The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodology

Aek Phakiti, Peter De Costa, Luke Plonsky, Sue Starfield, Aek Phakiti, Peter De Costa, Luke Plonsky, Sue Starfield

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781137598998
• eBook ISBN: 9781137599001
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This Handbook provides a comprehensive treatment of basic and more advanced research methodologies in applied linguistics and offers a state-of-the-art review of methods particular to various domains within the field. Arranged thematically in 4 parts, across 41 chapters, it covers a range of research approaches, presents current perspectives, and addresses key issues in different research methods, such as designing and implementing research instruments and techniques, and analysing different types of applied linguistics data. Innovations, challenges and trends in applied linguistics research are examined throughout the Handbook. As such it offers an up-to-date and highly accessible entry point into both established and emerging approaches that will offer fresh possibilities and perspectives as well as thorough consideration of best practices. This wide-ranging volume will prove an invaluable resource to applied linguists at all levels, including scholars in related fields such aslanguage learning and teaching, multilingualism, corpus linguistics, critical discourse analysis, discourse analysis and pragmatics, language assessment, language policy and planning, multimodal communication, and translation.

Part I

Research Approaches and Methodology

There are ten chapters in this part of the Handbook. In each chapter, the authors discuss historical development, current and core issues, key research processes, an overview of data analysis, challenges and controversial issues, and limitations and future directions. The authors also provide resources for further reading.

• In Chap. 1 (Applied Linguistics Research: Current Issues, Methods, and Trends), Aek Phakiti, Peter De Costa, Luke Plonsky, and Sue Starfield present a broad contextualization of applied linguistics research, locating its focus within current debates and concerns of relevance to the field of applied linguistics. The editors highlight the field’s growing interest in research methodology and offer a rationale for the selection of topics and issues in the Handbook, such as methodological reform, transparency, transdisciplinarity, and the impact of technology.
• In Chap. 2 (Habits of Mind: How Do We Know What We Know?), through the sociology of science pioneered by Ludwik Fleck, Richard Young explores the ways that different researchers attend to different aspects of language learning and use are habits of mind grounded in the communities to which they belong. Young uses Fleck’s three characteristics of thought collectives—their rhetoric, their epistemology, and incommensurability among thought collectives—to consider different methodologies of applied linguistic research and to describe how different habits of mind constrain how researchers know what they know.
• In Chap. 3 (Quantitative Methodology), Luke K. Fryer, Jenifer Larson-Hall, and Jeffrey Stewart present and justify the methodological choices in a complex, longitudinal, classroom-based study. Fryer, Larson-Hall, and J. Stewart walk the reader through choices that must be made in a quantitative analysis step by step while also advocating for best practices in quantitative research, such as using technology as a partner in research methodology, strengthening statistical power by repeated testing of the same participants, and strengthening validity of study results by using a longitudinal design.
• In Chap. 4 (Qualitative Methodology), Shim Lew, Anna Her Yang, and Linda Harklau provide an overview of qualitative research (QR) in applied linguistics, with a particular focus on recent research and developments in the field over the past five years. Lew, Yang, and Harklau explore the philosophical and methodological premises of qualitative methods in the field and relate them to broader developments in QR across the social sciences, particularly in regard to issues of validity and quality of QR. They also review current trends and issues and provide an overview of research types including the varieties of qualitative approaches taken, theoretical frameworks used, and types of data collection and analytical methods employed.
• In Chap. 5 (Mixed Methodology), Alison Mackey and Lara Bryfonski present approaches to mixed methods research for social sciences and applied linguistics research. Mackey and Bryfonski demonstrate how different approaches can be used together in applied linguistics research, and provide practical advice on how to conduct a mixed methods study along with some suggestions for design and data analysis.
• In Chap. 6 (Traditional Literature Review and Research Synthesis), Shaofeng Li and Hong Wang discuss the procedures and best practices of traditional reviews of the literature and research syntheses for applied linguistics research. Li and Wang compare the two approaches and propose ways to integrate them in order to inform an empirical research project.
• In Chap. 7 (Research Replication), Rebekha Abbuhl traces the history of replication research in the field of applied linguistics, culminating in a discussion of current views of replication research as a means of evaluating the internal and external validity of a study, illuminating phenomena of interest, and ultimately, driving both theory and pedagogy forward. Abbuhl provides an overview of different types of replication studies (exact, approximate, conceptual) with recent examples from the field and concludes with current recommendations for facilitating replication research, including those pertaining to reporting and data sharing.
• In Chap. 8 (Ethical Applied Linguistics Research), Scott Sterling and Peter De Costa present the historical development of research ethics in applied linguistics and outline core issues that applied linguists are likely to face when conducting research. Sterling and De Costa recommend the best ethical practices within the field. This chapter can be used to support the teaching of research ethics in graduate-level applied linguistics courses.
• In Chap. 9 (Writing a Research Proposal), Sue Starfield discusses the form and function of a typical research proposal which provides a rationale and motivation for a research study. Starfield provides a range of tools and techniques that can assist doctoral or graduate students in conceptualizing and writing this high-stakes document.
• In Chap. 10 (Writing a Research Article), Betty Samraj discusses key features of the applied linguistics research article. Samraj presents the novice writer with some questions to consider when constructing a research article in applied linguistics. This chapter also focuses on pedagogical issues related to the instruction of writing the research article, such as rhetorical consciousness raising and the use of annotated corpora.

© The Author(s) 2018

Aek Phakiti, Peter De Costa, Luke Plonsky and Sue Starfield (eds.)The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Linguistics Research Methodologyhttps://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59900-1_1

Begin Abstract

1. Applied Linguistics Research: Current Issues, Methods, and Trends

Aek Phakiti¹ , Peter De Costa² , Luke Plonsky³ and Sue Starfield⁴

(1)

Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

(2)

Department of Linguistics and Languages, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

(3)

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

(4)

School of Education, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Aek Phakiti (Corresponding author)

Email: [email protected]

Peter De Costa

Email: [email protected]

Luke Plonsky

Email: [email protected]

Sue Starfield

Email: [email protected]

Keywords

Applied linguisticsMethodologyData analysisResearch instrumentsEthics

End Abstract

Introduction

Appli ed linguistics is a broad, evolving, interdisciplinary field of language and language-related study across diverse social contexts (e.g., Cook, 2003; Davies & Elder, 2004; Hall, Smith, & Wicaksono, 2011; Kaplan, 2010; Pawlak & Aronin, 2014; Phakiti & Paltridge, 2015; Schmitt, 2002; Simpson, 2011). This diversity, while a strength of the field, occasions disagreement in how applied linguistics should be defined. Part of the reason for this is that, as de Bot (2015) points out, the word linguist as used in the term applied linguist often leads to the misunderstanding that applied linguists simply “apply” linguistic knowledge but most applied linguists would agree that this is hardly ever the case, as due to its interdisciplinary nature, applied linguistics as a field of study sits at the intersection of a diversity of fields.

Research fields that are related to and influence applied linguistics research include linguistics, psychology, philosophy, education, and sociology. Furthermore, several terms, such as appliable linguistics (Mahboob & Knight, 2010) and applied language studies (Richards, Ross, & Seedhouse, 2012), are used interchangeably with applied linguistics, contributing to the richness of debates over the definition of applied linguistics.

Evolution of Applied Linguistics Research

Applie d linguistics is a relatively youthful field which emerged in the latter of half of the twentieth century; one of the field’s flagship journals, Applied Linguistics, published its first issue in 1980 and others are of even more recent vintage. There are common terms that underlie applied linguistics research (e.g., language, linguistics, language learning, real-world language use, and language in social contexts), and there are several subdisciplines under the applied linguistics umbrella (e.g., first and/or second language acquisition/learning, language teaching and education, language assessment, and bilingualism/multilingualism). In each of these subdisciplines, researchers ask and address different research problems, employing a variety of philosophies and methodologies.

In his pursuit to address the definition and scope of applied linguistics, de Bot (2015) employed interviews and questionnaires with approximately 100 applied linguists. Key questions included “what is applied linguistics?”, “who are the key players?”, and “who influences them and whom do they influence in turn?”. de Bot also traces the main trends that have driven and impacted on applied linguistics in the past 30 years, including social and dynamic turns and the adoption of various paradigms in the field.

The primary intent of this Handbook, however, is not to resolve existing difficulties in defining applied linguistics. Rather, the Handbook has been driven by, and builds on, current work in applied linguistics research, and it aims to contribute to the advancement of research methodology in applied linguistics with a particular focus on supporting the access of early career researchers and emerging scholars to the rich diversity of research approaches currently being deployed in th...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV
• Back Matter