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HANDOUT 3
Research in English Language Teaching
(Research Method and Traditions)
Activity 1
What does research in the psychometric tradition typically investigate?
Chaudron (1988) stated that psychometric tradition investigated the quantitative
relationships between various classroom activities or behaviors and language
achievement.
Based on the explanation above, the psychometric tradition concerned with the
construction and validation of measurement instruments such as questionnaires, tests,
and personality assessments.
Context-product studies
Context product studies is a research classroom variable concerned with students
classroom behavior. It is including students experiences, abilities, knowledge and
attitudes.
Presage-product studies
Presage product studies is a research classroom variable concerned with teachers
classroom behavior. It is including teachers formative experiences, training experiences,
skills, intelligences, motivations and personality.
Process-product studies
Process product study is a result of observation from Context product studies and Presage
product studies to know the students development.
What has research in interaction analysis focused on, and how will the outcome
be useful?
Chaudron (1988) stated that interaction analysis focused on an interest in the nature of
the dependency of Students behaviors on the atmosphere and interaction engendered by
the teacher. In this tradition, researchers have not pursued quantitative analysis. The
influence of this tradition is to view interaction as a chain of teacher and student behavior.
tries
to
interpret
behaviors
on
the
perspective
of
participants
different
Activity 2
Why is the distinction between qualitative and quantitative approaches to
research considered to be an oversimplification?
Grotjahn in Nunan (1992) argued that the qualitative and quantitative distinction is an
oversimplification because in analyzing actual research studies, it is necessary to take into
consideration the method of data collection, the type of data yielded by the investigation,
and the type of analysis conducted on the data. Mixing and matching these variables
provides us with two pure research paradigms.
The two approaches considered to be oversimplification because of what method of data
collection employed; what type data yielded from investigation; and what kinds of
analysis conducted on the data.
Mention the two pure paradigms of research, and distinguish them in terms
of the method used, the type of data to be gathered, and the techniques of data
analyses to be adopted
Analytical Nomological
Experimental
or
quasi
experimental
Quantitative data
Statistical analysis
What kind of research is at one end of selectivity continuum, and what type is
at the other?
Van lieur in Nunan (1992) argued that selectivity continuum is a naturalistic study of a
classroom in action would be placed at the other end of the continuum.
What kind of research is at one end of interventionist continuum, and what type
is at the other?
Van lieur in Nunan (1992) argued that research is placed on the interventionist parameter
according to the extent to which the researcher intervenes in the environment.
Explain the difference between primary and secondary research
Brown in Nunan (1992) argued that a distinction between primary and secondary
research. Secondary research consist of reviewing the literature in a given area, and
synthesizing the research carried out by others, while primary research is subdivided into
case study and statistical studies.
Primary Research
Secondary Research
social surveys:
Questionnaire surveys
Interviews:
informal or structured
observation:
Participant
(overt)
or
covert (masked identity)
Media: documentaries,
source of information
as