1st Edition
Doing Research in Applied Linguistics Realities, dilemmas, and solutions
Doing Research in Applied Linguistics: Realities, dilemmas, and solutions provides insight and guidance for those undertaking research, and shows the reader how to deal with the challenges of this research involving real people in real settings. Featuring over twenty chapters by experienced and up-and-coming researchers from around the world, this book:
- outlines the steps involved in solving the problem and completing a successful, and publishable, project;
- provides case studies of obstacles faced at each stage of research, from preliminary planning to report writing;
- addresses issues of validity and reliability during data collection and analysis;
- discusses ethical issues in research dealing with vulnerable groups including children, refugees, and students;
- includes examples from longitudinal studies, and both qualitative and quantitative research.
Doing Research in Applied Linguistics is essential reading for students studying research methods, or for those embarking on their first research project in applied linguistics or language education.
Foreword by Sandra L. McKay
Editorial Introduction
- Realities of doing research in applied linguistics
Heath Rose & Jim McKinley - Studying down versus studying up: Selecting whom to research
Ryuko Kubota - Responding to theoretical shifts in research design
Heath Rose - Overcoming problematic positionality and researcher objectivity
Jim McKinley - Doing collaborative research: Challenges and opportunities
Daniel V. Bommarito, Paul Kei Matsuda, Jianing Liu, Juval V. Racelis, Tai-Min Wu, Jing Xia, and Yuching Jill Yang - Dealing with data collection setbacks and reframing research questions
John Hedgcock & Heekyeong Lee - Dealing with participant attrition in longitudinal studies
Corinne A. Seals - Dealing with low response rates in quantitative studies
Averil Coxhead - Dealing with multilingualism in quantitative research
Gessica DeAngelis - It isn’t child’s play: Conducting research with children as participants
Victoria Murphy & Ernesto Macaro - Conducting longitudinal fieldwork among adult refugees
Lorna Carson - Researching people with disabilities and illnesses: ethical dimensions
Hanako Okada - Conducting research with deaf sign language users
Lorraine Leeson, Jemina Napier, Robert Skinner, Teresa Lynch, Lucia Venturi and Haaris Sheikh - Researching your own students: Negotiating the dual teacher-researcher role
Nicola Galloway
Part I Responding to problems in the research planning stage
Part II Responding to problems during data collection
Part III Researching vulnerable groups
Part IV Responding to problems during data analysis
15. Dealing with longitudinal quantitative designs and data analysis
Aek Phakiti
16. Managing the uncomfortable side of narrative data and analysis
Matthew T. Prior
17. Grappling with originality and grounding in qualitative data analysis
Jessica G. Briggs
18. Negotiating the relationship between theory and practice in the fields of literacy and language
Constant Leung & Brian Street
Part V Responding to problems in the reporting of research
20. Dealing with controversial findings
Roslyn Appleby
21. Reporting on politically sensitive issues: The case of telling the truth about early L2 instruction
David Singleton & Simone E. Pfenninger
22. Dealining with criticism when publishing qualitative research
Xuesong Gao
23. Representing the self honestly in published research
Christine Pearson Casanave
24. Publishing from a dissertation: One book, or many articles?
Brian Paltridge
Afterword: Strategies for getting the study published by Andrew Cohen
Biography
Jim McKinley is a Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Bath, UK.
Heath Rose is an Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Oxford, UK.
"This informative and scholarly book presents both challenges and solutions in current applied linguistics research. The 23 chapters range broadly and deeply across the diverse terrains of contemporary linguistics. The outcome is a set of highly authoritative accounts of ethically responsive and politically attuned strategies for researchers. Highly recommended!"
Patrick Danaher, University of Southern Queensland and Central Queensland University, Australia"Students of applied linguistics are invariably frustrated by the gaping lacuna between the rosy, trouble-free picture painted by their methodology textbooks and the intractable messiness of real research they find themselves in. This excellent collection of contributions by seasoned applied linguists takes novice researchers behind the scenes and shares rarely heard stories of how thorny and often unexpected problems have been overcome in a creative, productive, and rigorous way."
Hu Guangwei, National Institute of Education, Singapore"This book is an excellent introduction into the imperfect world of applied linguistics research. It offers advice and solutions to many problems that applied linguists face while conducting their research. It will be an essential point of reference for postgraduate research students and will make a worthwhile addition to the libraries of established academics."
Oksana Afitska, University of Sheffield, UK