it is a scientific 
one. The procedures described in this chapter are a n attempt to 
formalize the beginning steps in the research process. We recognize 
that there are many pathways which may be followed in developing 
and conducting research. The preparatory steps described in this 
chapter attempt to provide a sense of logical progression which, in 
44 Second Language Research Methods 
The preparatory stages of research 45 
the case of the experienced researcher: is often intuitive. We research are cyclical in nature with each phase 
recognize thc dangcr in over-formalizing :In activity that contains rrower, Inore focused vision of the preceding 
an element of 'art'. We feel, however, that novice researchers of any particular research, there must be 
especially will benefit from following these preparatory steps. efore the actual research can be carried out. 
While much of this chapter implies a more analytic-deductive ese preparatory steps can best be described as the phases that 
hypothesis-testing approach t o research, most o f the discussion will 
rchers go through initially before reaching the point of 
also be suitable for the development of synthetic-heuristic hypothesis- ment, carrying o u t observations in the field, o r 
generating research as well. Throughout the chapter, we will some way. These preparatory steps should 
indicate the differences where appropriate. However, no matter 1 research such as observations and data 
wha t the orientation, n o aspect of the development of a research n o r putting into operation a concrete experimental design. 
project o r study is more important than the initial steps in which arch study o r design is itself the end product of a process of 
research questions and hypothescs are considered and developed. 
In contrast to the riddle which the M a d Hatter posed to Alice, tes four phases in the development of a research 
par t of the problem of doing research is formulating questions that of a flow chart. Research may take different 
can be answered within the framework of the research. As we shall a number of factors, the most important being 
see, there is an integral relationship between the development of the type of question being investigated and the research format 
good research questions and the execution of the research itself. If most appropriate for the investigation. In Chapter 2, w e described 
the questions are inaccurately o r vaguely posed, the total structure the various parameters of second language research. These parameters 
of the research and its significance will be affected. A skill to be become concretized in the process of developing the research 
acquired by every researcher is the ability to formulate good question. At different points in the development of a research 
questions. It is the formulation and fine-tuning of the research decisions such as whether the research should be approached 
question that will contribute to reliable, valid, and significant. syntheticully o r analyticrzlly and whether the research objective is to 
results. describe o r test a hypothesis about a second language phenomenon 
In the following sections of this chapter, w e shall move through will affect future steps in the development of the research. 
the progression of stages implicit in the development of research: 
This, of course, does no t mean that all experienced researchers go 
through these steps in a deliberate manner. However, it is suggested Phase 1: The general question 
tha t the novice researcher in second language try to follow this Sources for questions: 
progression in order to avoid pitfalls which will only become. Experience and interests 
apparent a t later stages. Other research 
Sources outside second language 
Where do research questions come from? In Chapter I, w e stressed that good scientists are observant of 
The novice researcher is often perplexed about how to begin the. phenomena around them. Their state of curiosity derives from a 
process o f research. Students carrying out their first research project lack of understanding of something. In the field of second language 
involving collecting data or conducting an experiment are bewildered studies, curiosity and the resultant questioning can arise from a 
abou t how to begin, how to control the various aspectsof their number of sources. These sources provide the stimuli for questioning 
study, and h o w to carry ou t the study so that the results are both the phenomena associated with second language. We shall discuss 
specific and meaningful. below some of the sources from which research questions might be 
It is useful to conceive of the preparlltion for research as an 
evolutionary process consisting of pl~ilses, with each successive 
phase being a refinement of the preceding one. Tha t is, the 
46 Second Language Research Methods The preparatory stages of research 47 
Phase 1 : Formulating the general question questioning and perhaps to the development of original research 
Sources from this questioning. 
Experience Other research in Sources outsld you may come to the field of second language acquisition with 
and interests language and second languag questions from other areas in which you have an interest and which 
second language can be related to research in this field. For example, the theories and 
methodologies of the field of reading may hold implications for 
General question in second language acquisition. T o what degree is learning 
to read in a second language the same as learning to read a first 
Phase 2: Focusing the question language? Does the ability to read in the first language facilitate 
Is the general question: learning to read in a second? DO the metalinguistic abilities related 
1 Important and feasible? to reading in a first language help or hinder learning to read in a 
2 Synthetic or analytic? second? How does the ability to read in a language with a different 
3 List the possible factors comprising the general question. orthographic system affect learning to read the target language? 
V With the development o f research in metacognitive processes, 
&ere has been renewed interest in language learners keeping diaries 
If synthetic documenting their experiences and conscious thought processes 
What are the phenomena What are the specific while in the language class o r other second language learning 
encompassed by the question? constructs to be contexts. Such diaries might include the author's feelings during the 
I actual language lesson but recorded after class, attitudes t o Conceptual definrtio of construct language learning, attitudes toward the teacher, self-analysis of the methods used for practising the language and so on. While these diary reports are subjective in terms of what is reported and Phase 3: Deciding on an objective recalled, they can raise interesting questions for further controlled 
Heuristic research. In other words, they may be a place to begin. 
Description of research Formulation o Bailey (1983) recorded in a diary her own experiences o f 
procedures, observations etc. research questions. 
Operational definitrons learning French as a foreign language. She noticed evidence of 
of variables. competitiveness and anxiety in her writing, which raised questions 
in her mind about whether such feelings were facilitative o r not. She 
(Poss~ble combrnations: synthetic-heuristrc. analytic-heuristic, 
synthetic-deductive, anaiytrc-deductive) then related these experiences to other literature dealing with 
1 competitiveness and anxiety in second language learning. Teachers, similarly, may wish to keep diaries of things observed in a language 
Phase 4: Formulating the research plan or hypothesis lesson or of any student behaviors that seem to have some effect on 
Descrlptlve or / 
Research hypothesi language learning. 
qualitative research Null hypothesi In the examples above, which are drawn from everyday 
(Process may end here or . . .) Confirrnatio experience, there is no preconceived or deductive notion of what we 
should observe or record. Instead, a diary of experiences is kept, 
Figure 3.1 Prepclratory phases o f research without focusing on any particular aspect or question. By sifting 
1 Experience and interests through diary entries o r informal observations, it may be found 
that a number of factors are of interest for further research. The 
Questions for research can derive from everyday experience with evaluation or description of these factors can become a later stage 
language learning. Curiosity can be aroused by something observed of the research or a single factor may be isolated for more 
in a personal language learning experience which leads to further controlled study. 
4 8 Second Language Research Methods 
2 Reading other research in language and 
second language 
Involvement in a professional field requires researchers to read 
research conducted by others in order to keep up with developments, 
innovations, and new insights. However, reading research in a field 
such as second language learning and teaching can itself become a 
source for further questioning and curiosity about claims made by a 
theory o r the way a study was conducted. 
A theory which claims that learners monitor output in terms of 
grammatical rules learned in the classroom (Krashen 1978) can 
lead to research o n h o w grammatical rules are learned and used by 
learners, and whether such rules can make a difference in the 
learners' performance (Seliger 1979). 
Research useful for stimulating ideas for further investigation can 
be found in two categories: 
a ) Research of a theoretical nature, which presents a theory, a 
synthesis of other theories, o r the discussion of implications for 
second language research of a theory outside of second language. In 
this category, we find research in theoretical linguistics, research 
discussing the relevance of theoretical linguistics for second 
language research, research which reviews o r surveys other research 
around a central issue but which contains n o original empirical 
research itself, and s o on. 
As a n example of this, linguistics in recent years has been 
concerned with the theory of universal grammar and how it 
pertains t o language acquisition (Chomsky 198 1). Some have seen 
this theory as having potential for explicating issues in second 
language acquisition and have explored this (Cook 1985). Some 
journals, such as Applied Linguistics, specialize in articles which 
contain discussions of theoretical issues. This book will not be 
concerned with how to conduct this kind of research which is, in a 
sense, research about research. For our purposes, it is sufficient t o 
observe that theoretical research may be considered hypothesis- 
generating because of the questions which it intentionally raises. 
b) Empirical research, which may be heuristic or deductive and 
may o r may not be based o n a particular theory o r hypothesis, but 
is assumed to be based on data collected from second language 
learners. To continue with the previous example above, if the 
theory of government and binding, part of universal grammar, is 
taken as a potential explanation for second language acquisition, it 
should be able to predict the kinds of errors learners will make. If 
The preparatory stages of research 49 
! 
is the case, the theory will have important implications for 
the order of acquisition of grammar rules in the second 
language, defining what rules will likely be transferred from the first 
language, and what rules are l~kely to be learned independently o f 
the first language. Many researchers have already begun exploring 
this theory with these questions in mind (Flynn 1987, Mazurkewich 
1984, White 1985). 
While reading research in second language acquisition and other 
fields, readers should ask themselves a number of questions to 
their own t h ~ n k i n g about possible original research, such 
as: 
1 Does this research test o r generate hypotheses? 
2 If the research is descriptive, where d o the data come from? 
3 If the data are gathered from other studies or sources, h o w 
reliable d o the data seem to be? 
4 What is the hypothesis or theory being tested? 
5 Is the design o r n~ethodologyappropriate for the kind of 
research? 
6 Does the research really test the hypothesis or theory? 
7 H o w are the conclusions reached by the research supported by 
the research and the da ta? 
8 Are theoretical claims made by the research supported? H o w ? 
9 Does the research make a clear distinction between the results 
of the study based on data and extrapolations which may go 
beyond the data? 
10 Are hypotheses which still remain to be tested presented as 
conclusions o r results? 
11 Are there good alternative explanations to those given by the 
author? 
These and similar questions will be discussed more extensively in 
Chapter 4 , which deals with reviewing literature o n i c thc research 
topic has been selected. The questions above are primarily to 
stimulate thinking while reading research. N o t only is it more 
productive for comprehension to read research with a questioning 
mind, but it can also lead the reader to the eventual development of 
researchable questions. 
3 Sources outside second language acquisition 
While the examples above are taken from linguistics, similar 
research of J theoretical and empirical nature is found in 
psychology, sociology, and education. Herc too, questions and 
5 0 Second Language Research Methods 
hypotheses for research in secorrd language can be found. Ir, fact, i t 
appears that most of the more interesting theories about second 
language acquisition have derived from these other fields and have 
become tools for investigation within second language research. 
General questions which may be developed into research can 
come from a field not normally associated with language or 
language acquisition. For example, the concept of anomie is 
concerned with the social psychological orientation of the individual 
in society. The concept is concerned with relative feelings of social 
rootlessness and was first proposed by Durkheim in 1897. Six 
decades passed before researchers used this concept to describe the 
psychological trauma experienced by bilinguals as they become 
more integrated into the second language social group and begin to 
feel alienation toward their L1 group. The application of this 
concept gave rise to instruments for measuring anomie among 
second language learners. The relative degrees of anomie measured 
by these instruments became a correlate of the instrumental o r 
integrative orientation of the language learner (Lambert and 
Gardner 1959). The type of orientation was then used to predict 
success in various aspects of second language acquisition. 
Exposure to sources o f knowledge such as everyday experience, 
reading other research in linguistics and second language in related 
fields such as psychology, social psychology, and education arouses 
curiosity and questioning. As Pasteur noted long ago, 'Le hasard ne 
favorise que les esprits pripares.' That is, research questions are not 
the result o f chance or wild guesses but develop naturally in 
'prepared minds', that is, minds occupied with ideas and concepts 
and sensitized to observation. 
Once questions have been raised in the mind of the researcher as 
a result of curiosity, observation, and reading, these questions must 
be formulated in a general sense. Referring back to Figure 3.1, we 
can see that before entering into Phase 2 o r Phase 3, the question 
must be stated in a form which will allow it to be further narrowed. 
For the researcher, this is often a difficult stage because i t requires 
the careful analysis of the general question in order to reduce it to a 
level where it may be considered researchable. 
Let us take an observation discussed above as an example to see 
how we might move through the steps in Phase 1: 
Observation 
The preparatory stages of research 5 1 
L curiosity 
Are diffcrrllt rates of acquisition due to characteristics of learners or 
? 
Are different rates of acq~pisition due to some aspect of method or material? 
As we consider this observation, we arrive a t a general question 
about the phenomenon of different rates of acquisition. 
~ e n e r a l question: Why d o learners of a second language progress at 
different rates? 
The problem with this general question is that i t is too broad and 
too inclusive. In its current for~nulation we d o not know whether 
we are speaking o f children or adults, learning in a classroom o r in 
nature, learning all skills o r a specific skill such as reading, learning 
a foreign language, o r a second language, and so on. In other 
words, before we can decide whether to approach this question on 
a synthetic o r analytic basis, there are many other questions which 
must first be asked. This brings us to Phase 2. 
Phase 2: Focusing the question 
IS the general question feasible? Should i t be approached synthetically 
or analytically? I f synthetically, what are the phenomena encom- 
passed by the question? If analytically, what are the specific factors 
to be investigated? 
Having arrived a t a general question, it is now necessary to 
consider whether it is possible o r feasible to d o research on such a 
question. I f it is feasible, the next step is to decide what basic 
approach (in terms of Parameter I ) , synthetic o r a7zalytic (Chapter 
2), would be best for this kind of research. Sometimes the decision 
about the basic approach to the research question can only be made 
at a later stage after more consideration is given to the factors o r 
variables which make up the question. 
Feasibility 
While i t may be fairly easy to agree that the general question is 
important, it is more difficult to decide if i t is feasible. Another way 
of asking whether there is an answer to the general question is to 
ask whethcr the question can be invest~gated given the researcher's 
or the world's state of knowledge, the intellectual, academic, and 
- - 
Learners acquire language a t different rates. 
5 2 Second Language Research Methods 
researc!~ would have tc; be conducted. It: brief, we are a s k i ~ g , '1s 
finding an answer to the general question feasible?' 
The question of feasibility may be divided into several subparts 
which we shall now discuss. The question must be formulated so 
that any investigation may be carricd out within the limitations of 
the resources available for the research. 
If the researcher is able to test the general question for feasibility 
before progressing to more advanced phases of developing the 
research, much waste of time and energy can be avoided. Below are 
some of the questions relating to feasibility which should be raised 
a t this stage in the development of the research project. It is best to 
ask these questions a t this stage in order to avoid aborting a study 
a t a later stage because of some unforeseen problems. 
1 H o w can the answer to the general question be found? What 
does it entail? Will finding the.answer necessitate setting up an 
experiment? Will it require the development of a test or a survey 
questionnaire? 
2 Does the researcher have the prerequisite background knowledge 
t o investigate the question? Is a knowledge of linguistics o r 
sociolinguistics necessary? H o w much statistical analysis appears 
to be involved? Will someone with more expertise be required? If 
the study is to be related to other peripheral areas, how much 
research should be done before proceeding to the next phase? 
3 Are the terms and concepts used in the formulation of the general 
question defined clearly and consistently? Are the concepts and 
terms used in a way that is consistent with how other researchers 
have used them? 
4 What logistical and practical problems can be anticipated? I f the 
general question asks about :he language acquisition of children 
o r adults, will the researcher have access to the number of 
subjects required t o investigate the question? W h o will collect 
the da ta? Is i t necessary to train assistants? If computeranalysis 
of data is necessary, will there be access to computer time and 
assistance? Will the researcher need to be trained in the use of 
computer statistical analysis such as SPSS or SAS? 
Researchers should try to avoid proceeding directly to the stage 
of the research itself without considering the theoretical and 
practical implications o f the general question, because this inevitably 
leads to false starts o r problems with the design and methodology 
of the research. Even experienced researchers sometimes have to 
discontinue efforts because of unforeseen o r unavoidable obstacles. 
However, the more experienced researchers become, the more they 
The preparatory stages of research 53 
learn to ask qliestions about feasibility and to predict possible areas 
of diffic~~lty. It is not ~lnusual to abandon research ideas a t the 
general question stage because of infeasibility. 
Let us now apply these questions of feasibility to the general 
question, W h y d o learners o f a second language progress at 
different rates? 
1 How? 
In the case of this general question, there are several possibilities. 
The research could be conducted in a school setting o r in a natural 
setting by studying individuals in the process of second language 
acquisition. It could be studied synthetically, by observing groups 
of learners and describing their activities, o r analytically, by 
focusing on some specific aspect of language acquisition such as the 
acquisition of a syntactic form or a discourse strategy associated 
with acquisition. It might be possible to select learners who have 
already been identified as learning a t different rates and test them 
for various characteristics that have been related to successful 
language learning. In other words, there are many possible ways t o 
investigate this question and it would be wise, before beginning, to 
explore them for possible advantages and disadvantages. 
2 Prerequisite knowledge 
Investigating this general question would require different kinds of 
knowledge depending o n the direction which the researcher decides 
to take. If the goal is to observe the social processes involved in 
second language acquisition, then it is necessary t o acquire 
background knowledge in areas such as group behavior, language 
interaction patterns in groups, and theories relating to the role of 
the social environment in language acquisition. 
If, however, the focus of the research is on the linguistic factors 
involved in the development of language competence by good and 
poor language learners, then the research will require familiarity 
with linguistic theories pertaining to second language acquisition, 
methods for analyzing linguistic data, and methods for collecting 
such data. 
3 The consistent definition o f concepts iznd terms 
In the case o f the general question under consideration, the 
definition of terms such as lizngziuye leizrner, Lz~zguage leizrning, 
rate o f learwing, will have to be narrowed considerably in order to 
5 4 Second Language Research Methods 
be ~ s e f u ! for Phase 2 (Figure 1.1); in which the general question will 
becollie more focused. 
I t is clear that in a study concerned with rates of acquisition, a 
consistent definition of .language leurning or acquisition is crucial. 
Will acquisition be defined in terms of scores on a test? Will a 
functional measure of acquisition be used, such as the ability to 
perform specified discourse functions? This does not mean that 
definitions of terms used must be universally accepted. If the 
research carefully defines how terms will be used for the purposes 
of the particular study, problems of ambiguity and inconsistency 
will be avoided. 
4 Logistical and practical pro blenzs 
This aspect of feasibility includes factors bearing on the logistics of 
the investigation. Do we have direct access t o groups of subjects? 
How much time will be required to study this question? Will the 
subjects be available throughout the duration of the study? Will 
special equipment such as tape recorders, video, or body microphones 
be required? Will the procedures used to collect data be intrusive to 
the ongoing routines of the class? How does the research schedule 
fit in with the school schedule of the classes being studied? 
Under the heading of ~ r ac t i c a l problems, no detail should be left 
unexamined. If it is decided to develop data from video tapes of the 
subjects performing a language task o r interacting in a language 
lesson, additional judges may be necessary in order to record and 
agree upon what is being observed. However, this means that these 
judges will have to be trained in methods of observation; coding 
instruments which can be used in a consistent manner will have to 
be developed. 
Which approach: synthetic or analytic? 
Having considered the level of feasibility of the general question, i t 
is now necessary to decide which approach, synthetic or analytic, is 
the most suitable. 
Chapter 2 discussed the difference between the two approaches 
and how it is possible to view second language phenomena from 
either perspective. A synthetic approach would view the research 
holistically, as a composite of factors which might not be easily o r 
validly analyzable into separate parts. An unalytic approach would 
select one o r several factors which make up the phenomenon for 
The preparatory stages of research 5 5 
i 
=lose analysis, perhaps in a controlled study. Either perspective has 
implications for research design and method. 
~t is useful, before deciding which approach to take t o the general 
question, W h y d o learners o f a second language progress at 
different rates?, to think about the factors which might be involved 
in determining different rates of language acquisition. Some of 
these factors might be more suitable for an analytic approach, 
others for a synthetic approach. There are also factors involved in 
rate of acquisition which could be investigated by either approach: 
1 The learner's previous language learning experience. 
2 The learner's attitude toward the language class, the teacher, o r 
the materials. 
3 The learner's aptitude for language. 
4 The learner's first language. 
5 The learner's sex. 
6 The amount of practice which the learner engages in both in and 
out of the language class. 
7 The kind of practice which the learner experiences - drill versus 
communicative use of the target language. 
8 Personality characteristics of the learner. 
9 Cognitive characteristics of the learner. (This list is extensive but 
not necessarily exhaustive.) 
The synthetic approach 
I t may be decided to approach the research from a synthetic 
perspective. This may be because of the nature of the factor o r 
factors to be studied, o r because i t is felt that a particular 
phenomenon is best studied from a holistic point of view and that 
taking an analytic approach will distort the nature of the 
phenomenon. For example, if i t is felt that something related t o the 
manner o r amount of practice in the language class is responsible 
for different rates of acquisition, i t may be decided to look a t all o r 
many aspects of classroom practice such as practice in drills, group 
practice, individual practice, controlled practice, spontaneous 
practice, o r practice in pairs. All of these forms of practice are part 
of the total phenomenon which we refer to as 'practice' and t o 
isolate one form from the others may distort its role, while taking a 
synthetic approach may allow us to evaluate the relative contribution 
that each form of practice makes to the overall process of 
acquisition. 
At this stage, then, the decision would be concerned with what 
56 Second Language Research Methods 
p h e n ~ m e n s wou!d he included in the composite concept of 
'practice'. That is, because we may not have a clear idea of what 
kind of practice o r how much practiceplays a part in varying rates 
of acquisition, we would decide to look a t a whole range of types of 
practice and how they interrelate and interact as they naturally 
occur in the language class. 
T h e analytic approach 
As discussed in Chapter 2, taking an analytic approach means that 
the second language phenomenon is analyzed into its constituent 
parts and one or a cluster of these constituent parts is examined in 
greater detail to the exclusion of other factors. When an analytic 
approach is taken, it usually means that the investigation will 
benefit from looking a t some aspect o f the second language 
problem in isolation; that a constituent approach to the phenomenon 
is possible and will not distort the nature of the phenomenon itself; 
and that enough is known about the constituent factor chosen for it 
to be studied in isolation. 
Returning to the particular factor of practice, let us suppose that 
we had grounds for believing that some aspect of individual 
practice was responsible for differing rates of acquisition. In an 
analytic approach, a single factor o r cluster of factors relating to 
individual practice in the language classroon~ would be isolated for 
further study. For example, we might decide to study individual 
practice in formal settings, such as drills, o r combine a study of 
individual practice in formal and communicative settings. 
For an nnulytic approach, it is necessary to define the terms used 
in the general question more precisely. At this stage, we are 
concerned with arriving at a conceptual rather than an operational 
definition. Tha t is, in addition to defining what is meant by terms 
such as 'rate', 'learning', and 'different rates', we must also define 
conceptually what we mean by 'practice', 'formal practice', 
'communicative practice', and other related terms. An important 
problem that arises in much research is the lack of clear and 
consistent definitions of the terms which later become the focus of 
the research. Note that the process we are describing consists of a 
gradual narrowing of the focus of the study. Having a clear and 
agreed conceptual definition of the terms will facilitate operation- 
alizing them in Phase 3. 
The preparatory stages o f research 57 
phase 3: Deciding on an objective or purpose 
Once an approach has been decided, the objective of the research 
must be considered. Is the purpose to discover o r describe o r is i t to 
test a hypothesis that is based on previous work? The reader is 
referred to the discussion of Parameter 2 in Chapter 2. 
Heuristic Deductive 
Description of research proce- Operational defintion of terms or 
dures, observat~ons; some factors; formulation of research 
operational defin~tion of terms questlon or hypothesis 
- - - - - 
Tuble 3.1 Phase 3: Decidirzg o n an objective or purpose 
Heuristic research 
It will be recalled from Chapter 2 that heuristic research was 
characterized by its inductive and descriptive nature. The researcher 
may begin with a general notion about some aspect of second 
language learning and gather data in various ways to learn more 
about the phenomenon under study. Descriptions o r hypotheses 
may then be developed from these data. Other forms of heuristic 
research may describe specific aspects of second language acquisition 
in order to see if they correlate with other factors. If the decision is 
made to pursue the research question through heuristic research 
methods, this last phase will consist of developing the plans o r 
procedures which the research will follow. 
Research might have a heuristic purpose o r goal but be combined 
with either a synthetic or an analytic approach to the research 
problem so that we might have synthetic-heuristic or analytic- 
heuristic research depending on the approach to the second 
language phenomenon and the goals of the research. For example, 
in the case of analytic-heuristic research, i f we suspected that a 
specific factor involved in classroom language learning played 
a part, but were not certain what that part was, o r had no theory o r 
hypothesis, we might conduct a heuristic study focused on that 
particular constituent of classroom language learning. The case of 
synthetic-heuristic research is perhaps the more common. This 
combination might be decided upon if it was felt that the research 
should be as inclusive as possible without any predispositions for 
assigning Inore importance to one factor o r another. 
58 Second Language Research Methods 
As was noted in Chapter 2, heuristic research does not neces- 
sarily begin with preconceived hypotheses. However, some aware- 
ness of the factors involved in the phenomenon may help decide 
what research strategies to follow. If the purpose o f our research on 
the question of rates of acquisition is to discover what factors most 
affect it, we d o not begin with a hypothesis to be confirmed or 
rejected. Rather we might begin with only a vague idea about what 
factors affect different rates of acquisition or with a suspicion that 
some factors, such as those listed on page 55, may be more 
important than others. 
Deductive research 
Any of the nine factors listed under Phasc 2 could serve as the basis 
for more focused research questions. In Chapter 2, we noted that 
research. with a deductive objective or purpose begins with a 
preconceived notion about what may bc found. This preconceived 
notion is then formulated as a prediction or hypothesis to be 
confirmed or rtjected. The hypothesis is usually grounded in a 
theory which attempts to explain the behavior in question. 
As in the previous discussion of heuristic research, deductive 
research can be combined with either a synthetic or an analytic 
approach. An example of synthetic-dedzictiue research would be an 
investigation in which a relationship is predicted between a large 
number of related variables or factors on the one hand and a 
language ability on the other. However, because the group of 
factors is seen as interdependent in some way, they are first treated 
synthetically as a composite whole to see whether in combination 
they correlate with language ability. In a study of factors which 
predict a second language learner's ability to acquire accurate 
pronunciation, Purcell and Suter (1980) first examined a battery of 
twenty variables which they hypothesized woulJ predict 2ccuracy 
in pronunciation. Gradually, through statistical procedures, the 
authors limited the size of the group of factors, first to a set of 
twelve and finally to a set of two factors which best predict 
pronunciation accuracy. 
In our discussion of deductive research, we will limit ourselves to 
a single t ~ ~ c t o r , nun~hcr 6, from the set of nine which we previously 
listed. What we have done is to break down or analyze the cluster 
of factors which we associate with rate of acquisition and attempt 
to study a single factor because we have some dedirctive basis or 
theory for believing that this factor can predict rLlte of acquisition. 
y T h e preparatory stages o f research 59 
The process we have followed is analytic because we have broken 
down the synthesis of factors into constituent factors, and 
deductive because we have analyzed one of these as being most 
likely to be related to rate of acquisition. This kind of research can 
be &aracterized as analytic-deductive. We now try to reformulate 
this isolated factor in the form of a focused question about the 
relationship between practice and rates of acquisition: 
- 6 Does the amount of practice affect the learner's rate of 
acquisition? 
The focused question allows us to look a t specific factors that 
intuitively relate practice and rate of acquisition. In this case, within 
the focused question, there are terms which, for the purposes of 
will have to be defined more precisely. The degree of 
definition will later facilitate the design and methodology of the 
research whether itbe experimental, observational, or descriptive. 
The description and definition of these factors subsumed under the 
focused question may best be arrived at through a questioning 
process as before: 
- 6A How is 'language practice' to be defined? How will it be 
measured? 
- 6B How is 'acquisition' to be defined? Will it be defined in terms 
of grammatical competence, communicative competence, o r 
a combination of the two? How will it be measured? 
- 6C What kind(s) of practice are thought to affect rate of 
acquisition? 
- 6D How is the amount of practice thought to affect rate of 
acquisition ? 
- 6E How will measures of language practice be related to 
measures of language acquisition? 
It is at this point, in answering these questions, that the researcher is 
forced to confront the crucial problem of translating conceptual 
definitions into operutional definitions, defining the terms or 
constructs which will be studied. Methodological issues are also 
addressed at this stage, such as whether the research can be carried 
out with a small number of subjects by conducting in-depth case 
studies of a few learners, or whether the research requires many 
subjects in order to test the hypothesis. 
Let us continue our hypothetical example for the purposes of 
demonstration. It may be that after our review of the literature, we 
will find two competing definitions o f 'language practice', one 
relating to the frequency of repetitions of a sentence pattern (6A) 
and another relating to the meaningful use of language In a 
60 Second Language Rese~rrch Methods The preparatory stages of research 61 
communicative context (6A'). Let ,IS also assume that we will define 
language acquisition as the learner's ability to function with 
language in meaningful o r real-life situations (6B) . That is, 
successful communication will be considered a measure of language 
acquisition. At this point, we will not discuss the more con~plex 
questions o f how we could measure successful communication. 
Chapter 8 will discuss the development o f instruments to measure 
various constructs. 
Exploring the implications of the questions raised under 6A and 
6 B leaves us with more focused questions about the relationships 
between practice and acquisition. (See Figure 3.2.) 
Definition of ~ rac t i ce 6A Definition of practice 6A' 
\ / 
Measure of language acquisition 
Figure 3.2 The relationship between practice and acquisition 
Questions 6D and 6E put the theoretical construct language 
practice into more concrete o r operational form. They require us to 
consider how the behavior we are researching can be quantified and 
what quantification might mean for the underlying research 
question. What, for example, can be considered a unit of 'practice'? 
What will be considered 'acquisition'? H o w will these units be 
measured and interpreted? 
However, it should be emphasized that constructs cannot be 
translated into concrete o r operational form in an actual study or 
experiment until there are clear answers to the questions 6 A and 
6B. If the construct 'practice' is not clearly defined, it would be 
foolish to design and carry out research measuring this ill-defined 
idea. We might define 'practice' as the number of tlmes a subject 
repeats a sentence from a language laboratory tape o r as the 
number o f self-generated sentences that a subject produces in a 
face-to-face communicative context. Each definition will produce 
different outcomes and different interpretations about the role of 
practice. 
Phase 4: Formulating the research plan or the hypothesis 
I f the study is to be some form of heuristic research, this last 
phase will consist of dec~ding on appropriate procedures and 
designing methods for collecting data reiating t o a single factor or a 
synthesis o f factors which may affect the rate of acquisition. In 
Chapter 6 , we will discuss in detail the procedures for conducting 
kinds o f heuristic research. 
If the study is to be deductive, the procedures are more complex. 
This is because deductive research requires the demonstration of a 
clear relationship between the factor o r variable which is thought to 
be closely related t o o r responsible for the rate of acquisition. In 
Chapter 1, i t was stated that the requirements for a scientific 
hypothesis are that it be testable o r falsifiable. A hypothesis, 
contrary to popular belief, is not supposed t o lead to conclusions 
which cannot be tested further. Confirming or rejecting a research 
hypothesis is always conditional o r qualified since it must always be 
open to falsification, rejection, o r revision. New evidence may 
present itself o r other relevant research may cast new light on the 
object o f research. It is part of the 'game' of science to view research 
as the best possible 'guess' a t a particular point in our state of 
knowledge. As new insights and knowledge are gathered and new 
theories present different ways of viewing the same phenomenon, 
hypotheses will necessarily be revised o r rejected. 
Qualitative o r descriptive research Research hypothesis 
(The process may end here o r . . .) il 
-1 
Null hypothesis 
[Confirmation or rejection] 
The research hypothesis and the null hypothesis 
Question 6 above asked: Does the amount of practice affect the 
learner's rate of acquisition? Let us assume that we have arrived a t 
satisfactory conceptual and operational definitions of all of the 
terms which are found in the question. The next step is to convert 
this question into a research hypothesis. 
The research hypotheses in this example might take one of the 
following forms: 
- HI Learners who exhibit high levels of practice will acquire a t a 
faster rate than those who do not. 
- HZ Learners who exhibit high levels of practice will acquire a t a 
slower rate than learners who d o not. 
62 Second Language Research h/lethods 
- H3 Learners who exhibit high levels of practice will acquire at 
the same rate as those who d o not. 
Note that the first two hypotheses are 'directional'. That is, they 
make a prediction about the direction of the possible outcome of 
the research. The only problem with directional hypotheses is that 
it is very difficult to argue unambiguously for a specific factor 
causing the directional effect. The results may be due to high levels 
of practice. Unfortunately, the results may be due to other factors 
as well. (Chapters 5 and 7 will discuss this problem in greater 
detail.) 
Because it is difficult to 'prove' a directional hypothesis con- 
clusively, the research hypothesis is usually stated in the form of a 
null hypothesis. The third hypothesis above, H3, is the null 
hypothesis and states that no differences exist between the rates of 
acquisition of high level practicers and low level practicers. There 
are statistical tests which may then be applied to the data to show 
whether there is or is not a significant difference between the two 
groups. If the null hypothesis cannot be rejected a t a statistically 
significant level, that is, it cannot be shown that the high and low 
level prtcticers are n o t different in rates of acquisition, then the 
research hypotheses ( H I and H2) are automatically rejected. 
It is usually the hope of the researcher to reject the null 
hypothesis. If this hypothesis is rejected, it is interpreted as meaning 
that one of the other research hypotheses is supported. Since it is 
unlikely that high levels of practice will lead to slower rates of 
acquisition, the rejection of H 3 is assumed to provide indirect 
support for HI. That is, in actual practice, the research hypothesis, 
while the focus of the research itself, is not the hypothesis that is 
tested. Rather, for the purposes of the research itself, a null 
hypothesis is formulated. The null hypothesis is usually a statement 
of what the research really hopes to disprove. That is, the null 
hypothesis is statedso that its jalsificution or rejection will lead to 
acceptance of one of the research hypotheses. 
Confirmation or rejection of the hypothesis is not, of course, the 
end of the research process. In Figure 3.1, we have shown an arrow 
returning to Phase 2. This is intended to show that the outcome of 
the research is recycled back to the theory or hypothesis from which 
i t emanated, either requiring an adjustment in the original theory or 
a rethinking of the original hypothesis for the purposes of 
continued research. 
T h e preparutory stages o f research 63 
Summary 
Chapter 3 has traced the preparatory stages in the developnlent of a 
project from the stage o f an observation to the declslon 
h the general approach. The phases of this process are 
below. All scientific research does not necessarily 
follow the progression through the four phases which we have 
described here. However, we have followed these stages In order to 
describe the logic involved in develop~ng a research ~ d e a in second 
language. 
The four phases in the development of research were: 
Phase 1: The general question 
Phase 2: Focusing the question 
Phase 3: Deciding on an objective o r purpose 
Phase 4: Formulating the research plan o r the hypothesis 
Activities 
1 If you are a language teacher, keep a diary of your teaching 
experience for a week. At the end of the week, review your diary. 
What research questions are suggested in your diary about 
second or foreign language learners? About teaching? About 
teacher-learner interaction ? 
2 Select a study from a second language journal. (See Chapter 4 for 
suggestions.) What additional questions are suggested by the 
research that were not investigated by the researcher? 
3 Select a research journal in an area such as cognitive psychology, 
sociology, o r education. Find an article which raises a theoretical 
issue and discuss how this issue might have relevance for second 
language research. 
4 Select two topics for a research project. Discuss: 
a ) The source of the topic. 
b) Why i t is important to investigate. 
c) Problems of feasibility. 
5 Select a topic in second language research, such as the relationship 
of age to second language acquisition. Follow this topic through 
the steps outlined in Figure 3.1 along each of its branches, 
developing research plans for both heuristic and deductive 
research. 
64 Second Language Research Methods 
References 4 Contextualization of research 
Bailey, K. M. 1983. 'Con~petitiveness and anxiety in adult second language 
learning: Looking at and through the diary studies' in H. W. Seliger and 
M. H. Long (eds.): Classroom Oriented Research in Second Languag 
Acquisition. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. 
Chomsky, N. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrech The excavator should be familiar with the work of his precursors 
Foris. and his contemporaries; he should know where to fit his new data 
. Cook, V. J. 1985. 'Chomsky's universal grammar and second language into the total picture. . . 
learning' Applied Linguistics 6/1: 2-1 8. (W. F . Albr~ght: The Archeology of Palestine) 
Durkheim, E. 1897. Le Suicide. Paris: G. Alcan. 
Flynn, S. 1987. A Parameter Setting Model for L2 Acquisition. Dordrech 
D. Reidel. The what and why of contextualization 
Krashen, S. D. 1978. 'Individual variation in the use of the monitor' in 
W. C. Ritchie (ed.): Second Language Acquisition Research. New York: 
Once the area, topic, o r problem o f the research has been chosen 
Academic Press. 
and defined, the research needs to be placed in a broader context by 
Lambert, W. E. and Gardner, R. C. 1959. 'Motivational variables in reviewing the related literature. This will be referred to as 
second language learning.' Canadian Journal of Psychology 13. contextualizing the research. 
Mazurkewich, I. 1984. 'Dative questions and markedness' in F. R. There are a number of reasons for contextualizing the research. 
Eckman, H. Bell, and D. Nelson (eds.): Uniuersuls of Second Language On the o n e hand, it helps the researcher broaden the view and 
Acquisition. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House. perspective o f the research; 011 the other it helps him o r her narrow 
Purcell, E. T. and Suter, R. W. 1980. 'Predictors of pronunciation down the topic and arrive a t 3 focused research question. These 
accuracy: A reexamination.' Language Learning 30/2: 271-287. two purposes, which seem t o be contradictory are actually 
Seliger, H. W. 1979. 'On the nature and function of language rules in complementary, because in research there is a need t o both expand 
language teaching.' TESOL Quarterly 13:359-369. the perspective and to narrow it down in order to arrive a t a 
White, L. 1985. 'The acquisition of parameterized grammars: subjacency workable research question. 
in second language acquisition.' Second Language Research 1/1: 1- 17. Therefore a review of the literature should take place a number 
of times during the research process. In the preparatory phase it 
helps the researcher select a n area, topic, o r problem; this process 
was described in Chapter 3. In the second stage, once the topic has 
been selected, a thorough and systematic review of the literature is 
necessary to broaden the perspective of the research and to 
familiarize the researcher with the theoretical framework underlying 
the selected topic. Finally, the literature is reviewed once more 
when the researcher needs to narrow down the topic in preparation 
for the actual administration of the research. It should be noted, 
however, that in carrying ou t actual research these different 
purposes are not pursued in strict sequence. 
We will now describe these stages through a hypothetical 
example o f researchers who are about to conduct research in the 
area of age and second language acquisition. 
66 Second Language Kesearch Methods 
Selecting the research topic 
Consider the example of researchers who have a general interest in 
the effect of age on second language acquisition. While this interest 
may have evolved from observations of their personal experiences 
(arriving in a country as immigrants and having difficulties in 
learning the new language - unlike their children, who seem to have 
learned the language much faster, with n o observed difficulties) 
they begin reviewing the literature, searching for research articles 
and other materials which address this topic. They obtain initial 
references on the topic from bibliography lists given by the lecturers 
a t the second language acquisition course they may be attending a t 
the time. In the process of reviewing these sources they locate 
additional references and materials from the bibliography lists 
included in these articles. While reading the material they realize 
that although there is ample research on the topic there are also 
many unanswered questions. For example, there are conflicting 
findings as to the effect of age on second language acquisition in 
different learning contexts (formal or informal). There also seem to 
be differences in the effect of age on the acquisition of certain 
aspects of language. Research studies show, though not consistently, 
that age is correlated positively with the learning of grammar (the 
older people are, the better they acquire grammar), but that 
younger children seem to have an advantage in acquiring phonology. 
They then discover that while there are a large number of studies on 
age and second language acquisition in informal contexts, there is 
very little research on the phenomenon of age and language 
learning in the school context. This issue, they believe, is very 
important since it may have implications for curriculum planning, 
teaching methodologies, and educational Folicies. The researchers 
therefore decide to carry out their research on the effect of age on 
the acquisition of phonology in formal versus informal contexts. 
This is still a general topic of research thatis not immediately 
researchable, since there are many aspects which need to be worked 
on before the researchers are ready to begin the study. They will 
have to go through a number of 'phases (outlined in Chapter 3 ) , in 
order to examine the feasibility of this research topic. Then, in 
order to arrive a t better-defil~ed and more focused questions o r 
hypotheses, the researchers will have to make decisions about the 
specific age of the subjects and the type of formal instruction they 
receive. The specific context of infornial learning will have t o be 
decided and the topic will be researched either by designing An 
Contextualization of research 67 
where learners of a certain age get a specific type of 
instruction in school. o r i t will be studied by observing different 
types of learners in a variety of learning contexts without 
conducting an experiment. 
BY reviewing the literature and examining other research studies 
in the same field, the researchers will be able to decide on the details 
of the research topic, making it more specific and focused. 
Broadening the perspective and narrowing the question 
Once the researchers have selected the topic, they need to expand it, 
mainly by investigating prevailing theories relating to it. Thus, 
during this stage the researchers will conduct a more thorough and 
systematic review o f the literature by examining and reviewing 
current theories in a number of related disciplines such as applied 
linguistics, linguistics, psychology, neurolinguistics, sociology, and 
education. They will want to f~lmiliarize themselves with the 
theories these disciplines provide on various aspects of the research 
topic. In the above example, these will include current theories on 
the acquisition of phonology, on age-related differences in ability t o 
acquire certain aspects o f a second language, and on the effect of 
the learning context (formal versus informal) on learners of 
different ages. Notice that the researchers focus also on related 
disciplines, beyond applied linguistics. Clearly a t this stage the 
researchers cannot simply rely on the bibliography list obtained in a 
university course, but will need to collect references from other 
sources as well. Indices such as Resources in Education and 
Language a n d Language Behavior Abstracts are likely to include 
references to additional articles not encountered in the earlier 
literature review. The researchers may also wish to conduct a 
computer search, to generate updated references on the topic and 
thus obtain i !arger p o ~ l of references. A description of such 
sources and the procedures for obtaining them will be described in 
the next section of this chapter. 
In reviewing the literature, the researchers will have to make a 
decision as to which references are most relevant and most useful, 
by reading the abstracts that precede most articles. They are likely 
to begin by reviewing articles which relate most directly to the 
research topic, such as those which focus on differences in the 
acquisition of phonology by learners of different ages in different 
learning contexts. They will be likely to review first the most recent 
ones and then work 11)ackwat-ds towards less recent research. 
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70 Second Language Research Methods 
;c:.;a! materla! we wil! ISC CUSS soIIrces such as journal articles, 
eci~ted collections, revlews, and books. 
1 Indices 
Indices are publications which provide large numbers of references 
on a variety of topics, and are therefore instrumental in pointing the 
researcher to existing material in the field. They are the most 
commonly used source for obtaining references to the literature. 
The references are listed according to author's name and subject. 
Listings include various types of information, such as the year of 
publication, the place where the material was first published o r 
presented, where and how i t can be obtained, and the form in 
which it was published (paper, article, o r report). Mos t indices also 
include abstracts o r other types of descriptions which summarize 
the content of the material and are therefore useful for indicating to 
the researchers the relevance of the material to their research topic. 
Different indices are published quarterly, monthly, bi-annually, o r 
annually. Figure 4.1 is an example of material from the index 
Resources in Education, with a description of the different types of 
information it provides. 
When searching for references on a given topic, the researchers 
will first make use of the Thesaurtrs of Descriptors which lists key 
words o r descriptors, to assist them in finding references related to 
their topic. For example, in a search for references related to the 
topic of age and second language acquisition, the relevant 
descriptors in the Thesaurus are likely to be age, second language 
learning, informal learning, bilingualism, school learning, and 
cognition. Figure 4.2 is a san~plt. page from the Thesuurus of ERIC 
Descriptors, compiled by Educational Resources Information 
Clearinghouse (ERIC). 
The indices which are most useful for second language learning 
research are those of work in linguistics, applied linguistics, 
education, sociology, and psychology. Descriptions of these indices 
are provided below: 
Languuge and Language Behavior Abstracts ( L L B A ) is published 
quarterly by Sociological Abstracts. It summarizes the contents of 
periodicals, papers, ~nonographs, and transactions published in 
over thirty languages, and covers the areas of anthropology, speech, 
applied linguistics, rhetoric, psycholinguistics, education, and 
com~n~inicat ion. This index includes abstracts, subject index, 
source index, and author index, and is invaluable for locating 
references in second language acquisition. 
Contextualization o f research 7 1 
ACCeSSion Number - :denltf& 
m,IDn ~e~uenr la i l v assigned lo Clearinghouse Accession Number. 
<hey are Drocessed 
Sponsor ing Agency agency re- 
S~onslbie for Inrl#ar!ng, lundlng, and 
lnanaglrlg the research DrOlect. 
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W.tshnngrr,n. DC. 
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I'uh Date - M a y 8.3 
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Figure 4.1 Sample resume' from Resources in Education 
74 Second Language Research Methods Contextualization of research 7 5 
2 Computer search 
A computer search is the procedure by which references on certain 
topics are generated from available computer databases. It is a 
quick, efficient way to obtain references to articles, reports and 
papers available in specific databases. Many institutions therefore 
require research students to run a computer search before the 
research study is conducted. 
The most important database in second language acquisition is 
the one by ERIC, which includes a large number of documents on 
different topics related to education. ERIC has a number of 
clearinghouses in different areas. Those which compile language 
references are Language and Linguistics and Bilingual Education. 
Items can be generated from the database after the researcher has 
identified descriptors from the Thesaurus o f ERIC Descriptors. 
These descriptors are then used to scan the database and a list of 
relevant references can be printcd out , beginning with the most 
recent ones. Each item listed includes the title, name of author, 
date, place of publication, where it can be obtained, and an abstract 
of the content of the document. Figure 4.3 displays a sample item 
obtained from a computer search using the ERIC database in the 
area of Cognitive Styles in Foreign Languages. 
The first code number in the sample refers to the reference 
number in the database; following it a re the title of the article, the 
author's name, place and date of publication, where the document 
can be obtained, the language in which i t appeared, and the type of 
document. 
Computer searches using the ERIC system can be conducted for a 
small fee in many libraries o r through the ERIC Clearinghouse o n 
Language and Ling~listics (Cent-er for Applied Linguistics, 1118 
22nd Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037). 
3 Bibliographies 
These are a usef~il source for obtaining lists of literatare references. 
Annotuted bibliographies are reference lists which focus on specific 
topics, and are usually put ou t by research centres such as the ERIC 
Cleuringhouse on Language and Linguistics and on Biling~lal 
Education. O n e example is the annotated bibliography on language 
testing, compiled by Clifford and Lange and published in 1981. The 
Modern Lang~iage Association (MLA) publishes an annual annotated 
1 ~ J : 6 8 4 5 0 FL.514691 
St~~dent-Teacher Cognitive Styles and Foreign 
Language Achievement: A Preliminary Study. 
Mansen, Jacqueline; Stansfield, Charles 
Modern Language Journal, V.66, N.3, P.263-73, 
Fail, 1982 
Available from: Reprint: UMI 
Language: English 
Document Type: JOURNALS ARTICLE (080): 
RESEARCH REPORT (143): NON-CLASSROOM MATERIAL 
(05.5) 
Journal Announcement: CIJJAN83 
In terms of second-language learning, examines: 
(1) What is the signific~nce, educational and statistical, o f 
the performance difference between field-dependent and 
field-independent students? and (2) Does the learner's 
cognitive style interact with other factors in the learning 
situation, such as the teacher's cognitive style, to affect 
differentially? (EKN) 
Descriptors: '"Cognitive Style: College Students; 
Language Aptitude; Performance Factors; '"Second Language 
Learning; ".Success; "Teaching Styles 
Identifiers: ':-Field Dependence Independence 
Figure 4.3 A sample i tem obtained from a computer search 
(using the ERIC system) 
bibliography which includes references to a large number of books 
and articles o n a variety of language topics. 
The bibliographies which accompany articles, reviews, o r books 
also provide accessible sources f o r obtaining useful references 
which can often lead t o additional references. However, it should 
be noted that bibliographies can be selective anci may overlook 
relevant material. Since they are usually based on published 
material, they d o not always represent the most up-to-date 
references. 
4 Professional conferences 
Research reports and papers presented a t conferences also provide 
valuable sources for locating references. The published conference 
programs which list (and often describe) the papers presented are a 
good source for finding out about unp~lblished ongoing and newly- 
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78 Second Language Research Methods Contextualization of research 7 9 
for locating references co the literature as well as for obtaining boundaries. These can be determined by the relevance of the 
actual literarure material. Thcsc different sources are listed in Table : material to the study. 
4.1. Once the literature material is obtained the researcher needs to - The initial decision is to determine whether o r not the content of 
review and organize it. Ways of doing it will be discussed in the the report which the researcher reads is relevant to the research 
next section. problem under study. If it is not relevant, it can be deleted; if it is 
relevant, the information it contains must be summarized o r 
Sources somehow put into a usable form so it will be retrievable again when 
the researcher needs it later. 
1 Indices The most useful way for researchers to determine whether certain 
2 Computer searches 
3 Bibliographies 
material is relevant o r not, is through reading the abstracts which 
4 Professional conferences 
appear in most indices and whichaccompany articles in most 
5 'Underground' press journals. The descriptions in the abstracts provide useful information 
6 Journal articles on various aspects of the material., 
7 Edited collections, reviews, books .One criterion for determining relevance is the degree to which the 
content of the article is directly related to the topic of the research. 
Table 4.1 Sources for locating the literature material noth her criterion is the source of the report. Material taken from 
journals aimed at researchers is likely t o be more relevant than 
material from sources aimed at practitioners; well known and 
Reading the literature highly valued sources are preferable for most material, and material 
Once researchers have located the material, they need to sift which comes from primary sources, such as the research article 
through it to determine its relevance to their specific research topic. itself, as reported by the researcher, is usually more relevant than 
It is important to decide a t this point how much reviewing should material which comes from secondary sources such as the report of 
be done, which references should get more emphasis, and which another author on the research. Secondary sources are often less 
aspects the researcher should focus on so that the material becomes reliable and should only be used to obtain access to primary 
meaningful for the contextualizntion of the research. Once the sources. Another criterion of relevance is the recency of the 
researchers have read the material they must decide how the material ~ubl icat ion of the material; the more recent research is usually 
should be organized, presented, and reported in the literature more relevant. 
review section of the research. 
Compiling and summarizing the information 
Determining the relevance of the material Once the researcher has selected the relevant materials and deleted 
Many of the sources which researchers find elmerge during the the irrelevant ones, each report needs to be compiled and 
process o t enquiry. It thus becomes difficult to define the scope of organized. This phase includes a ) compiling a bibliography list and 
the literature review before reading. One fairly common situation is b) writing an abstract which contains the most important information 
that the literature review becomes an unending ~ a t h and the of the report. 
researchers find it difficult to decide when to stop. If the scope of The bibliography list should be arranged alphabetically and each 
the readings is too broad, the researchers may be discouraged and entry should contain the name(s) o f the author(s), the title of the 
may lose the right perspective on the research; i f it is too narrow, on report, facts about publication, page numbers, and so on. I f it is a 
the other hand, they may overlook studies which contain important journal article it should include the name of the journal, volume, 
and relevant information. However, while the literature review and inclusive page numbers. If it is a book, it should include 
never really ends, since the researchers will go on reading before, information about the publisher, and place a n ~ l date of publication. 
during, and even after the study is finished, it is important to set The abstract of each report shoi~ld include the most important 
80 Second Language Research Me thods 
information of the report as weil as criticism. Ir should be written in 
such a way as to be easily retrievable when the researcher has to 
write the literature review, which is usually arranged in alphabetical 
order and/or according to different subheadings related to the 
research topic. It is recommended that each abstract be entered on a 
3 x 5 card or preferably in the database of a computer. Most word 
processor programs today have facilities for compiling bibliography 
lists in databases according to a number of different categories. 
The information in the abstract should consist of a descriptiorl of 
the most important points of the study, and the researcher should 
focus on points such as the reasons for conducting the research, the 
underlying assumptions of the study, the ~ rocedu re s and methodo- 
logies used for collecting the data, the major findings o f the 
'research, the specific new information which the study added t o the 
research area, and a critical perspective of the research. 
Table 4.2 provides a list of questions which researchers may find 
helpful in reading, summarizing, and criticizing research reports. 
The abstract should be brief, yet as accessible as possible when 
needed later in writing the literature report. 
Tuble 4.2 Questions for reading, summarizing, a n d 
cri t ic izing research 
7 What is the main research area? 
2 What is the research problem? 
3 What are the major research questions or hypotheses? 
B About the research context 
1 What other research studies were conducted in the same area? 
2 What were their main findings? 
3 What is the rationale of the research? 
4 Why was it important to conduct the research? 
C About the research method 
1 What are the main variables of the study? 
2 W h ~ c h research deslgn was used? (experimental, correlational, des 
cript~ve, multivariate, ethnographic?) 
3 Description of the population, sample, and selection procedures 
4 The data collection procedures - information about thelr development. 
reliability, validity, pilot study 
5 Description of the data collected 
Contextual izat ion of research 8 1 
D About the data analysis 
1 What are the specific data analysis procedures used? 
2 Were they quantitative o r qualitat~ve, or both? 
E About the findings 
1 What were the main findings? 
2 What does the researcher conclude from them? 
3 How do the findings relate to the research context and to the 
underlying theories? 
4 What are the implications of the findings? 
5 What recommendations does the researcher make based on the 
findings? 
6 What recommendations are drawn from the results? 
F Criticism of the research 
Consideration o f A-E above and specifically: 
1 the statement o f the problem 
2 the identification of the hypotheses 
3 the description and definition of the variables 
4 the appropriacy o f the design of the study 
5 the appropriacy of the instruments 
6 the appropriacy of the data analysis procedures 
7 the consistency of the results wi th the analysis 
8 whether the conclusion, implications, and recommendations are 
warranted by the results. 
Note: not all questions are applicable to all research reports 
Organizing and reporting the review of the literature 
Once the material for the review has been collected, reviewed, and 
summarized, the researchers need to synthesize it and write the 
review of the literature, to decide how to orgnnize the infornmation, 
and to compile the abstracts in the literature report. 
Often the nature of the research problem will determine the 
organization of the literature review. The review can be organized 
according to the amount of irlformation bearing directly on the 
research problenl, that is, each question or hypothesis of the 
research is substantiated by the relevant literature. For example, in 
the study on the relationship between age and second language 
learning which includes hypotheses about age and the sex of the 
learner, age and the language learning context, and age and 
learning style, each of these hypotheses could be preceded by a 
review o l the relevant literature. 
8 4 Seconcf Lungtiuge Research Methotis 
Exawzple 2 
A researcher (Dunkel 1988) conducted research on the r e l a t ~ o n s h ~ p 
betwcen thc content o f 11 and LZ students' lecture notes and test 
She contextualizes the research by describing the facil~tative 
effects of taking notes in learning, the numerous programs t o teach these 
skills, t he limited empirical knowledge as to the relationship between the 
content of the subjects' notes a n d their test perfurnlance, and the lack o f 
information