LECTURE 3

RESEARCH PROCEDURES IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

THE STEPS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH

• Identifying a Research ProblemMengidentifikasi Masalah Penelitian

• Reviewing the LiteratureMenelaah Literatur /Pustaka

• Specifying the Purpose and Research Questions or Hypothesis for ResearchMerumuskan Tujuan dan Pertanyaan Penelitian atau Hipotesis Penelitian

• Collecting Data Mengumpulkan data

• Analyzing and Interpreting the DataMenganalisis dan Menginterpretasi Data

• Reporting and Evaluating ResearchMelaporkan dan Mengevaluasi Penelitian

THE STEPS IN CONDUCTING RESEARCH

1. Identifying, Selecting and defining the research problem

Mengidentifikasi, memilih dan membatasi/merumuskan masalah

2. Reviewing the LiteratureMenelaah Pustaka

3. Specifying the Purpose and Research Questions or Hypothesis for Research

Merumuskan Tujuan dan Pertanyaan Penelitian atau Hipotesis (jika ada) Penelitian

4. Identifying, classifying and defining operationally the research variables

Mengidentifikasi, mengklasifikasi dan merumuskan secara operasional variabel penelitian

5. Selecting or Developing Research

Instrument (Instrumentation)Memilih atau mengembangkan alat pengambil data.

6. Designing the Research PlanMendesain rancangan penelitian.

7. SamplingMenyampel

8. Collecting Data Mengumpulkan data.

9. Classifying and Analysing DataMenklasifikasi dan Menganalisis Data

10. Interpreting Data AnalysisMenginterpretasi hasil analisis data

11. Reporting and Evaluating ResearchMelaporkan dan Mengevaluasi penelitian.

IDENTIFYING AND SELECTING ELT RESEARCH PROBLEMS

• WHAT IS AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM?• WHAT ARE THE ELT PROBLEM SOURCES?• WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ELT

RESEARCH PROBLEM?• HOW IS AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM STATED ?• WHAT IS AN ELT RESEARCH QUESTION?

WHAT IS AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• ELT Research Problems are the ELT issues, controversies, or concerns that guide the need for conducting a study to solve problems in ELT.

• A research problem in ELT is the focus of research investigation.• Research Problem lies within the areas of concerns to researchers.• It is an identified and realized condition which reveals the gap between the present real

condition (das sein) and the one wished, expected, and needed (das sollen) in ELT. • The gap exists when the present real condition is not the same with the one wished, expected,

and needed, that is, the condition that we wish, expect or we need might be far less or much more than the state of the present real condition.

• The present real condition can be anything that a researcher finds unsatisfactory or unsettling, a difficulty of some sort, state of affairs that needs to be changed, or anything that is not working as well as it should be.

• The problems that the researchers have found, identified and realized might appear as challenges, constraints, doubts, or ambiguities to overcome for their academic pursuit which might entail certain purposes.

• To make the research problem manageably researchable, the researcher should narrow down the general problem into a specific one by selecting an aspect of the general problem that is related to his area of expertise and of particular interest.

• Researchers must possess problem awareness which is related to his area of expertise and of particular interest.

WHAT ARE THE ELT PROBLEM SOURCES?

• Theories• Personal Experiences• Reading Research Reports• Discussion, Seminar and Symposium • Intuition and Imagination• Casual Observation• Statements of the Authority

Theories

A theory is an organized body of concepts, generalizations, and principles that can be subjected to investigation. There are many educationally relevant theories in ELT, such as theories of EFL learning and behavior from which ELT problems can be drawn. Since a theory is a theory and not a body of facts, it is subjected to rigorous scientific investigation for confirming or disconfirming some aspect of the theory and also for suggesting additional studies that need to be done.

Personal Experiences

Professional experiences can be a rich source of ELT research problems. For example, along his teaching experience, a teacher is assumed to be curious to know what happens in his classroom, why things are not going well, what is going wrong, what works well and what does not work, the classroom climate, the preferred group work patterns, the students’ learning styles, and who likes what and who likes whom, and many others. He is assumed to have a hunch concerning a better way of conducting his class.

Reading Research Reports

Research reports in ELT generally recommend further researches. This residue can be taken by the researcher for further research investigation. The researcher can enrich himself by reading related literature: articles in journals, encyclopedia, thesis, and dissertation to make the problem to be investigated much clearer.

Discussion, Seminar, and Symposium

In the forum of discussions, seminars, and symposiums on ELT, participants might view one particular thing in many different points of views. This will very often trigger much more challenging questions that need to be answered in a scientific way. One who wants to do research may pick up one of the many questions arises in the ELT forum to investigate.

Intuition and Imagination

Another source of ELT research problem is intuition and imagination. By intuition, a research problem may come instantaneously in a researcher’s mind without his conscious use of reasoning. By imagination, a research problem may be displayed in a researcher’s mind as a result of his mind journey in the areas of his expertise and of particular interest.

Casual Observation

Often a research problem is identified on an unplanned occasion. For example, on a trip to countryside, an EFL teacher came across several students who were inattentive to participate in English class while other students were seriously working on their classroom task. By this casual observation, the EFL teacher was tempted to answer the question of why all these happen.

Statements of the Authority

Statements of the authority (power or expertise) can be the source of research problems. For example, the statement of some of the Indonesian foreign language teaching and learning specialists stating that the teaching of foreign language to young learners endangers Indonesian unifying force-Bahasa Indonesia. On the other hand, foreign language teaching and learning theory advocates that if one wants to be proficient in a foreign language, one must learn it from the early age.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• The characteristics of ELT research problems are:– Interesting– feasible or researchable– having theoretical or practical significance – manageable– ethical

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM?

• An ELT research problem is interesting if the research problem is in the researcher’s area of particular interest which will hold his interest throughout the entire research process.

• An ELT research problem is feasible or researchable. If it can be investigated through the collection and analysis of data from available sources. Problems dealing with philosophical or ethical issues are not researchable. Research can assess how people “feel” about such issues, but it cannot resolve them.

• An ELT research problem has theoretical or practical significance which means its solution contributes in some way to the improvement or understanding of ELT theory or practice. That is why a researcher should always keep in mind the following questions: – How might answers to this problem advance knowledge in the ELT field?– How might answers to this problem improve ELT practice?

• An ELT research problem is manageable, that is it fits the researcher’s level of research skill, available resources, time, and other restrictions.

• An ELT research problem is ethical that is It does not involve practices or strategies that might embarrass or harm participants.

•

HOW IS AN ELT RESEARCH PROBLEM STATED ?

• Like other research problems, the ELT research problem can be stated in a declarative sentence, or in a question form.

• The statement of the problem that is stated in a declarative sentence directly shows the gap between the present real condition (das sein) and the one wished, expected, and needed (das sollen). – For example, Many senior high school students in Makassar lack English vocabulary.

• The statement of the problem that is stated in a question form directly leads to the formulation of hypothesis. – For example, Why do many senior high school students in Makassar lack English vocabulary?

• The statement of the research problem should be accompanied by a presentation of the background of the problem, including a justification for the study in terms of the theoretical and/or practical significance of the problem. The background of the problem means information required for an understanding of the problem.

• A well-written statement of a research problem generally indicates (a) the variables of interest to the researcher, (b) the specific relationship between those variables to be investigated, and (c) the types of subjects involved.

• A well-written problem statement also defines all relevant variables. The definitions can be constitutive (dictionary-type) definition, definition by example or operational definition, that is it defines concepts in terms of operations or process.

WHAT IS AN ELT RESEARCH QUESTION?

• Research questions are generated from the research problem. • The research questions are seeking for answers to the problem in regard to how the

problem is viewed / regarded by the researcher. • Research Problem :Many senior high school students in Makassar lack English vocabulary• If for example a researcher attempts to improve the vocabulary mastery of senior high

school students in Makassar , he is to name the way(s) he is going to take for the improvement, as learning achievement may be influenced by many factors, such as teaching method, teaching media, student grouping, team teaching, and reinforcement only a few to mention.

• A researcher may determine more than one independent variable that he thinks will have an effect on the dependent variable to investigate.

• A researcher who has a focal interest on team teaching can take team teaching as his choice to solve the problem/improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. Thus, his research question might be formulated such as in the following – Can the implementation of team teaching improve the vocabulary mastery of the second

semester students of senior high schools in Makassar? • Based on this research problem/question, the topic can be phrased such as in the

following – THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEAM TEACHING IN TEACHING VOCABULARY TO THE SECOND SEMESTER STUDENTS AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN MAKASSAR

DISTINGUISHING RESEARCH PROBLEM FROM RESEARCH TOPIC, PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTION

IN ELT (Adapted from Cresswell, 2008:70)

• General

• Specific

Research Topic

Research Problem

Purpose/Objective Statement

Research Question

EFL Distance Learning

Lack of students in EFL distance education classes

To study why students do not attend EFL distance education classes at community college

Does the use of Web site technology in the classroom

deter students from enrolling in a n EFL distance education

class

DISTINGUISHING RESEARCH PROBLEM FROM RESEARCH TOPIC, PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTION

IN ELT

• An ELT research topic is the broad subject matter in ELT addressed by the study.

• An ELT research problem is a general ELT issue, concern, controversy addressed in research to narrow the topic.

• An ELT research purpose is the major intent or objective of the study used to address the ELT problem.

• Research questions narrow the purpose into specific questions that the researcher would like to answer or address in the study.