Читать книгу Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning - Группа авторов - Страница 9

Kenan Dikilitaş and Kate Mastruserio Reynolds

We offer you this edited volume that covers a range of research methods commonly employed in applied linguistics to better understand second language teaching and learning. The purpose of this guided how-to handbook is to explain and demonstrate the research methodologies in authentic contexts, so readers can glimpse the processes and choices made when conducting various types of research. Not only descriptive, but also narrative in nature, it includes researchers’ lived experiences in addition to explanations of research methodologies. These perspectives are rarely mentioned in research methods texts; the lack of which often causes novice researchers to question themselves during the research process. These researchers’ narratives also situate the research they have conducted in real contexts, which represents a valuable contribution to the readers’ awareness and knowledge of how to do research using a particular methodology. Because of these perspectives, this text is unique and the research approachable. We hope that through the presentation of situated-research narratives that explain the researchers’ process of doing and finalizing research and the rationale behind their intentions and decisions will make undertaking and conducting research more motivating and less daunting.

The chapters are composed with meta-narrative writing styles. Chapters include qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods paradigms as well as two systematic reviews. In their chapters, the authors refer to and reflect on a published study by synthesizing, framing, and explaining the methodology and methods they adopted. Therefore, the chapters reflect the real-world application of a particular methodology. The authors also elaborate on the challenges they experienced while conducting research and publishing it, which exemplifies what challenges could be faced if a methodologically similar study is carried out, as well as solutions to challenges. Methodological weaknesses or strengths of research are also critically expressed with evaluative language.