Conducting Research in the Language Classroom. Anne Burns Classroom research, UNAM, 2006
The idea of the paper is to give us guidelines on how to develop an outline for an action research project.
- Identifying a topic. These activities can help you:
- Keep a diary and after some time, review it. What questions or issues call your attention?
- Think of areas of interest and make a list. Brainstorm.
- Select an article
- Observe a typical situation at your place of work.
- Consider the “hot issues” in relation to language teaching.
Now, define your topic.
- Defining research questions.
This involves moving from the general topic towards a more specific purpose.
Good research questions are clear, specific, answerable, substantively relevant and interconnected.
- If you want, instead of questions you can write hypothesis which are statements about the possible outcomes of a study. Hypotheses should be stated in a declarative form, relate variables, be testable, be brief and to the point.
Draft some research questions or if you prefer hypotheses in relation to your topic
- Collecting data. Here consider the difference between approach and method.
Approaches are general frameworks for doing research. Six approaches are suggested in the paper:
- Are you interested in studying a phenomenon without affecting the context you study, through observation or description?
- Do you want to analyze patterns or trends of a particular phenomenon?
- Are you interested in only one aspect of a particular phenomenon?
- Are you interested in studying the relationship between different phenomena?
- Are you interested in comparing responses to treatment vs control subjects?
- Aare you interested in exploring a practical problem relevant to your own teaching practice?
Methods have to be appropriate to the questions being investigated. Commonly used methods are notes, diaries, jottings, video and audio-recordings, transcripts, photographs, questionnaires, interviews, discussions, letters, and tests among others.
Write down some thoughts on the tools and methods you could use.
- Defining the scope of the study. This has to do with sampling, particularly probability and non-probability sampling. The first one draws randomly from the population and is useful when trying to make generalizations. A non-probability sample seeks to represent a particular group.
Go back to your questions and consider the approach which would be appropriate for your research, the data you require, the methods through which your data could be collected and the scope of your study.
- Data analysis. Think about it before you collect your data, that is, at the planning stage.
Think about the analysis your data will require in order to answer your questions.
CELE R. Aldeco September 16, 2010
Very useful, thanks, Rocío
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