A subse- quent analysis section presented information about the statistical proce- dures used to analyze the data. Analysis In some research reports, the mode of analysis may be a separate section or maybe included in the results section. We present two examples of what might be included in a discussion of how one will analyze the results. The first, from Leow and Morgan-Short , provides information about the scoringproce- dure.
The second, a study on planning and narrative writing from Ellis and Yuan presents information about the statistical procedures to be used. Scoring Procedure For the recognition and controlled written production tasks, one point was awarded to each correct answer, and no points for incorrect answers, for a total of 17 points. The comprehension task was scored in the follow- ing manner: For all items except item 1, one point was awarded for each correct answer and zero for an incorrect one.
For item 1, five out of seven correct responses were required before one point was awarded. For item 11, answers could have been provided in either English or Spanish.
In the one variable where normal distribution was not evident The alpha for achieving statistical significance was set at.
Ad- ditionally, effect sizes were calculated Some may be combined, and others may not be relevant. Results In this section of a research article, the results are presented with verbal de- scriptions of data that are also often displayed in charts, figures, or tables. Results sections usually provide objective descriptions presented without interpretation. The excerpt that follows is a small part of a results section from Philp The provision of recasts depended entirely on the production of non- targetlike forms by each learner.
Generally, as illustrated in Table 2, each learner received recasts of question forms over five sessions with those in the Low group generally receiving higher numbers of recasts.
Similar numbers of recasts with one, two, or three or more changes to the learner's trigger utterance were received by all groups, al- though the Low group received slightly more of the latter. A comparison between groups is shown in Fig. Additional information about statistical results is also presented in the results section, as seen here: Results To test hypothesis 1, which predicted that recall of recasts would be more accurate the higher the level of the learner, the High, Intermedi- ate, and Low groups were compared.
With an alpha level of. A priori contrasts, tested by the statistic, were computed to establish the source of difference be- tween groups. Comparison by group of proportion of number of changes in recasts. From Philp, J. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25, Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press and with the permission of J. The main idea of the study maybe restated and the findings summarized.
Then, the findings are inter- preted in light of the research questions and an explanation is attempted perhaps with regard to findings that were contrary to expectations. Fol- lowing is an example from a discussion section on form-meaning mapping by native and nonnative speakers Jiang, in which the author, in three separate paragraphs, provided a summary, an interpretation along with problems , and a possible explanation.
We reproduced the first sentences from each paragraph: Summary Statement The results of experiment 1 show that whether an L2 word pair shares a single Ll translation does not affect native speakers' performance in the rating task Interpretation and Problems Although the findings of experiment 1 are consistent with the Ll lemma mediation hypothesis, there are two potential problems that have to be resolved before one can interpret the finings as evidence in support of it Explanation One explanation for this discrepancy may lie in the possible involvement of conscious knowledge about L2 words in the rating task on the part of the nonnative speakers Jiang, , p.
Possible topics for future research may also be included. Typical contents of discussion, conclusion, and limitations sections are also discussed at length in chapter 10, in which we provide tips on writing and reporting research.
Notes In some journals, any parenthetical material in an article is placed in footnotes at the bottom of the relevant page. In addition, there is generally an Author's Note, often including contact information, information con- cerning prior presentations based on the research presented in the pa- per, and acknowledgments.
References In most journals in the second language research field, everything cited in the paper appears in the reference list, and all sources listed in the reference list are cited in the paper. There is no single style used by all journals in the field; different journals have different styles for references. The use of style manuals is further discussed in chapter Appendixes The appendixes to a research article may include examples of the actual materials used in the study, along with any other information that, al- though necessary for the interpretation of the study, might interrupt the flow of the paper if included in the body of the article.
In this section, we have provided a brief description of what can be ex- pected in a typical quantitatively oriented article in the field of second lan- guage research.
We now move on to the main focus of this book, which is how to do second language research. We begin by considering the identifi- cation of research questions. Research questions are an integral part of quantitative research.
The identi- fication process for qualitative research, discussed in chapter 6, is often quite different than for quantitative research. For example, in qualitative studies, in keeping with the goals of research, questions are often not as nar- rowly constrained as they are in quantitative studies.
Questions need to be interesting in the sense that they address current is- sues; at the same time, they need to be sufficiently narrow and constrained so that they can be answered. Broad questions can be difficult if not impossible to address without breaking them down into smaller answerable questions.
For example, a general research question such as "What is the effect of the na- tive language on the learning of a second or foreign language? This is because it represents a research area, but not a specific research question. To address the research area, a researcher might investigate the effect of a native language on specific aspects of a target lan- guage e. One way to begin to reduce the general question would be to consider the learning of a language that has a linguistic category not present in the native language.
Again, this is somewhat broad, so the researcher might want to further reduce this to a specific question: "How do learners of a nontonal language learn to make lexical distinctions using tone? The researcher could then examine the interlanguages of native speakers of English learning Chinese.
Of course, the researcher would have to determine whether he or she wanted to examine production or compre- hension in order to come up with specific hypotheses and a design.
We return to the issue of hypotheses in section 1. From where do research ideas come? We mentioned earlier that research in- vestigations need to be current, which of course entails that the questions have not already been answered in the literature, or have only partially been an- swered and therefore require further or additional investigation.
Research questions also need to be theoretically interesting; otherwise, we run into a "so what" response to our research. Most reasoned research questions come from a reading of the literature and an understanding of the history of current is- sues.
The conclusion sections of many articles suggest questions for future re- search. Some are quite specific, whereas others are merely suggestive. Following are some examples from journals.
The first is a study of lexical repe- tition as a function of topic, cultural background, and development of writing ability by learners of English who are native speakers of Arabic, Japanese, Ko- rean, and Spanish. The second comes from a study on the acquisition of Eng- lish causatives by native speakers of Hindi-Urdu and Vietnamese.
The third is a study of the relationship between speech and reading in a group of ESL learn- ers who are native speakers of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Farsi. Examples From Studies That Suggest Questions for Future Research Future studies may wish to examine other possible topic-related varia- tions, including distinctions between personal and nonpersonal writing and among different writing purposes.
A second question is whether the time limitation imposed on these essays encouraged the use of repeti- tion as a cohesion strategy. Reynolds, , p. Further research could also include studies on the acqui- sition of semantic classes relevant to various syntactic phenomena, in- volving a variety of languages both as Lls and L2s , with different morphologies, classes of verbs and selectional restrictions on verbs.
Helms-Park, , p. This should include a more detailed analysis of three groups Roman alphabet, non-Roman alphabet, and Ideographic instead of two groups as in the present study. In addition, the students might be presented with the decision tasks in their native language as a further control against the test effects Muchisky, , pp. Another way is through the extensive reading and analysis of existing research, which can lead to the identification of gaps that may strike a reader as important.
Often, when reading an article, one might recognize that something has not been controlled for or that different languages might function differently on a certain important dimension.
Alter- natively, some controversy may have been left unresolved. This information may turn out to form the basis of a follow-up study, but a researcher must first make sure that others have not conducted such studies. A first step in this pro- cess is to consult a citation index see your university librarian to locate work that has cited the paper on which you will be basing your study.
Another way of locating relevant information is through Web-based searches, which often yield studies published in a range of venues. On other occasions, ideas for research might stem from observing learners either in or out of a classroom context or through some general feeling of curiosity having observed nonnative speaker linguistic behav- ior.
These ideas may or may not develop into research studies, but, in any case, the first task is to conduct a literature search to see what has already been done.
There are many databases available for this purpose. Again, university librarians can assist with this process, and Web-based searches can often yield fruitful results.
Feasibility The feasibility of a study may depend on a number of factors, some of which we have already mentioned e. Another factor to take into account when considering feasibility is whether or not it will be possi- ble to obtain the data necessary to answer the question.
Consider a study in which one wants to conduct a survey of the attitudes of heritage learners i. In order to do this, the researcher first has to define exactly what con- stitutes a heritage learner. One question might be whether someone can be considered a heritage learner if she or he has distant relatives in Uzbekistan, for example, but has only very rarely heard the language spoken. Following this step, the researcher needs to go about identifying individuals who would qualify under the definition chosen.
In many settings, it would be dif- ficult to find a reasonable number of participants to make the study inter- esting. Thus, pertinent data sources need to be identified as a part of determining the feasibility of the study. Another study might seek to compare performance on different com- munication task types. As we discuss in chapter 3, there are many important dimensions on which communicative tasks can differ.
However, it might not be feasible to require participants to do 15 different tasks. Exhaustion and boredom might set in, and the researcher would not know how to in- terpret the results. This is not to say that such a study could not be con- ducted; it is just that the design of the study might entail large numbers of participants who may or may not be available for the many rounds of data collection that such a study would necessitate.
Thus, any study should be designed with a full understanding of the fact that the limitations of the setting and the population might con- strain the research. Research questions are the questions for which an- swers are being sought, wheres research hypotheses can be used to express what the researcher expects the results of the investigation to be. The hy- potheses are based on observations or on what the literature suggests the answers might be.
The literature review that leads up to the hypotheses should report all sides of an issue. In other words, fair and complete reporting is essential in any research study. We return to the issue of hypotheses in chapter 4. This was a study that investigated the acquisition of verb inflection and the use of pronouns by children learn- ing English native speakers of Spanish, French, and Japanese.
The data, collected by other researchers, are from longitudinal studies of four chil- dren. Below are five research questions from this study pp. Do null subjects in the interlanguage IL of these child L2 learners decrease with time? Is there a developmental relation between null subjects and verb in- flections in the IL of these child L2 learners? In other words, is in- crease in verb inflections accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the use of null subjects?
Are obligatory verb inflections acquired at the same time for all the categories of verb morphology or does the acquisition of verb in- flections depend on the specific category of verb morphology e. Is there a developmental relation between null subjects in is con- structions is copula and auxiliary utterances and is constructions? In other words, does the proportion of null subjects present in is contexts increase with the increase in the proportion of is construc- tions?
Are there any differences between the distribution of null subjects and subjects in is constructions and non-is constructions in these child L2 learners' IL? Lakshmanan, , pp. Lakshmanan also formulated them as hypotheses. Examples of hypotheses stemming from these research questions are given next: Hypothesis 1. Null subjects in the four subjects' IL will decrease with time. Hypothesis 2. There is a negative relation between the development of verb inflections and the use of null subjects; in other words, null subjects will decrease with the increase in verb inflections.
Hypothesis 3. The acquisition of obligatory verb inflections depends on the specific category of verb morphology. In Italian, for example, to say I speak Italian, one can say Parlo italiano, where the first word means I speak. The overt word for I to is not used. There is a positive relationship between the use of null sub- jects in is constructions and the development of is con- structions.
Hypothesis 5. There are significant differences between the distribution of null subjects and lexically realized subjects in is con- structions and non constructions. The frequency of oc- currence of null subjects will be greater than the frequency of occurrence of lexically realized subjects in is contexts; the frequency of occurrence of null subjects in non-is con- texts will be less than the frequency of occurrence of lexi- cally realized subjects in non-is contexts.
Replication Replication is a central part of the development of any field of inquiry. If one cannot repeat the results of a particular study, the validity of the results of the original study might be called into question. Likewise, Albert Valdman, the editor of the journal Studies in Second Lan- guage Acquisition, asserted that "the way to more valid and reliable SLA re- search is through replication" , p. As Porte further noted, without these critical replication studies, "it will be extremely difficult ever to discover the definitive response to a research question or hypothesis found in one particular study It is thus crucial that researchers report in enough detail to allow others to deter- mine with precision what has been done.
The journal Language Learning makes this explicit in their Instructions for Contributors by saying "Meth- ods sections must be detailed enough to allow the replication of research. To this end, Polio and Gass recommended that researchers submit detailed appendixes for publishers to keep either online 3 Along with the issue of replication is the important issue of data reporting.
How much should be reported? How much detail? The simple answer is: enough so that someone can replicate the study. Replication is discussed at greater length in chapters 6 and 8. More specifically, Polio and Gass suggested that these appendixes include information about any guidelines used for coding the data, measures of proficiency or development, instruments for data elicita- tion including pre- and posttests , experimental protocols, and biodata on the participants.
Generally speaking, there are two primary reasons for rep- lication: verification and generalizability. As we point out later, in second language studies these issues are often fused. Replication studies do not often find their way into the published pages of SLA literature.
In fact, the only journal in the field of second language re- search that explicitly solicits replication studies is Studies in Second Language Acquisition.
One reason behind the dearth of replication studies, as Valdman acknowledged, is that "to be sure, in replication one loses the aura of glamour and the exhilaration of innovation" p. This was echoed by van der Veer, van Ijzendoorn, and Valsiner : 'As these replication studies do not yield novelty, but rather check the reliability of the original results, they are less valued in a community where limited originality is highly valued" p.
This speaks to the so-called political and career reasons for which an in- dividual might decide not to pursue replication studies. There are also academic reasons having to do with the difficulty involved in replication. A researcher can easily replicate the instruments, the task, and the setting of a study. But when dealing with linguistic behavior, indi- vidual characteristics such as prior linguistic background and knowledge come into play that would clearly be impossible to replicate for a variety of reasons.
Polio and Gass discussed a continuum of replication studies see also Hendrick, ; van der Veer et al. Virtual replications in which everything is copied are clearly al- most impossible.
No group of participants is going to be "identical" to an- other group. However, conceptual replications are relatively realistic and can provide important supporting or disconfirmiing information. The re- searcher needs to be "conceptually" true to the original study, carefully con- sidering the theoretical claims of the original research.
If the claims cannot be extended to a different setting and to a different group of participants, then the generalizability and, by implication, the validity of the original study can be called into question.
It is in this sense that it is difficult to inter- pret the results of a replication study. True replication, although possible in some sciences, is not possible in second language studies. Thus, when re- sults diverge from the original study, we are left with two questions: Are the results different because they are not generalizable, or are they different be- cause there is an issue of verification of the original results? In chapter 2 we deal with the question of research ethics, focusing on the important issue of informed consent.
In this chapter we mentioned and cited articles from a small number of journals focusing on second language research. Clearly, there are many more. Conduct a library or online search and come up with a list of 10 journals focusing on some area general or specific of sec- ond language research. Consider the journals you listed for question 1.
Can you determine the scope of each journal? With what kinds of topics do they deal? Some journals are quite explicit; others might require a look through the table of contents and abstracts. Select five of these journals and consider the extent to which the ar- ticles follow the framework set up in this chapter.
If they do not, in what way s do they deviate? Consider these same five journals. Do the journals give guidelines for submission e. List the guidelines you have found. Find abstracts from three different articles in three different jour- nals. Analyze each in the way that we did at the end of section 1.
Find three articles and consider the end of the discussion section or perhaps the beginning of the conclusion section to determine if the authors acknowledged limitations of the study. What did they say? Read the conclusion sections from three different articles in three different journals. Did the authors point to future research possibili- ties?
If not, did they do this elsewhere perhaps shortly before the conclusion? What did they say, and are there any issues that are of interest to you? How can the following research topics be turned into researchable questions?
Motivation b. Task effectiveness c. Novice teacher performance d. Attention e. We focus our discussion on ethical issues in research involving humans, including the process of ob- taining informed consent and the institutional review of research, together with the steps to be taken in preparing a research protocol.
To address these questions, in the next few sections we pro- vide a brief review of the development of guidelines in the United States. As noted in chapter 1, wherever possible throughout this book we refer to learners or partici- pants in research.
However, the nature of the current chapter requires that we use the term sub- jects in the sections on research involving humans. The word subjects is discouraged by many style guides. This chap- ter is based mostly on U. Individuals and institutions are required to comply with the policy in order to qualify for funding. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to discuss specific global informed consent practices, but obviously countries will have varying and evolving approaches to the protection of human subjects.
National Institutes of Health NIH provide online doc- umentation concerning ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects. For the pertinent Web sites, please consult the refer- ence list at the end of the book as well as the URLs provided in this chapter. Much of the information we provide in this chapter is based on these docu- ments, together with the online training module offered by the U. These free and publicly avail- able resources provide a careful review of historical events that have shaped current U.
Although we summarize some of that information here, we also recommend that researchers visit some of the Web sites and online docu- ments that have been designed to promote understanding of the processes of human subjects research.
Indeed, some funding bodies require that on- line training modules be completed before research grants are awarded.
Obtaining Informed Consent From Second Language Learners Beginning with the Nuremberg Code , the notion of informed consent has become a cornerstone of ethical practice in research involving human subjects.
A number of helpful sources outline in detail the essentials of in- formed consent—in particular, the responsibilities of the researcher—as well as typical elements of a written informed consent document. These include information provided by the U. The institutional review boards IRBs of various universities also provide guidelines for writ- ing informed consent documents, for example, Harvard's The Intelligent Scholar's Guide to the Use of Human Subjects in Research In this chapter, we consis- tently use the term IRBs.
According to the Belmont Report National Commission, , which was important in the development of informed consent and is discussed further later in this chapter, informed consent requires that human sub- jects, to the degree that they are capable, should be provided with the op- portunity to choose what shall or shall not happen to them. This can occur only when at least the following three conditions are fulfilled: 1. Suppliance of sufficient information i.
Comprehension on the part of the subject. Voluntary participation, in which the subject is free from undue pressure or coercion. Thus, the nature of consent implies voluntary agreement to participate in a study about which the potential subject has enough information and understands enough to make an informed decision.
Each of these elements is discussed in more detail next. Suppliance of Sufficient Information What constitutes sufficient information? The answer to this question de- pends to some extent on what source on human subjects is consulted; dif- ferent institutions including different universities and government bodies may have different interpretations of "complete disclosure.
Among these is the idea that poten- tial participants should be supplied with information that describes the pro- cedures and purposes of the research, as well as the potential risks and benefits. This may sometimes be interpreted as including details such as the method by which participants will be assigned to any groups in the study e. Some institutions also agree that potential participants should receive information about whom to contact if questions arise regarding the study or the subjects' rights.
Sometimes the researchers' contact information may be supplied on the consent form, sometimes the review board details are made available, and sometimes both are supplied. Finally, information is usually provided about the steps the researcher will take to ensure that any identifying aspects of the data will be held confidential. For exam- ple, many review boards or human subjects committees will require that learners be informed about the procedures, purposes, and potential risks and benefits of the studies.
Second language research usually does not lead to risks in the same way that some medical or psychologically based research can lead to risk.
However, in research on the effect of sec- ond language instruction there might be a control group that will not re- ceive instructional time equal to that of the experimental groups. Depending on the regulations of the body approving the research, learners might need to be informed that they could be assigned to a group that, theoretically, could benefit less than a treatment group.
In the same study, if intact classes are used and group assignment is made on this basis, learners might need to be informed about this method of assignment, even if it leads them to ask questions or wish to change classes. Also, second language researchers are often required to include their contact information on informed consent documents, even if it re- sults in their students e.
Finally, confidentiality of data is important in second language research. As Duff and Early noted in their discussion of confidentiality, "[A]lthough it is common practice to change the names of research sub- jects, this in itself does not guarantee subject anonymity. In reports of school-based research, prominent individuals or focal subjects tend to be more vulnerable than others" p.
Also, if the researcher uses quotations in the final write-up or presenta- tion, certain individuals may be recognizable to other researchers, perhaps because of what they say, for example in terms of their position on a topic or if the data are played audibly, perhaps by the sound of their voice. This may be less likely to apply to learners, but can certainly apply in school set- tings. If teachers are identified, even unintentionally, this could have ramifi- cations for future promotions, contract renewals, or class assignments; for students, identification might have implications for how other teachers per- ceive them, and consequently might have an impact on their grades and let- ters of recommendation.
Immigrant and refugee populations may also fear that sensitive information may be intentionally or inadvertently disclosed to the authorities. Neufeld, Harrison, Hughes, Spitzer, and Stewart , for example, noted that "in Middle Eastern immigrant populations, individ- uals were distrustful of research and of the university, which they associated with the government" p.
In particularly sensitive situations, such as those involving refugees, second language researchers might even volunteer to check with the participants before using any potentially identifying information in transcripts, data, reports, papers, or presentations, even when numbers are assigned in- stead of names.
In general, second language researchers need to be sensi- tive to concerns about anonymity. Some review boards or committees might even ask where the data are to be stored and with whom they are to be shared.
For example, the use of learner corpora is growing in the field of second language research, and many corpora are freely available over the Internet. Corpora can be an excellent way to avoid duplication of ef- fort in the extremely time-consuming practice of data elicitation, collec- tion, and transcription.
However, this practice of sharing data may lead researchers to forget that sending a colleague transcripts or data from their research may in fact not be covered under the original IRB or com- mittee regulations and the approval that was signed, nor by the informed consent documents the learners signed. Not all universities and schools in all countries require consent and, even when they do, requirements may differ.
It is therefore important to verify IRB requirements before embark- ing on a research project. Checklist for Obtaining Informed Consent Overall goal: To ensure that participants are supplied with enough infor- mation to make informed voluntary decisions about participating.
Is Withholding Information Ever Necessary? In general, researchers are advised to provide as much information as possible to participants because failure to disclose information may consti- tute deception. In second language research, however, it may occasionally be necessary not to fully disclose information. For example, if the researcher is studying a teacher's use of questions in the L2 classroom, informing the teacher about the goals of the research may bias his or her use of questions and thus lead to an unrepresentative sample of data.
In this case, withholding information may be acceptable and allowed by the human subjects committee, but three conditions will often need to be met: 1.
Incomplete disclosure is essential to the aims of the research. No risks are undisclosed. Participants will be given an opportunity to be debriefed after the study. Researchers need to think carefully about how much deception is ethi- cal. For example, although telling a teacher that the study is about his or her language is not fully disclosing the purposes of the study and is therefore not ideal, it might be a better route than deceiving the teacher by telling his or her that the research is focusing on how he or she uses the whiteboard.
This is a practice also used in some psychology-based research see Baumrind, , for further discus- sion of ethical issues and deception in applied psychology research.
In summary, then, incomplete disclosure may be acceptable in some cases and seems to be a common practice in some areas of second language research. In these cases, it may be sufficient to indicate to participants that they are being invited to participate in research for which some features will not be revealed until the research is concluded.
In those instances, the pur- pose of the study is presented in general terms only. Based on current guidelines, such second language research can be justified only if the three conditions cited earlier are met.
Participant Comprehension in Informed Consent In addition to supplying sufficient information to potential participants to allow them to make informed decisions, the researcher is also responsi- ble for ensuring participant comprehension.
Thus, the way in which infor- mation is conveyed might be as important as the information itself. This implies a that the potential participants be given the opportunity to dis- cuss concerns and have their questions answered, and b that the informed consent document be provided in language understandable to them, given their age, educational background, mental capacity, and language profi- ciency, including literacy National Commission, Second Language Learners.
Clearly, these guidelines are impor- tant when we consider the case of second language learners, who are of- ten asked to read and sign consent forms that are not written in their first language.
One general suggestion from the OHRP is to write the consent documents so that they are understandable to people who have not grad- uated from high school. However, for low-proficiency language learners, it may be necessary to provide a translation of the consent document in the learners' first language.
Alternatively, many sources suggest that the document be presented orally in the first language, along with a short form of the consent document attesting to the oral presentation in the first language and containing a summary of the information presented orally. The use of research assistants who speak the participants' LI may be especially valuable in this respect. When the use of the LI is not possi- ble or practicable e.
In the box that follows we present some guidelines that are based on government recommendations. Consent Form Guidelines for Nonnative Speakers Wherever possible, informed consent information should be presented in a language that is understandable to the subject. For example, for ESL speakers, that should be their native language or a language in which they are highly proficient.
Both the English consent forms and the translations should be approved by the review board or human subjects committees. This option might be best if the learner is not literate in his or her L1, if the Ll has no written form, or if a written translation has proved very difficult to obtain.
If the consent form is explained orally, researchers need: a a bi- lingual translator who also serves as a witness ; b a short consent form in a language understandable to the speaker, and c a review board- or human subjects committee-approved Ll version of the consent form. The follow- ing process can be followed: a The translator explains the consent form to the participant; b both the participant and the translator sign the short form; and c the researcher and the translator sign the English version.
In appendix A, we provide an example of an abbreviated informed con- sent form that might be used, together with a translator, for learners whose native language is not English. However, we urge researchers to check with their own institutional review board for guidelines and sample consent forms.
Figure 2. Child Second Language Learners. When collecting data from chil- dren for second language research purposes there are several important things to consider. As Thompson and Jackson noted, "[S]econd language re- searchers must keep in mind that children cannot be treated just like adults as research subjects. For information on your rights as a research subject, contact Introduction You are invited to consider participating in this research study. We will be comparing the performance of EFL learners on three different tasks: a speaking activity, a written activity, and a listening activity.
This form will describe the purpose and nature of the study and your rights as a participant in the study. The decision to participate or not is yours. If you decide to participate, please sign and date the last line of this form.
Explanation of the study We will be looking at the kind of language you use when you do three different kinds of activities: a speaking activity, a writing activity, and a listening activity. About 40 students enrolled in will participate in this study. As part of the study, you will meet with the researcher for an oral interview. At the same time, you will do the writing activity and then the listening activity.
All three tasks will take about 30 minutes to complete. A tape recorder will be used to record what you are saying during the speaking activities. Confidentiality All of the information collected will be confidential and will only be used for research purposes.
This means that your identity will be anonymous; in other words, no one besides the researcher will know your name. Whenever data from this study are published, your name will not be used. The data will be stored on a computer, and only the researcher will have access to it. Your participation Participating in this study is strictly voluntary. Your decision to participate will in no way affect your grade.
If at any point you change your mind and no longer want to participate, you can tell your teacher. You will not be paid for participating in this study.
If you have any questions about the research, you can contact by telephone at , by e-mail , or in person at the office in Investigator's statement I have fully explained this study to the student.
I have discussed the activities and have answered all of the questions that the student asked. All my questions were answered to my satisfaction. I voluntarily agree to participate in this study. Your signature Date FIG. Sample consent form for an experimental study.
Because of this, the researcher needs to explain the research in language that is comprehensible and meaningful to the child; in addition, the re- searcher needs to inform the child's parents about the nature and conse- quences of the study, as well as obtain a signed consent form from the parent. Researchers will also need to assure school boards and parents that the procedures used in the research will not negatively impact the second language learning process or pose any more than a minimal risk to the phys- ical and psychological well-being of the child.
As defined by the U. De- partment of Health and Human Services , minimal risk is a risk of harm not greater than that "ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests" p. With respect to potentially vulnerable research subjects such as children, the Institutional Review Board at the University of Pennsylvania stipulated the following: [R]esearch in children requires that the IRB carefully consider consent, beneficence, and justice Children may be subjects of research only if informed consent is obtained from the parents or legal guardian.
Children over the age of 7 must agree to participate in the research and provide writ- ten assent and separate assent forms should be provided based on reason- able age ranges for comprehension, n. Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent Invitations to participate in research must involve neither threats of harm nor offers of inappropriate rewards. Undue influence may be exer- cised, even unwittingly, where persons of authority urge or suggest a partic- ular course of action.
For second language research, care must be taken, for example, when classroom teachers invite their students to participate in a study. Even when it is clear that there will be no extra points or higher grades for participation and no penalty for declining to participate, the simple fact that the teacher is the one requesting the students' participation may constitute undue influ- ence.
Even when the teacher is the re- searcher, this course of action may be preferable so as to avoid potentially influencing the students. Some universities may go as far as prohibiting re- searchers from carrying out research on their own students, although it should be noted that even those universities that have a stated policy along these lines may allow some flexibility.
For example, Indiana University's institutional review board guidelines in this respect are as follows: The Committee has long taken the position that teachers should not use their own students as subjects in their research if it can be avoided.
Chapter 8 is more technical in that it deals with coding the data gathered during study and observation with the attendant question of reliability. After coding comes analysis which is the subject of Chapter 9. The main points of descriptive and inferential statistics are explained.
The main body of the book ends appropriately, in Chapter 10, on concluding and reporting research. At the end of the book, we find more than eighty pages of appendixes: various official models of documents such as consent forms, discourse transcription conventions, a glossary of terms used in research, bibliography, an author index and a subject index.
Why did Alison Mackey and Susan M. Gass wait so long to write this book? It would have become my Bible when I started doing research in foreign language learning and teaching. No doubt students in the field and young colleagues, starting out, will feel that here is what they have always wanted to know about the subject, at least until they develop their own analyses. The book has been written with just those novice researchers in mind, with questions for better understanding and further research at the end of each chapter.
It is a course book for the future didactician. Please use the PDF version of this article for citations. Some features of the site may not work correctly. DOI: Introduction to Research. Issues Related to Data Gathering. Common Data Collection Measures. Research Variables, Validity, and Reliability. Designing a Quantitative Study.
Qualitative Research. Classroom Research. Analyzing Quantitative Data. Concluding and Reporting Research. View via Publisher. Save to Library Save. Create Alert Alert. Share This Paper.
Background Citations. Methods Citations.
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