qualitative research sample
Qualitative Research Methods
for Second Language Education
Qualitative Research Methods
for Second Language Education:
A Coursebook
By
Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education: A Coursebook,
by Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
This book first published 2012
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2012 by Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-4438-3505-6, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-3505-3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ................................................................................... vii
Preface ........................................................................................................ ix
Chapter One................................................................................................. 1
What is Research?
1.1 What is research?
1.2 Why do research?
1.3 What are the types of research?
Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 19
What is the Component of a Qualitative Research Report?
2.1 Topic of Inquiry (ToI)
2.2 Research Question
2.3 Literature Review
2.4 Methodology
5.5 Limitations of the Study
2.6. Conclusion
2.7 References
Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 47
The Research Question
3.1 What is a research question?
3.2 Four Broad Orientations in Research
3.3 Is the research question in a qualitative study different from the one
in a quantitative study?
3.4 What are the different kinds of research questions?
3.6 What are the kinds of research questions in a qualitative study?
3.7 How to refine your research questions?
vi
Table of Contents
Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 65
Open-ended Questionnaires
4.1 What is an open-ended questionnaire?
4.2 What are the benefits of an open-ended questionnaire?
4.3 What are the criteria of a good open-ended questionnaire item?
4.3 What do I do after I finish constructing the questionnaire items?
4.4 The final display of the questionnaire: What should I pay attention
to?
4.5 “I already got the data. Then, what?”: The procedure for analyzing
the data
4.6 “After I have found the themes, what then?”
4.7 “How can I make my coding processes easier?”
Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 97
Interviews
5.1 What is an interview?
5.2 What are the different types of interview?
5.3 What are the criteria of a good interview question?
5.4 What are the different types of interview questions?
5.5 What is the structure of an interview?
5.6 How do i capture interview data?
5.7 What do I need to pay attention TO when conducting an interview?
5.8 What kinds of transcription should I choose?
5.9 How can I analyze interview data?
5.10 When should I stop analyzing the data?
Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 133
Observation
6.1 What is the purpose of conducting an observation?
6.2 What are the different types of observation?
6.3 What do I need to know to develop organizational categories for
observation?
6.4 What can be the focus of classroom observation?
6.4 What do I need to prepare to conduct an observation?
6.5 How do i record my observational data?
6.6 How do I analyze my observational data?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Several people have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to the
writing and development of this book. My husband who continuously has
“pushed” me to be a btter teacher. My father who has read parts of this
book and was so enthusiastic encouraging me to get the book published.
My colleague and dear friend, Ibu Rossie Kameo, who proof-read the
book, sometimes in a very short time, to get it ready for my Research
Methods class. Ibu Victoria Usadya who was willing to use the book in
her class and provided me with valuable feedback. Along with some
colleagues, she has given me supports through the inevitable ups and down
of a project like this one.
Above all, I would like to dedicate this book to my students in my
Research Methods class. In designing the activities, I have benefited from
seeing and witnessing how my students interacted with the book in the
classroom. They even have pointed out the parts of the book that needed
improvement. I found their suggestions fruitful to make the book even
more reader-friendly.
All mistakes and errors in this book are entirely mine.
PREFACE
Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education: A
Coursebook is a ready-made coursebook for both students and teachers in
the second language department. The book stems from my desire to make
a practical yet complete resource book for learning qualitative research
methods. It is meant to provide basic knowledge for those who start
learning about research or have zero knowledge on research.
The book is a result of one-year try out in the Research Methods class in a
pre-service teacher education program at the Faculty of Language and
Literature, Satya Wacana Christian University, Indonesia. Students in the
class have described the book as easy reading and helped them to gain
preliminary understanding of research.
As I personally believe that one learns about research by doing research
rather than talking about research, the explanation in this book is
accompanied with learning activities. The activities provide practice and
can be used as a media for further discussion of a given topic. Based on
my experience, they also are very helpful in informing teachers on topics
that need further reinforcement. All students from upper-intermediate
upwards will be able to work with the activities written in the book.
Although it is intended for a pre-service teacher education program, the
book can also be used in any second language education programs. It is
my belief that explanation and activities in the book will be able to assist
teachers everywhere in helping and motivate students in learning as well
as gaining preliminary understanding of qualitative research.
Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
April 16, 2011
CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
Activity 1.1
1.
Write three words that you associate with the term ‘research’.
Figure 1: Word association for ‘research’
2.
No
1.
2.
3.
Work in a group of 3-4 students, and compare your list. Identify three
similarities & differences you observe between your list and your
friends’ lists. Write them in the following table.
Similarities
Differences
2
Chapter One
3.
As a group can you find a way to classify these words? Make a note
of three possible categories. Write your categories in the table below.
In the third column ‘Examples of words,’ you need to write examples
of words that belong to your category. No 1 gives an example of
‘categories’ and example of words that belong to negative perception.
No
1.
Categories
Negative perception
Examples of words
Frustrated; down; sad,
confused
2.
3.
4.
4.
Answer the following question with regard to your categorization
process:
5.
a.
b.
c.
Did you attempt to categorize all your words? If you did,
was that attempt successful? If not, why not?
What were some of the problems you faced when doing
the categorization process?
List all the words, if any, that did not belong to your
categorization. Why do you think it is hard to categorize
them?
Activity 1.2
Now compare your group’s word list with the list of words taken from the
University of Hawaii students below:
Endless
Convincing
Findings
Unpredictable
Publish
Never perfect
Time consuming
Sometimes painful
Experiments
Consistent
Analysis
Statistics
Boring
Experts
(Adapted from Brown & Rodgers, 2002, pp. 27-28)
What is Research?
3
Combine your group’s word association with those of the Hawaiian
students. Can you add the words produced by the Hawaiian students to
your categories? If not, what other categories can you think of?
Activities 1.1 and 1.2 give you general experience of what qualitative
research feels like. As you do the two activities, you can see how
categorizing data is not a straightforward process. You have to constantly
read and reread your data to find suitable categories.
From the activities, there are two important points that you need to
remember in analyzing qualitative data:
First, the category you develop from the data needs to be self-explanatory.
This means other people need to be able to understand why you developed
particular categories or themes from your data.
For example, the words below are the words my students came up with
when they were asked to pick three words related to the word ‘research’
(Activity 1):
Experiments
Experts
Quantitative
Instruments
Observation
Background
of the study
Topic
Problems
Research
questions
Subjects
Literature
Reviews
Data
Collection
Interviews
Analysis
Method
Qualitative
Findings
Model
article
Prominent
Scholars
Resources
When I asked them to develop categories for these words, they came up
with the categories written in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 : Examples of fuzzy categorization
No
1.
Categories
Ideas
2.
In-process research
3.
Findings
Examples of words
topic; model article; prominent scholars;
subject
literature review; data collection;
interview; research questions; background
of the study; observation; method
Resources; analysis; findings
4
Chapter One
Although these categories might be clear for the students, they are not selfexplanatory to a general audience or people who might not be involved in
the categorization process. This means other people might need to ask the
students who came up with these categories to explain why, for example,
‘Resources’ belongs to FINDINGS and ‘subject’ is grouped under IDEAS.
Remember, when reporting research, you, the researcher, are not always
physically present with the data, so the category developed needs to be
understandable to a general audience. Examples of a more self-explanatory
categorization can be seen in Table 1.2 .
Table 1.2 : Examples of self-explanatory categorization
No
1.
Categories
Kinds of research
Examples of words
quantitative, qualitative
2.
Methods of data collection
observation, interview
3.
Components in a research
report
literature review, findings, analysis,
background of the study, research
questions
Second, when analyzing the data qualitatively, do not attempt to
categorize/analyze all the data you gathered. Although you need to read all
the data gathered so that your categorization can emerge from it,
attempting to categorize all the data is unnecessary, if not impossible. This
is because not all the data is directly related to your research question
and/or study purpose.
So, how do you know which data to use and which ones to leave out?
What I most often do is to develop categories that directly answer the
research question or address the study purpose in some way. Then, attempt
to group your data and leave out the data that do not support or relate to
the categorization. Certainly, this process is not a one-time deal but
involves a process of trying out different categories and fitting the data
into them.
What is Research?
5
Activity 1.3
Complete the short survey in Appendix A at the end of this section.
1.1 What is research?
Perhaps, this is one of the most important, yet difficult questions to
address. Despite the complexity of the question, understanding ‘what
research is’ is vital because, to some extent, it gives preliminary
understanding of what is expected from you as a researcher. Despite the
importance of defining what research is, not many books define ‘what
research is’. This can lead to the assumption that defining “what research
is” is not necessary, “problematic,” (McKay, 2006) or even impossible.
For that reason, many authors resort to discussing instead the nature of
good research or even the elements constituting good research.
Below are a few definitions I collected from different sources aiming to
explore the definition of research.
Research is:
(a) … simply gathering the information you need to answer and
help you solve the problem (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 1995,
p. 6).
(b) … the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind
(Marston Bates, 1906-1974).
(c) … an exploration of experience of one kind or another
sometimes formal and technical, but not necessarily so (Brown
& Rodgers, 2002, p. 3).
(d) … what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing
(Wernher Magnus Maxmillan Von Braun, 1912-1977).
(e) …the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems
through the planned and systematic collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data (Mouly, 1978).
(f) If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from
many, it’s research (Wilson Mizner, 1976-1933).
The above definitions show that the term ‘research’ may take on a range of
meanings and can be applied to a variety of contexts. For our purposes,
however, I will limit its usage to the use of research in the academic world
or, more precisely, in second language teacher education.
6
Chapter One
Activity 1.4
Read the definitions of research above and then complete the table below
regarding the characteristics of research. Definition (A) has been done for
you.
No
Nature
(A)
Gathering
information
Result
Solving the
problem
Components
• Information
• Question
• Solution
Role of
researcher
• Information
gatherer
• Problem
solver
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
From this activity, we can learn a few important concepts related to research.
First, people often agree and disagree in their views and understandings of
research. Second, the similarities and differences of the way people
understand and conceptualize research may turn out to be interesting.
1.2 Why do research?
Activity 1.5
Share with your friends:
1. When was the last time you did research?
2. Why did you do the research?
What is Research?
7
There are several reasons why people do research:
Gaining Knowledge
In daily life most people conduct research to gain knowledge. I remember
before I went to Thailand to pursue my MA., I did a lot of research
because I had no clue what living in Thailand was like, the kind of food
people ate there, and most importantly, to find the living cost. I researched
Thailand by putting keywords such as “Thailand,” “living cost,”
“transportation,” and “food” in a yahoo search. In addition to searching for
information about Thailand through the Internet, I also asked people who
had been to Thailand. Also, I chatted with people who were living in
Thailand at that time. Through this research, I felt I became more familiar
with Thailand.
Conducting research to gain knowledge is most often conducted by
newcomers or “new members” (Wenger, 1998) who are entering a new
context (e.g. workplace, culture, area, etc.). To some extent, the research
gives a security blanket and opens a passage to enter that new territory.
Finding the Effectiveness of Doing an Activity
McKay (2006) asserts that for teachers, research can contribute to more
effective teaching not by offering definitive answers to pedagogical
dilemmas and questions. Rather, by suggesting new ways of looking at
something. As Johnson (1992) notes:
The importance of research is not so much that it supplies definitive
answers to questions such as “What is the best way to learn a language?”
or “which is the most effective method of L2 teaching?” It does not.
Rather, research can help us gain a richer understanding of the many
interrelated factors involved in learning. It can help us see how the ways
we organize learning environments can promote or inhibit growth (p.5).
In other words, the contribution of research to teaching is not by giving a
prescriptive formula or recipe for effective teaching that the teacher must
follow. But, the process of research will give teachers understanding of the
topic being researched and based on that understanding will help teachers
in developing their teaching competence.
Evaluating Existing Knowledge
The most common reason for doing research is to evaluate existing
knowledge. This can be in the forms of replicating a study or just
following the same methodology but with different participants or in a
8
Chapter One
different context of the study. The purpose of this kind of study is to
explore if the same findings will also emerge in a different context. This
kind of research is encouraged for beginning researchers.
Activity 1.6
Read the following students’ narratives on the last research they did. Try
to categorize them according to the purpose of doing research just
discussed. If you cannot, is there other possible reason for doing research
from student narratives below?
1.
I did research last semester in the Introduction to Language
Education class. The purpose of my research is to explore the
teaching methods in an English class in SD Negeri 06, Jalan Kartini
26, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. I got the data from observing a
classroom. I also had a chance to conduct short interviews with the
students. I found that the teacher used a deductive method in the
English class. First, the teacher gave examples using pictures (about
family). Then, the teacher explained the pictures one by one and ask
the students to imitate them.
Purpose of research:
2.
I did research just a week ago. It was about how to thicken my
lumpy hair. I did it at home. I collected the data using secondary
data collection, I google-searched articles related to my problem. As
a result of my ‘study,’ my hair did not seem lumpy anymore. It
looked naturally thicken.
Purpose of research:
3.
My research was about the influence of culture on education. My
research took place in a rural area in Central Java. I also collected
secondary data because it was impossible to collect primary data
collection in a limited time. I gathered information from many
written sources like books, journals, e-books, and articles. My
finding shows that culture had big influence on education.
Purpose of research:
What is Research?
4.
9
My last research was about deciding which shampoo that I should
use for my hair loss. I collected secondary data by going to
supermarkets in Salatiga and read information at the back of
shampoo’s bottles. Also, my friend’s experience about dealing her
hair loss. Then, I decided to try shampoo A because as my friend’s
suggested, it contains nutrition that my hair needs.
Purpose of research:
5.
The last time I did my research was someday before SIASAT (a
registration system at the university). I wanted to know the lecturers
who are kind and objective, so that I could feel comfortable during
my 6th semester. I asked my friends from all “angkatan” (year
level). Surprisingly, they gave me different answers. For example,
some friends told me that Mr. A was kind, but others said that he
was always unfair in scoring and so on. By doing that, I can
conclude which lecturers are actually the best for me.
Purpose of research:
1.3 What are the types of research?
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
One of the most common ways to classify research is by categorizing them
according to the data (gathered and analyzed). According to the data
gathered, research can be classified into two kinds: quantitative and
qualitative research. To put it simply, quantitative research deals with
numbers whereas qualitative research deals with words.
In quantitative study, data is usually analyzed using computer software
(e.g. t-test) and presented in numerical forms (by using percentage, for
example). Quantitative studies usually start with a (written) hypothesis that
needs to be “tested” by conducting the research. In contrast, qualitative
studies start with the assumption that the research topic must be
understood “holistically” (McKay, 2006, p. 6). This is done by taking into
account a variety of factors that might affect the participants.
10
Chapter One
Table 1.3 below gives a summary of the differences between qualitative
and quantitative drawn from different sources (Bryman, 2001; McKay,
2006).
Table 1.3: Qualitative vs. quantitative research
No
1.
Purpose
2.
The research
question
3.
Participants
4.
5.
Length of study
Data display
6.
7.
Language
Data analysis
Qualitative
To understand a
phenomenon or
individuals
On-going, dynamic
(can change) and can
be changed
Tend to be a small
number, even one
person.
Long-term
Participants’ words
and stories
(narratives).
Descriptive
Interpretative analysis
by categorizing data
according to, for
example, emerging
themes.
Quantitative
To generalize, to
predict, and to show
a causal relationship
Static: fixed, decided
prior to collecting the
data.
Large number
Short-term
Using numerical
figures, percentage
and/or table
Technical
Statistical analysis
Activity 1.7
Read the purpose of research below and decide whether it tends to be
qualitative or quantitative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To compare students’ writing competence between those using
computers and those using paper-and-pencil.
To explore students’ understanding of the word ‘culture.’
To explore the effects of using music in teaching writing.
To understand the ways students use the mother tongue in writing.
To see the effectiveness of peer feedback on the students’ revision
process.
What is Research?
11
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Brown and Rodgers (2002) explain that primary research is a study based
on “original data” (p.10). Original data here mean the researchers collect
the data themselves, for example, by using interviews, questionnaires,
observations, and students’ journals.
Secondary research, by contrast, is research based on secondary data such
as books, articles, and information obtained from the Internet. In other
words, you are using the data collected by other people. Secondary
research is very common in the field of literature or when you are going to
write literature review for your primary research.
Activity 1.8
Classify the research report titles into primary (P) and/or secondary (S) by
putting a check mark (√) into the appropriate column.
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Research report titles
Doing second language research.
Learners’ constructions of identities and imagined
communities.
Is there language acquisition after 40? Older learners
speak up.
Autobiography and learner diversity.
The craft of research.
P
S
Appendix C provides a summary of the different types of research.
Basic vs. Applied Research
For McKay (2006), the purpose of basic research is to “acquire knowledge
for the sake of knowledge” (p.4). The main goal of such research is to gain
fuller understanding of the world. Examples of basic research are studies
that seek to understand the order that second language learners acquire and
develop grammatical competence.
Applied research, by contrast, aims to find strategies to overcome realworld problems. It deals mainly with human and societal problems.
Examples of such research is research that focuses on finding the factors
contributing to students’ reluctance in participating in a classroom, the
most effective strategies in giving feedback, and the most effective
strategies in using group work.
12
Chapter One
Activity 1.9
Classify the research purposes below into basic (B) research and/or
applied research (A) by putting a check mark (√) into the appropriate
column.
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Research report titles
To understand students’ conceptualization of the term
‘culture.’
To find out the different ways of giving teacher
written feedback.
To understand the effect of race on students’ identity
construction.
To explore English teachers’ understanding of the
concept ‘good writing.’
To know the effective ways to improve students’
reading comprehension.
B
A
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Wong, J. (2007). East meets West, or does it really? In A. Besemeres & A.
Wierzbicka (Eds.), Translating lives: Living with two languages and
cultures (pp. 70-82). Queensland: University of Queensland Press.
Young, R. F. (2008). English and Identity in Asia. Asiatic, 2(2), 1-13.
16
Chapter One
Appendix 1.1:
Survey on students’ understanding of research
Dear Students,
This questionnaire is about your understanding and knowledge of research.
I would be very grateful if you would kindly answer this questionnaire.
Feel free to fill in the questionnaire in English or in ‘Bahasa
Indonesia’. Once you have finished typing your answers don’t forget to
save them. Many thanks.
Nugrahenny T Zacharias
1.
How do you understand research?
Research is
2. What is the criteria of good research?
A good research has the following criteria.
First,
Second,
3.
When was the last time you did research? Describe your research
with regards to
• What was it about?;
• Where was it?;
• What kinds of data you collected?; and
• What was your findings?
4.
What is your attitude toward research?
Personal Particulars
Concerning your own background, please fill in the following:
1. Sex:
2. Age:
years
3. What year are you: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 (circle accordingly)
What is Research?
Appendix 1.2: Broad categories of research
(Adapted from Brown, 2001)
17
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT IS THE COMPONENT OF A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH REPORT?
Activity 2.1
In groups, try to think of four components that you often found in a
qualitative research report.
Due to the complexities of defining what research is, a more common way
to discuss research is by listing the components of research. An
exploration of qualitative studies in the literature illustrates that research
commonly consists of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
(Topics of Inquiry)
Research questions
Literature review
Methodology/Research design, which consists of:
a. Context of the study
b. Participants
c. Instruments of data collection
d. Procedure of data collection
e. Data analysis
20
Chapter Two
5.
6.
7.
8.
(Limitation of the study)
Findings
Conclusion
References
In the paragraphs that follow I will describe each component briefly.
2.1. (Topic of Inquiry (ToI))
Topic of inquiry is mostly implicit in a report of a study. That is the reason
I put it in brackets. Even though the topic of inquiry is implicit, identifying
a topic of inquiry of your research, or “area of inquiry” as McKay (2006)
calls it, helps identify the theoretical framework for your study. A topic of
inquiry can often be in the form of “key words” that many academic
articles often cite on the first page.
Examples of topics of inquiry are the following:
Students’ use of mother tongue
The use of audio visuals in teaching
Teachers’ feedback
Group work
Pronunciation
Complimenting strategies
Teaching materials
Students’ silence
Teacher positive feedback
Nativeness in ELT
From the examples above, it can be seen that ToI can be either general or
specific. For example, the ToI ‘teachers’ feedback’ is more general than
‘teacher positive feedback.’ However, you can also choose a more specific
ToI such as ‘teacher positive written feedback.’ The different natures of
the ToIs can be illustrated in Figure 1.
The three concentric circles of the ToIs are drawn in broken lines instead
of solid lines to show that the divide between the general and specific ToIs
can sometimes be ‘fuzzy’ and not well-defined. In my experience, a
specific ToI might serve as a catalyst and save a lot of energy in selecting
reading materials that help your study. As vividly illustrated in Figure 1, a
general ToI such as ‘teacher feedback’ covers a wider area than a more
specific ToI such as ‘teacher positive feedback.’ This wide area also
reflects the abundant reading materials that you need to cover.
However, this does not mean that choosing a general ToI has no value.
Perhaps, for beginning researchers, it will be more helpful to choose a
for Second Language Education
Qualitative Research Methods
for Second Language Education:
A Coursebook
By
Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education: A Coursebook,
by Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
This book first published 2012
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Copyright © 2012 by Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN (10): 1-4438-3505-6, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-3505-3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ................................................................................... vii
Preface ........................................................................................................ ix
Chapter One................................................................................................. 1
What is Research?
1.1 What is research?
1.2 Why do research?
1.3 What are the types of research?
Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 19
What is the Component of a Qualitative Research Report?
2.1 Topic of Inquiry (ToI)
2.2 Research Question
2.3 Literature Review
2.4 Methodology
5.5 Limitations of the Study
2.6. Conclusion
2.7 References
Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 47
The Research Question
3.1 What is a research question?
3.2 Four Broad Orientations in Research
3.3 Is the research question in a qualitative study different from the one
in a quantitative study?
3.4 What are the different kinds of research questions?
3.6 What are the kinds of research questions in a qualitative study?
3.7 How to refine your research questions?
vi
Table of Contents
Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 65
Open-ended Questionnaires
4.1 What is an open-ended questionnaire?
4.2 What are the benefits of an open-ended questionnaire?
4.3 What are the criteria of a good open-ended questionnaire item?
4.3 What do I do after I finish constructing the questionnaire items?
4.4 The final display of the questionnaire: What should I pay attention
to?
4.5 “I already got the data. Then, what?”: The procedure for analyzing
the data
4.6 “After I have found the themes, what then?”
4.7 “How can I make my coding processes easier?”
Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 97
Interviews
5.1 What is an interview?
5.2 What are the different types of interview?
5.3 What are the criteria of a good interview question?
5.4 What are the different types of interview questions?
5.5 What is the structure of an interview?
5.6 How do i capture interview data?
5.7 What do I need to pay attention TO when conducting an interview?
5.8 What kinds of transcription should I choose?
5.9 How can I analyze interview data?
5.10 When should I stop analyzing the data?
Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 133
Observation
6.1 What is the purpose of conducting an observation?
6.2 What are the different types of observation?
6.3 What do I need to know to develop organizational categories for
observation?
6.4 What can be the focus of classroom observation?
6.4 What do I need to prepare to conduct an observation?
6.5 How do i record my observational data?
6.6 How do I analyze my observational data?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Several people have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to the
writing and development of this book. My husband who continuously has
“pushed” me to be a btter teacher. My father who has read parts of this
book and was so enthusiastic encouraging me to get the book published.
My colleague and dear friend, Ibu Rossie Kameo, who proof-read the
book, sometimes in a very short time, to get it ready for my Research
Methods class. Ibu Victoria Usadya who was willing to use the book in
her class and provided me with valuable feedback. Along with some
colleagues, she has given me supports through the inevitable ups and down
of a project like this one.
Above all, I would like to dedicate this book to my students in my
Research Methods class. In designing the activities, I have benefited from
seeing and witnessing how my students interacted with the book in the
classroom. They even have pointed out the parts of the book that needed
improvement. I found their suggestions fruitful to make the book even
more reader-friendly.
All mistakes and errors in this book are entirely mine.
PREFACE
Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education: A
Coursebook is a ready-made coursebook for both students and teachers in
the second language department. The book stems from my desire to make
a practical yet complete resource book for learning qualitative research
methods. It is meant to provide basic knowledge for those who start
learning about research or have zero knowledge on research.
The book is a result of one-year try out in the Research Methods class in a
pre-service teacher education program at the Faculty of Language and
Literature, Satya Wacana Christian University, Indonesia. Students in the
class have described the book as easy reading and helped them to gain
preliminary understanding of research.
As I personally believe that one learns about research by doing research
rather than talking about research, the explanation in this book is
accompanied with learning activities. The activities provide practice and
can be used as a media for further discussion of a given topic. Based on
my experience, they also are very helpful in informing teachers on topics
that need further reinforcement. All students from upper-intermediate
upwards will be able to work with the activities written in the book.
Although it is intended for a pre-service teacher education program, the
book can also be used in any second language education programs. It is
my belief that explanation and activities in the book will be able to assist
teachers everywhere in helping and motivate students in learning as well
as gaining preliminary understanding of qualitative research.
Nugrahenny T. Zacharias
April 16, 2011
CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
Activity 1.1
1.
Write three words that you associate with the term ‘research’.
Figure 1: Word association for ‘research’
2.
No
1.
2.
3.
Work in a group of 3-4 students, and compare your list. Identify three
similarities & differences you observe between your list and your
friends’ lists. Write them in the following table.
Similarities
Differences
2
Chapter One
3.
As a group can you find a way to classify these words? Make a note
of three possible categories. Write your categories in the table below.
In the third column ‘Examples of words,’ you need to write examples
of words that belong to your category. No 1 gives an example of
‘categories’ and example of words that belong to negative perception.
No
1.
Categories
Negative perception
Examples of words
Frustrated; down; sad,
confused
2.
3.
4.
4.
Answer the following question with regard to your categorization
process:
5.
a.
b.
c.
Did you attempt to categorize all your words? If you did,
was that attempt successful? If not, why not?
What were some of the problems you faced when doing
the categorization process?
List all the words, if any, that did not belong to your
categorization. Why do you think it is hard to categorize
them?
Activity 1.2
Now compare your group’s word list with the list of words taken from the
University of Hawaii students below:
Endless
Convincing
Findings
Unpredictable
Publish
Never perfect
Time consuming
Sometimes painful
Experiments
Consistent
Analysis
Statistics
Boring
Experts
(Adapted from Brown & Rodgers, 2002, pp. 27-28)
What is Research?
3
Combine your group’s word association with those of the Hawaiian
students. Can you add the words produced by the Hawaiian students to
your categories? If not, what other categories can you think of?
Activities 1.1 and 1.2 give you general experience of what qualitative
research feels like. As you do the two activities, you can see how
categorizing data is not a straightforward process. You have to constantly
read and reread your data to find suitable categories.
From the activities, there are two important points that you need to
remember in analyzing qualitative data:
First, the category you develop from the data needs to be self-explanatory.
This means other people need to be able to understand why you developed
particular categories or themes from your data.
For example, the words below are the words my students came up with
when they were asked to pick three words related to the word ‘research’
(Activity 1):
Experiments
Experts
Quantitative
Instruments
Observation
Background
of the study
Topic
Problems
Research
questions
Subjects
Literature
Reviews
Data
Collection
Interviews
Analysis
Method
Qualitative
Findings
Model
article
Prominent
Scholars
Resources
When I asked them to develop categories for these words, they came up
with the categories written in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 : Examples of fuzzy categorization
No
1.
Categories
Ideas
2.
In-process research
3.
Findings
Examples of words
topic; model article; prominent scholars;
subject
literature review; data collection;
interview; research questions; background
of the study; observation; method
Resources; analysis; findings
4
Chapter One
Although these categories might be clear for the students, they are not selfexplanatory to a general audience or people who might not be involved in
the categorization process. This means other people might need to ask the
students who came up with these categories to explain why, for example,
‘Resources’ belongs to FINDINGS and ‘subject’ is grouped under IDEAS.
Remember, when reporting research, you, the researcher, are not always
physically present with the data, so the category developed needs to be
understandable to a general audience. Examples of a more self-explanatory
categorization can be seen in Table 1.2 .
Table 1.2 : Examples of self-explanatory categorization
No
1.
Categories
Kinds of research
Examples of words
quantitative, qualitative
2.
Methods of data collection
observation, interview
3.
Components in a research
report
literature review, findings, analysis,
background of the study, research
questions
Second, when analyzing the data qualitatively, do not attempt to
categorize/analyze all the data you gathered. Although you need to read all
the data gathered so that your categorization can emerge from it,
attempting to categorize all the data is unnecessary, if not impossible. This
is because not all the data is directly related to your research question
and/or study purpose.
So, how do you know which data to use and which ones to leave out?
What I most often do is to develop categories that directly answer the
research question or address the study purpose in some way. Then, attempt
to group your data and leave out the data that do not support or relate to
the categorization. Certainly, this process is not a one-time deal but
involves a process of trying out different categories and fitting the data
into them.
What is Research?
5
Activity 1.3
Complete the short survey in Appendix A at the end of this section.
1.1 What is research?
Perhaps, this is one of the most important, yet difficult questions to
address. Despite the complexity of the question, understanding ‘what
research is’ is vital because, to some extent, it gives preliminary
understanding of what is expected from you as a researcher. Despite the
importance of defining what research is, not many books define ‘what
research is’. This can lead to the assumption that defining “what research
is” is not necessary, “problematic,” (McKay, 2006) or even impossible.
For that reason, many authors resort to discussing instead the nature of
good research or even the elements constituting good research.
Below are a few definitions I collected from different sources aiming to
explore the definition of research.
Research is:
(a) … simply gathering the information you need to answer and
help you solve the problem (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 1995,
p. 6).
(b) … the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind
(Marston Bates, 1906-1974).
(c) … an exploration of experience of one kind or another
sometimes formal and technical, but not necessarily so (Brown
& Rodgers, 2002, p. 3).
(d) … what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing
(Wernher Magnus Maxmillan Von Braun, 1912-1977).
(e) …the process of arriving at dependable solutions to problems
through the planned and systematic collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data (Mouly, 1978).
(f) If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from
many, it’s research (Wilson Mizner, 1976-1933).
The above definitions show that the term ‘research’ may take on a range of
meanings and can be applied to a variety of contexts. For our purposes,
however, I will limit its usage to the use of research in the academic world
or, more precisely, in second language teacher education.
6
Chapter One
Activity 1.4
Read the definitions of research above and then complete the table below
regarding the characteristics of research. Definition (A) has been done for
you.
No
Nature
(A)
Gathering
information
Result
Solving the
problem
Components
• Information
• Question
• Solution
Role of
researcher
• Information
gatherer
• Problem
solver
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
From this activity, we can learn a few important concepts related to research.
First, people often agree and disagree in their views and understandings of
research. Second, the similarities and differences of the way people
understand and conceptualize research may turn out to be interesting.
1.2 Why do research?
Activity 1.5
Share with your friends:
1. When was the last time you did research?
2. Why did you do the research?
What is Research?
7
There are several reasons why people do research:
Gaining Knowledge
In daily life most people conduct research to gain knowledge. I remember
before I went to Thailand to pursue my MA., I did a lot of research
because I had no clue what living in Thailand was like, the kind of food
people ate there, and most importantly, to find the living cost. I researched
Thailand by putting keywords such as “Thailand,” “living cost,”
“transportation,” and “food” in a yahoo search. In addition to searching for
information about Thailand through the Internet, I also asked people who
had been to Thailand. Also, I chatted with people who were living in
Thailand at that time. Through this research, I felt I became more familiar
with Thailand.
Conducting research to gain knowledge is most often conducted by
newcomers or “new members” (Wenger, 1998) who are entering a new
context (e.g. workplace, culture, area, etc.). To some extent, the research
gives a security blanket and opens a passage to enter that new territory.
Finding the Effectiveness of Doing an Activity
McKay (2006) asserts that for teachers, research can contribute to more
effective teaching not by offering definitive answers to pedagogical
dilemmas and questions. Rather, by suggesting new ways of looking at
something. As Johnson (1992) notes:
The importance of research is not so much that it supplies definitive
answers to questions such as “What is the best way to learn a language?”
or “which is the most effective method of L2 teaching?” It does not.
Rather, research can help us gain a richer understanding of the many
interrelated factors involved in learning. It can help us see how the ways
we organize learning environments can promote or inhibit growth (p.5).
In other words, the contribution of research to teaching is not by giving a
prescriptive formula or recipe for effective teaching that the teacher must
follow. But, the process of research will give teachers understanding of the
topic being researched and based on that understanding will help teachers
in developing their teaching competence.
Evaluating Existing Knowledge
The most common reason for doing research is to evaluate existing
knowledge. This can be in the forms of replicating a study or just
following the same methodology but with different participants or in a
8
Chapter One
different context of the study. The purpose of this kind of study is to
explore if the same findings will also emerge in a different context. This
kind of research is encouraged for beginning researchers.
Activity 1.6
Read the following students’ narratives on the last research they did. Try
to categorize them according to the purpose of doing research just
discussed. If you cannot, is there other possible reason for doing research
from student narratives below?
1.
I did research last semester in the Introduction to Language
Education class. The purpose of my research is to explore the
teaching methods in an English class in SD Negeri 06, Jalan Kartini
26, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. I got the data from observing a
classroom. I also had a chance to conduct short interviews with the
students. I found that the teacher used a deductive method in the
English class. First, the teacher gave examples using pictures (about
family). Then, the teacher explained the pictures one by one and ask
the students to imitate them.
Purpose of research:
2.
I did research just a week ago. It was about how to thicken my
lumpy hair. I did it at home. I collected the data using secondary
data collection, I google-searched articles related to my problem. As
a result of my ‘study,’ my hair did not seem lumpy anymore. It
looked naturally thicken.
Purpose of research:
3.
My research was about the influence of culture on education. My
research took place in a rural area in Central Java. I also collected
secondary data because it was impossible to collect primary data
collection in a limited time. I gathered information from many
written sources like books, journals, e-books, and articles. My
finding shows that culture had big influence on education.
Purpose of research:
What is Research?
4.
9
My last research was about deciding which shampoo that I should
use for my hair loss. I collected secondary data by going to
supermarkets in Salatiga and read information at the back of
shampoo’s bottles. Also, my friend’s experience about dealing her
hair loss. Then, I decided to try shampoo A because as my friend’s
suggested, it contains nutrition that my hair needs.
Purpose of research:
5.
The last time I did my research was someday before SIASAT (a
registration system at the university). I wanted to know the lecturers
who are kind and objective, so that I could feel comfortable during
my 6th semester. I asked my friends from all “angkatan” (year
level). Surprisingly, they gave me different answers. For example,
some friends told me that Mr. A was kind, but others said that he
was always unfair in scoring and so on. By doing that, I can
conclude which lecturers are actually the best for me.
Purpose of research:
1.3 What are the types of research?
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
One of the most common ways to classify research is by categorizing them
according to the data (gathered and analyzed). According to the data
gathered, research can be classified into two kinds: quantitative and
qualitative research. To put it simply, quantitative research deals with
numbers whereas qualitative research deals with words.
In quantitative study, data is usually analyzed using computer software
(e.g. t-test) and presented in numerical forms (by using percentage, for
example). Quantitative studies usually start with a (written) hypothesis that
needs to be “tested” by conducting the research. In contrast, qualitative
studies start with the assumption that the research topic must be
understood “holistically” (McKay, 2006, p. 6). This is done by taking into
account a variety of factors that might affect the participants.
10
Chapter One
Table 1.3 below gives a summary of the differences between qualitative
and quantitative drawn from different sources (Bryman, 2001; McKay,
2006).
Table 1.3: Qualitative vs. quantitative research
No
1.
Purpose
2.
The research
question
3.
Participants
4.
5.
Length of study
Data display
6.
7.
Language
Data analysis
Qualitative
To understand a
phenomenon or
individuals
On-going, dynamic
(can change) and can
be changed
Tend to be a small
number, even one
person.
Long-term
Participants’ words
and stories
(narratives).
Descriptive
Interpretative analysis
by categorizing data
according to, for
example, emerging
themes.
Quantitative
To generalize, to
predict, and to show
a causal relationship
Static: fixed, decided
prior to collecting the
data.
Large number
Short-term
Using numerical
figures, percentage
and/or table
Technical
Statistical analysis
Activity 1.7
Read the purpose of research below and decide whether it tends to be
qualitative or quantitative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To compare students’ writing competence between those using
computers and those using paper-and-pencil.
To explore students’ understanding of the word ‘culture.’
To explore the effects of using music in teaching writing.
To understand the ways students use the mother tongue in writing.
To see the effectiveness of peer feedback on the students’ revision
process.
What is Research?
11
Primary vs. Secondary Research
Brown and Rodgers (2002) explain that primary research is a study based
on “original data” (p.10). Original data here mean the researchers collect
the data themselves, for example, by using interviews, questionnaires,
observations, and students’ journals.
Secondary research, by contrast, is research based on secondary data such
as books, articles, and information obtained from the Internet. In other
words, you are using the data collected by other people. Secondary
research is very common in the field of literature or when you are going to
write literature review for your primary research.
Activity 1.8
Classify the research report titles into primary (P) and/or secondary (S) by
putting a check mark (√) into the appropriate column.
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Research report titles
Doing second language research.
Learners’ constructions of identities and imagined
communities.
Is there language acquisition after 40? Older learners
speak up.
Autobiography and learner diversity.
The craft of research.
P
S
Appendix C provides a summary of the different types of research.
Basic vs. Applied Research
For McKay (2006), the purpose of basic research is to “acquire knowledge
for the sake of knowledge” (p.4). The main goal of such research is to gain
fuller understanding of the world. Examples of basic research are studies
that seek to understand the order that second language learners acquire and
develop grammatical competence.
Applied research, by contrast, aims to find strategies to overcome realworld problems. It deals mainly with human and societal problems.
Examples of such research is research that focuses on finding the factors
contributing to students’ reluctance in participating in a classroom, the
most effective strategies in giving feedback, and the most effective
strategies in using group work.
12
Chapter One
Activity 1.9
Classify the research purposes below into basic (B) research and/or
applied research (A) by putting a check mark (√) into the appropriate
column.
No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Research report titles
To understand students’ conceptualization of the term
‘culture.’
To find out the different ways of giving teacher
written feedback.
To understand the effect of race on students’ identity
construction.
To explore English teachers’ understanding of the
concept ‘good writing.’
To know the effective ways to improve students’
reading comprehension.
B
A
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16
Chapter One
Appendix 1.1:
Survey on students’ understanding of research
Dear Students,
This questionnaire is about your understanding and knowledge of research.
I would be very grateful if you would kindly answer this questionnaire.
Feel free to fill in the questionnaire in English or in ‘Bahasa
Indonesia’. Once you have finished typing your answers don’t forget to
save them. Many thanks.
Nugrahenny T Zacharias
1.
How do you understand research?
Research is
2. What is the criteria of good research?
A good research has the following criteria.
First,
Second,
3.
When was the last time you did research? Describe your research
with regards to
• What was it about?;
• Where was it?;
• What kinds of data you collected?; and
• What was your findings?
4.
What is your attitude toward research?
Personal Particulars
Concerning your own background, please fill in the following:
1. Sex:
2. Age:
years
3. What year are you: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 (circle accordingly)
What is Research?
Appendix 1.2: Broad categories of research
(Adapted from Brown, 2001)
17
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT IS THE COMPONENT OF A QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH REPORT?
Activity 2.1
In groups, try to think of four components that you often found in a
qualitative research report.
Due to the complexities of defining what research is, a more common way
to discuss research is by listing the components of research. An
exploration of qualitative studies in the literature illustrates that research
commonly consists of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
(Topics of Inquiry)
Research questions
Literature review
Methodology/Research design, which consists of:
a. Context of the study
b. Participants
c. Instruments of data collection
d. Procedure of data collection
e. Data analysis
20
Chapter Two
5.
6.
7.
8.
(Limitation of the study)
Findings
Conclusion
References
In the paragraphs that follow I will describe each component briefly.
2.1. (Topic of Inquiry (ToI))
Topic of inquiry is mostly implicit in a report of a study. That is the reason
I put it in brackets. Even though the topic of inquiry is implicit, identifying
a topic of inquiry of your research, or “area of inquiry” as McKay (2006)
calls it, helps identify the theoretical framework for your study. A topic of
inquiry can often be in the form of “key words” that many academic
articles often cite on the first page.
Examples of topics of inquiry are the following:
Students’ use of mother tongue
The use of audio visuals in teaching
Teachers’ feedback
Group work
Pronunciation
Complimenting strategies
Teaching materials
Students’ silence
Teacher positive feedback
Nativeness in ELT
From the examples above, it can be seen that ToI can be either general or
specific. For example, the ToI ‘teachers’ feedback’ is more general than
‘teacher positive feedback.’ However, you can also choose a more specific
ToI such as ‘teacher positive written feedback.’ The different natures of
the ToIs can be illustrated in Figure 1.
The three concentric circles of the ToIs are drawn in broken lines instead
of solid lines to show that the divide between the general and specific ToIs
can sometimes be ‘fuzzy’ and not well-defined. In my experience, a
specific ToI might serve as a catalyst and save a lot of energy in selecting
reading materials that help your study. As vividly illustrated in Figure 1, a
general ToI such as ‘teacher feedback’ covers a wider area than a more
specific ToI such as ‘teacher positive feedback.’ This wide area also
reflects the abundant reading materials that you need to cover.
However, this does not mean that choosing a general ToI has no value.
Perhaps, for beginning researchers, it will be more helpful to choose a