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Writing research papers—A quantitative perspective

Learn about the definition of quantitative studies, the frequent use of quantitative methods in TESL/TEFL, and how to structure and conduct research papers. Explore research ideas and understand the importance of literature reviews and data collection methods.

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Writing research papers—A quantitative perspective

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  1. Writing research papers—A quantitative perspective 台南女子技術學院應用外語系 周碩貴 5/12/2006

  2. Speech Outline 1. Definition of quantitative studies 2. Quantitative studies frequently seen in TESL/TEFL 3. Research ideas 4. Conventional structure of research papers 5. Conclusion

  3. 1. Definition of quantitative studies Research that measures and describes in numerical terms.

  4. 2. Quantitative studies frequently seen in TESL/TEFL (1) Comparing means, e.g. t test, F ratio (2) Chi-square analysis, e.g. a questionnaire survey (3) Correlational studies

  5. 3. Research ideas Research ideas may come from: (1) Personal curiosity; (2) Solving problems; (3) Theoretical puzzles; and (4)Any combination of the above factors.

  6. 4.Conventional structure of research papers (1) Introduction (2) Literature review (3) Method (4) Results (5)Discussion and conclusion (6) References (7)Appendixes

  7. (1) Introduction A. Research background B. Research purpose C. Research question D. Definition of terms E. Delimitation F. Significance of the study

  8. A brief example of Introduction (1/4) Research background “Based upon the findings of the process approach (Silva, 1990) and the doctrines of the metacognitive theory, an EFL writer can learn to effectively employ writing strategies when the strategies are taught explicitly by such means as teacher modeling.” You & Joe, (2006)

  9. A brief example of Introduction (2/4) Research purpose “This current study designed a reading-to-write program to teach the subjects how to write from reading resources by means of teacher modeling.” You & Joe, (2006)

  10. A brief example of Introduction (3/4) Research question “Are there significant differences between students’ writing performances before and after the reading-to-write instruction?” You & Joe, (2006) Definition of terms Operationally define the terms: writing performances and reading-to-write instruction.

  11. A brief example of Introduction (4/4) Significance of the study “Hopefully, the activities of the reading-to-write instruction, described in the following section, can be informative and useful for the EFL instructors who are also interested in assisting their students to write better by means of integrating reading with writing activities.”

  12. (2) Literature review Purposes of literature review A. “To learn from others and stimulate new ideas.” B. “To demonstrate a familiarity with a body of knowledge and establish credibility.” C. “To show the path of prior research and how a current project is linked to it.” D. “To integrate and summarize what is known in an area.” Neuman, W.L.(2000), p.446

  13. A brief example of Literature review According to the aforementioned research question, the following variables should be included in the literature review. 1. Writing theories, or models 2. Reading-writing relationship 3. Teacher modeling

  14. (2) Literature review (1/2) A few basic concepts: A. Read abstracts to determine if the studies have value for you. B. Organize the literature organically. C. Paraphrase or quote another author’s work or your own previous work. Avoid plagiarism. For further details, please refer to APA manual.

  15. (2) Literature review (2/2) D. Start reviewing the literature from the most recent studies. E. Develop a good habit of keeping a complete record of the references at any time.

  16. (3)Method A. Participants B. Instrument (Materials) C. Data collection (Procedures) D. Data analysis Numbers of the above sections and names of the sections may vary according to different training backgrounds and needs of studies.

  17. A model of the logic of sampling A. Participants--sampling What you would like to talk about What you actually observe in the data Sampling frame Sampling process Sample Population Neuman, W.L. (2000), p. 202

  18. Population Population is the larger group about which the generalization is made. It is an abstract concept. Example: 台南女子技術學院全校學生。

  19. Sample Sample is the small group that is chosen from the population and that is observed. Example: 台南女子技術學院應用外語系一年級學生與舞蹈系三年級學生。

  20. Sampling procedures for quantitative studies The following probability sampling procedures are employed in TESL/TEFL. 1. simple random sampling 2. stratified sampling 3. cluster sampling 4. systematic sampling Yet, in reality a convenient sampling procedure is adopted very often for various reasons.

  21. B. Instrument (A)Use instrument that is appropriate to your study. (B) Examples of frequently used instrument in TESL/TEFL: a. questionnaire, b. testing materials, c. any products generated by the participants. (C) Some important issues about instrument: feasibility, validity, reliability, and objectivity.

  22. When collecting data, be aware of the following issues that may influence the results of your study. C. Data collection (A) Environmental issues (B) Grouping issues (C) People issues (D) Measurement issues The following six slides are from Brown, J.D. (2000)

  23. (A) Environmental issues a. Naturally occurring variables--e.g. Noise, temperature, adequacy of light, time of day, and seating arrangements b. Artificiality--using a hidden camera to videotape students’ oral ability

  24. (B) Grouping issues a. Self-selection--e.g.the practice of letting the subjects decide which group to join b. Mortality--e.g. subjects’ dropping out of the study for any number of reasons c. Maturation--e.g. subjects getting mature over time. It happens particularly in studies that are conducted over a long period of time.

  25. (C) People issues a. Hawthorne effect--When researchers are present, the performance of the subjects increased, regardless of the conditions that are imposed. b. Halo effect--This effect is due to the tendency among human beings to respond positively to a person they like.

  26. (C) People issues c. Subject expectancy--It refers to the situation that subjects think they have figured out what a study is about and try to ‘help’ the researcher to achieve the apparent aims. d. Researcher expectancy--Researchers have expectations that may color the results of a study.

  27. (D) Measurement issues a. Practice effect--e.g. When the same test is given repeatedly in a study to determine if there are changes in performance. b. Reactivity effect--A reactivity effect may occur when the measures themselves are causing a change in the subjects. (注意：先做測驗再做問卷)

  28. D. Data analysis A few tricks: (A) Code participants’ answer sheets. (B) Use computer to read the data if possible. (C) Evaluate the data yourself. (intra-rater reliability) (D) Data is evaluated by different people. (inter-rater reliability) (E) Employ appropriate statistical procedures.

  29. A brief example of Method (1/4) Subject “The current study adopted the method of convenient sampling because the researcher was also the instructor and the experiment was designed as part of the curriculum……” You & Joe, (2006)

  30. A brief example of Method (2/4) Reading-to-write instruction “Based on the theories and findings of the writing process approach and the metacognitive theory, the reading-to-write instruction was designed to teach the EFL learners how to effectively integrate what they read into their own writing by means of teacher modeling, self-monitoring and collaborative learning to enhance their metacognitive awareness and self-monitoring as well as to increase their reading-to-write strategies......” You & Joe, (2006)

  31. A brief example of Method (3/4) Writing task “The students were required to write three pieces of composition on the same topic in class hours during the eight-week reading-to-write instruction. The topic required the students to compare or contrast the similarities or differences between the two popular convenient stores in Taiwan, i.e., 7-ELEVEN and FamilyMart. The topic was chosen mainly because the convenient stores had been part of the students’ daily life, and because the subjects had learned how to write a comparison and contrast paragraph in the previous courses……” You & Joe, (2006)

  32. A brief example of Method (4/4) Data analysis “The compositions were graded for two times. They were graded anonymously for the first time immediately after they were collected. One month after the third compositions were collected, all the compositions were anonymously graded for the second time by the same instructor. The intra-rater reliability for the first, second and third time writings were .979, .960, and .962, respectively, (p<.01). The results then underwent statistic analysis to investigate if there are differences between the subjects’ writing performance before and after the reading-to-write instruction.”

  33. (4) Results (1/2) A few reminders: A. Results should be shown according to the order of study questions. B. Use past tense to describe results. C. “Be selective in choosing how many tables and figures to include in your paper.”

  34. (4) Results (2/2) D. “In the text, refer to every table and figure and tell the reader what to look for.” E. “Do not include individual scores or raw data.” APA manual, 5th ed.

  35. A brief example of Results Improvement of Writing Performance “The mean and standard deviation of the third time writing were 75.3 and 5.39. The values were 71.3 and 5.85 for the second time writing. The subjects’ gains were significant after the reading-to-write instruction: the dependent t-test value was 7.24 (p<.001). Namely, the subjects made significant improvement after receiving the reading-to-write instruction.” You & Joe, (2006)

  36. (5) Discussion and conclusion A. “Use the present tense to discuss the results and to present the conclusions.” B. “Open the Discussion section with a clear statement of the support or nonsupport for your original hypothesis.” C. “Similarities and differences between your results and the work of others should clarify and confirm your conclusions.” APA manual, 5th ed.

  37. (6) References A. Generally speaking, only references cited in the text are included in the reference list. B. In TESL/TEFL research, the APA style is generally recommended for editing the reference list.

  38. (7) Appendixes The following materials are in general appropriate for an appendix: verbatim instructions to participants, examples of instruments, and raw data.

  39. 5. Conclusion (1) Understanding basic concepts of statistics is useful. (2) For complicated statistical procedures, ask statistician for help. (3) Practice reading related journal articles that deal with numbers to increase your sensitivity to quantitative studies.

  40. Books cited in the speech (1/3) Both quantitative and qualitative studies are included.

  41. Books cited in the speech (2/3) Only quantitative studies are introduced.

  42. Books cited in the speech (3/3)

  43. Thank you td0060@ms.twcat.edu.tw

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