MAAL6028 Introduction to Research Methods

MAAL6028 Introduction to Research Methods

COURSE TEACHER:
Dr. David Gardner
Email: dgardner@hku.hk 

 

OVERVIEW 

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the key methods used for researching applied linguistics and engage you in discussing and writing about them so that you can identify, describe and evaluate the relevance of research methods in relation to any particular piece of research. This knowledge will help you understand and evaluate the published research you read about as you study applied linguistics and may also help you with advance planning for your dissertation. 

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES 

By the end of this course successful participants will be able to: 

1. Identify suitable methods for specific research aims 
2. Describe specific research methods 
3. Evaluate the relevance of particular research methods 

  

COURSE ACTIVITIES 

During this course you will engage in: 

1. In-class discussions of specific research scenarios and how to conduct them. 
2. Interactive activities identifying key elements of the research approaches presented in the classes. 
3. Small group interactions evaluating the relationship between research methods and specific research aims.

  

SCHEDULE AND APPROACH 

During this course you will encounter both quantitative and qualitative methods of research as practiced in relation to applied linguistics. This will give you a broad understanding of the main approaches to research that you are likely to meet in your studies and in dissertation research. 

 

Session 1: Key Concepts and Issues in Research 

Session 2: Common Qualitative Research Approaches 

Session 3: Collecting Qualitative Data 

Session 4: Analysing Qualitative Data 

Session 5: Collecting Quantitative Data 

Session 6: Using Questionnaires 

Session 7: Analysing Quantitative Data 

Session 8: Selecting Appropriate Methods 

  

ASSESSMENT 

The assessment for this course is by a single assignment in which you will evaluate a given research context, design an appropriate research methodology, describe it in detail and explain why it is more suitable than other possible methodologies in that context. Details about the research context will be supplied at the beginning of the course. 

  

KEY REFERENCES 

The core text for this course is:

McKinley, J., & Rose, H. (2020). The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

You should obtain this book and read Chapters 1 and 2 before the course begins. I recommend buying the e-version because there seems to be no softcover version and the hardcover version is very expensive.

 

Other recommended texts:

These are to make use of if you want to pursue specific topic areas during the course (no need to buy them, they are all available in HKU Library):

A. General texts covering a wide range of methods: 

• Brown, J. D. (2014). Mixed methods research for TESOL. Edinburgh University Press.
• Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Fifth ed.). SAGE.
• Dörnyei, Z. (2007) Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. Oxford University Press.
• Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2011). Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Paltridge, B., & Phakiti, A. (Eds.). (2015). Research methods in applied linguistics: A practical resource. Bloomsbury Academic.
• Phakiti, A., De Costa, P., Plonsky, L., & Starfield, S. (Eds.). (2018). The Palgrave handbook of applied linguistics research methodology. Palgrave Macmillan.

 

B. Texts covering specialized area: 

• Angrosino, M. (2007). Doing ethnographic and observational research. SAGE
• Barbour, R. (2007). Doing focus groups. SAGE
• Boeije, H. (2010) Analysis in qualitative research. SAGE.
• Kvale, S. (2007). Doing interviews. SAGE
• Flick, U. (2018). The SAGE handbook of qualitative data collection. SAGE Publications.
• Lähdesmäki, T. (2021). Challenges and solutions in ethnographic research: Ethnography with a twist. Routledge.
• Liamputtong, P. (2016). Focus group methodology: Principles and practice. SAGE.  [Especially Ch 3, 4 & 5]
• Mirhosseini, S.-A. (2020). Doing qualitative research in language education. Springer International Publishing.
• Porte, G. (Ed.). (2012). Replication research in applied linguistics. Cambridge University Press.
• Richards, L. (2009) Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. SAGE.
• Roever, C., & Phakiti, A. (2018). Quantitative methods for second language research: A problem-solving approach. Routledge.
• Seidman, I. (2019). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (Fifth ed.). Teachers College Press.
• Turner, J. L. (2014). Using statistics in small-scale language education research: Focus on non-parametric data. Routledge.