AJU5901 Research design for diploma theses in EFL didactics

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Thomas Rankin, Dr. phil. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Thomas Rankin, Dr. phil.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Supplier department: Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Friday 16:00–17:40 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This is an introductory course in research methods that focuses on the field of EFL didactics. After becoming familiar with general assumptions in qualitative and quantitative research as well as with particular processes and considerations in selected qualitative and quantitative research traditions, the students will design their own research projects for their diploma theses.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, a student will be able to:
1. Discuss the differences between selected quantitative and qualitative research traditions and justify the selection of an appropriate tradition (e.g. Grounded Theory, Ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis, Questionnaire Survey, Experiment, Evaluation Research, Action Research) for a given problem.
2. Design a simple research project, including formulation of aim(s) and research question(s), selection of appropriate methods of data collection and procedures of data analysis.
3. Do a simple analysis of data collected within a given tradition, and appropriately report the results.
4. Analyze and evaluate published research reports, locate relevant studies and do a literature review.
5. Discuss the relevance of research for the profession of a teacher.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to research in EFL didactics. Reviewing relevant literature. Qualitative vs. quantitative research.
    2. Classroom interaction, Ethnomethodology and Conversation analysis. Data collection, transcription and analysis.
    3. Interviews and the Grounded Theory. Preparation and conduct of an interview, analysis of transcripts.
    4. Analysis of qualitative research reports from the field of ELT: structure, ways of presenting findings.
    5. Survey research. Construction, administration and analysis of questionnaires. Introduction to descriptive statistics. Presentation of findings in quantitative studies, IMRaD structure of research reports.
    6. Experimental research. Considerations and possibilities, introduction to inferential statistics.
    7. Considerations in qualitative and quantitative research designs: Selection of methods of data collection and analysis for various types of problems in EFL didactics, sampling issues, ethics, quality of research (validity, reliability, trustworthiness, etc.). Designing a research project.
    8. Classroom research. The role of research in the everyday life of teachers, action research, evaluation research, resources for teachers.
Literature
    required literature
  • Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research. Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
    recommended literature
  • Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
  • McNiff, J. (2013). Action research: principles and practice (3rd ed.). London: Routledge.
  • Yin, R. K. (2011). Qualitative research from start to finish. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Freeman, D. (1998). Doing Teacher Research: From Inquiry to Understanding. Pacific Grove: Heinle and Heinle Publishers.
  • Markee, N. (Ed.). (2015). The handbook of classroom discourse and interaction. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Ellis, R., & Barkhuizen, G. (2005). Analysing learner language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Silverman, D. (2010). Qualitative research: theory, method and practice. London: Sage.
  • Mills, G. E. (2018). Action research: a guide for the teacher researcher (6th ed.). New York: Pearson.
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, group projects, reading, homework.
Assessment methods
Attendance is compulsory. The students will submit two assignments: data analysis (20 points) and research proposal (20 points). The final test will check the students’ in-depth understanding of the issues discussed in the course (approx. 20 open- and closed-ended questions, in total 60 points). The final grade is based on the number of points obtained in the course (70 points is a minimum).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: blokově (13 hodin za semestr).
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2023/AJU5901