Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Area: ENGLISH
LET Competencies:
There are a number of definitions of research. These definitions emphasize the purposes of
research, the methods and strategies used, the analysis of data, and the ethics in
conducting research. Below are some of the definitions given by the research practitioners
themselves.
1. It is the utilization of various methods and strategies to gather truthful and accurate
information about problems and issues related to language and literature study.
2. It is the carrying out scientific method or analysis; it entails the application of formal,
systematic, and intensive processes to yield significant information or data about the
research questions and/or objectives.
The two general types of research are quantitative research and the qualitative research.
However, in recent literature, the action research is already included in the list.
1. The Problem and Its Setting- This section includes the introduction of the study,
statement of the problem, scope and delimitation, importance of the study, and the
definition of terms. It is also in this part that the hypotheses and assumption of the study
are stated.
2. Review of Literature and Studies This section presents the theories, concepts and
studies related to the research topic.
3. Research Methodology This section clears out the processes used to answer the
research questions. This section also states the research methods and design,
sampling, statistical treatment, procedures, and other related concepts necessary for
data gathering.
4. Research findings This section presents the overview of the statistical procedures or
how statistical procedures are used for data analysis, description of results for each
hypothesis, question, objective or purpose.
5. Discussion this section presents the interpretation and analysis of the results.
6. Summary and Recommendations this section presents the implications of the study
and future research
The research problems can be gathered from various sources, such as:
1. Research Literature It provides the much needed information to determine what have
already been explored in relation to the topic that will be investigated.
2. Theory-Based Research This contains the studies in which the existing theories on
language and literature were tested.
3. Replicating and Extending Previous Research the purpose of this is to check findings of
breakthrough study, to determine the validity of research findings across different
populations, to identify the trends or change over time, to know important findings using
different methodology, and to develop more effective or efficient intervention
5. Experience this is another rich source of research topics because this provides the
motivation to the researcher to investigate or examine what he/she knows is important in
language or literature study.
1. The topic is interesting. It will hold the researchers interest through the entire research.
2. The topic is researchable. It can be investigated through the collection and analysis of
data and it is not stated as a topic seeking to determine what should be done.
4. The topic is manageable. If it fits the researchers level or research skills, needed
resources, and time restrictions.
a. Independent variable a variable that the researcher thinks occurred prior in time
to, and has an influence on another variable or on the dependent variable.
2. Hypothesis this pertains to a researchers prediction of the tentative results and findings
of a study based on a theory or assumption of the variables measured in the study. This
likewise presents the relationship between variables. The types of hypothesis are:
a. Null Hypothesis a prediction that no relationship between two measured variables
will be found or that no difference between two groups on a measured variable will
be found.
b. Non directional hypothesis simply states that a relationship or difference exists
between variables.
c. Directional hypothesis presents the expected direction of the relationship or
difference
ii) information is collected through asking questions; the answers to these questions
by the members of the group constitute the data of the study
iii) information is collected from a sample rather than from every member of the
population
Cross-sectional studies- the data are obtained at one point in time, but
from groups of different ages or at different stages of development
ii) Cross- sectional survey collects information from a sample that has been drawn
from a predetermined population. The information is collected at just one point in
time, although the time it takes to collect all the data desired may take anywhere
from a day to a few weeks or more.
Types of Questions the nature of the questions, and the way they are asked,
are extremely important in the research survey:
1. Closed-ended questions are easy to use, score, and code for analysis on
a computer. Since all subjects respond to the same opinions; standardized data
are provided.
ii) Interview - a measure that specifies the questions to be asked of each research
participant, the sequence in which they are to be asked, and guidelines for what
the interviewer is to say at the opening and closing of the interview
Kind of interview
ii) Correlational Research a type of investigation that seeks to discover the direction and
magnitude of the relationship among variables through the use of correlational statistics.
iii) Causal-comparative or ex post facto research determines the cause, or reason for
existing differences in the behavior or status of groups
iv) Experimental Research- provides a systematic and logical method for answering the
question on what will happen if experiments are done in carefully controlled conditions. In
this study, the researchers manipulate certain stimuli, treatments or environmental
conditions and observe how the condition or behavior of the subject is affected or
changed.
X= Treatment O = Observation
(Dependent variable)
O1 X O2
O1= pretest O2= posttest
X O
C O
ii) Quasi-Experiment these designs provide control of when and to whom the
measurement is applied, but because random assignment to experiment and
treatment groups has not been applied, the equivalence of the groups is not
assured. Some examples of experimental designs are:
e.g O1O2O3O4O5O6O7O8
iii) True-Experimental designs in this design the subjects are randomly assigned to
treatment groups. Examples of these are:
Posttest-only control-group design a type of experiment that includes
three phases: a) random assignment of research participants to the
experimental and control groups; b) administration of the treatment to the
experimental group and either no treatment or an alternative treatment to
the control group; and c) administration of a measure of the dependent
variable to both groups.
Treatment group R X1 O
Control Group R X2 O
Treatment Group R O X1 O
Control Group R O X2 O
Treatment Group R O X1 O
Control Group R O X2 O
Treatment Group R X1 O
Control Group R X2 O
ii) Media recording and analysis - this uses media-like audio or video recording to
record a sample of teacher performance for subsequent analysis by the teacher,
peer or both. Microteaching is one example of media recording.
iii) Student feedback tools this is similar to the self- reflection tool except that the
students, instead of the teacher, complete the forms. Teacher- made
questionnaire, minute surveys and journals are examples of sources of student
feedback.
iv) Student performance data include all student products that can be used to help
teachers assess their own instructional effectiveness. Test results, essays,
classroom projects, and the like are examples of students performance data.
vi) Journaling requires the teacher to maintain and reflect on a record of classroom
events or activities with the intent of recognizing recurring problems, wants,
successes, or needs.
vii) Collegial dialogue, experience sharing, and joint problem solving- all of these
encourage collaboration among teachers to discuss common problems, share
procedures, and strategies, and compare perceptions. Exposure to the ideas and
practices of colleagues is a potent strategy for teacher reflection and change.
ii) Case Study Research- This type of research is an in-depth study of cases which include
an individual, a group, and a community. This investigates the perspective of the
participants involved in the phenomenon or issue.
iii) Historical Research the study of the past phenomenon for the purpose of gaining a
better understanding of present institutions, practices, trends, and issues.
i) to make people aware of what has happened in the past so they may learn
from past failure or success
ii) to learn how things were done in the past to see if they might be applicable
to present day problems and concerns
iii) to assist in prediction
iv) to test hypotheses concerning relationships or trends
b. Types of Sources
i) Primary Sources- this is a direct report of an event by an individual who
actually observed or participated in it.
ii) Secondary Sources these are documents prepared by an individual who
was not a direct witness to an event, but who obtained his or her description
of the event from someone else.
c. Categories of Sources
i) Documents these are written or printed materials that have been produced
in some form or another. Examples of these are annual reports, artwork, bills,
books, cartoons, circulars, records, diaries, diplomas, newspapers, among
others. They may be handwritten, printed, typewritten, drawn or sketched;
published or unpublished; intended for private or public consumption; original
or copies. Therefore, documents pertain to any kind of information that exists
in some type of written or printed form.
iii) Oral statements these include stories, myths, tales, legends, chants, songs
and other forms of oral expression that have been used by people down
through the ages to leave a record for future generations.
iv) Relics These are objects whose physical or visual characteristics can
provide some information about the past. Examples include furniture,
artwork, clothing, buildings, monuments, or equipment.
i) Contextual the research is carried out in the context in which the subjects
normally live or work.
ii) Unobtrusive the researcher avoids manipulating the phenomenon under
investigation
iii) Longitudinal the research is relatively long term
iv) Collaborative the researcher carries out interpretative analyses of the data
in cooperation with other people, e.g. the natives in a community
v) Organic- there is interaction between questions/hypothesis and data
collection/interpretation
iv) Complete participant the identity is not known to any of the individuals
being observed. The researcher interacts with the group as naturally as
possible.
ii) Halo effect the tendency for the observers early impressions of an
individual being observed to influence the observers ratings of all variables
involving the same individual
iii) Observer effect any action or bias of an observer to record the occurrence
of a behavior that fits one of the categories in the observational schedule.
4. Sampling and Sampling Technique
ii) Sampling error- the deviation of a sample statistic from its population value
a. Convenience sampling a group of cases that are selected simply because they
are available and easy to access
h. Random sample or simple random sampling selecting participants such that all
members of the accessible or target population have an equal and independent
chance of being selected
l. Quota sampling is most often used in survey research when it is not possible to
list all members of the population of interest.
iv) Random assignment the process of assigning individuals or groups to the experiment
and control treatments such that each individual and group has an equal chance of being
in each treatment
5. Ways of Measurement
i) Likert Scale a measure that asks individuals to check their level of agreement with
various statements about an attitude or object (e.g strongly agree, agree, disagree,
strongly disagree)
ii) Questionnaire a measure that presents a set of written questions to which all
individuals in the sample respond
iii) Rubric- in performance assessment, this refers to a scale of measuring different levels of
proficiency demonstrated in students portforlio.
i) Conversational Analysis the study of the implicit rules governing the speech acts
between two or more people
ii) Discourse Analysis the study of the interpretative processes that individuals use to
produce their accounts of reality.
i) Validity the research measures what it intends to investigate. There are two types of
validity:
i) Construct validity the extent to which inferences from a tests scores accurately
reflect the construct that the test claims to measure.
ii) Content validity the extent to which inferences from a tests scores adequately
represent the content or conceptual domain that the test claims to measure
ii) Reliability in a qualitative research, it is the extent to which other researchers would
arrive at similar results if they studied the same case using exactly the same procedures
as the first researcher. In classical test theory, it refers to the amount of measurement
error in the scores yielded by a test.
a. Types of reliability
ii) Multiple researchers/ participant researchers the best way to guard against
threats to internal reliability. However, this is quite expensive. The alternative is to
enlist the aid of local informants to validate the interpretations of the
ethnographer.
iii) Peer examination this involves the corroboration by other researchers working
in similar settings
iv) Mechanically recorded data this strategy allows for the preservation of the
primary data.
i) Observation certain questions can be best answered by observing how people act or
how things look.
ii) Field notes observers record of what he or she has seen heard, experienced, and
thought about during an observation session
a. Three types of field notes
Field jottings these are quick notes about something the researcher wants to
write more about later. They provide the stimulus to help researchers recall a lot
of details they do not have time to write down during the observation or interview.
Field log is a sort of running account of how researchers plan to spend their
time compared to how they actually spend it. It is, in effect, the researchers plan
for collecting his or her data systematically. The value of maintaining a log is that
it forces the researcher to think hard about the questions he or she truly wants to
be answered, the procedures to be followed, and the data really needed.
i) Descriptive field notes attempts to describe the setting, the people and what
they do according to what the researcher observes. They include the following:
Accounts of particular events who was involved when, where, and how.
ii) Reflective field notes present more of what the researcher himself or herself is
thinking about as he or she does the observation. These include the following:
iii) Interviews a purposeful interaction, usually between two people, focused on one person
trying to get information from the other person. It permits the researcher to obtain
important data that cannot be obtained from observation.
ii) Knowledge questions are questions researchers ask to find out what factual
information respondents possess.
iii) Experience or behavior questions are questions a researcher asks to find out
what a respondent is currently doing or has done in the past. The intent is to elicit
description of experience, behavior, or activities that could have been observed.
iv) Opinion or values question - are questions researchers ask to find out what
people think about some topic or issue. Answers to such questions call attention
to the respondents goals, beliefs, attitudes, or values.
vi) Sensory questions are questions a researcher asks to find out what a
respondent, for example, has seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or touched.
iv) Introspective Methods this covers techniques in which data collection is carried out with
the mental events being investigated
a. Think aloud techniques are those in which subjects complete a task or solve a
problem and verbalize their thought processes as they do so. The researcher
collects the think-aloud protocol on tape and then analyzes it for the thinking
strategies involved.
b. Anagram tasks this is similar to Think Aloud, but the focus is on letters and
words rather than numbers. An anagram is a word or phrase whose constituent
parts have been rearranged.
v) Retrospection this pertains to the collection of data some time after the event under
investigation has taken place.
vi) Elicitation Techniques these techniques are used to obtain data by means of a
stimulus, such as a picture, diagram, or standard test, as well as those based on a
questionnaire, survey and interview data. Examples of these are production tasks,
completion tasks, among others.
i) Norming Group a large sample whose scores on a test provide a set of standards
against which the scores of subsequent individuals who take the test can be referenced.
ii) Pilot Study a small-scale, preliminary investigation that is conducted to develop and test
the measures or procedures that will be used in a research study. This is a small scale
study conducted with the purpose of revising the procedures to be used in the main
study.
iii) Replication the process of repeating a research study with a different group of research
participants using the same or similar conditions for the purpose of increasing confidence
in the original study findings.
iv) Triangulation this involves cross-checking of data using multiple sources of multiple
data collection procedures
v) Interview Guide this includes topics and issues to be covered which are specified in
advance in outline form; the interviewer decides the sequence and wording of questions
in the course of the interview.
a. Select a topic- this pertains to the selection of the author and the aspect or element
of his or her work that you want to study. Some of the literary topics could be a
discussion of the work's characters, if they are realistic, symbolic or historically-
based; a comparison and contrast of different authors or characters in a work; a
reading of a work based on a literary approach or theory outside philosophical
perspective, e. g. how would a Freudian read Hamlet?; a study of the sources or
historical events that occasioned a particular work, e.g. comparing G.B. Shaw's
Pygmalion with the original Greek myth of Pygmalion; an analysis of a specific
image occurring in several works, e.g the use of moon as imagery in certain plays,
poems, novels; a "deconstruction" of a particular work, e.g. unfolding an underlying
racist worldview in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, among others
d. Prepare the methodology in this section, the literary researcher underscores the
needed elements to address the research questions. This includes the
identification of authors to be studied, their texts to be analyzed, procedures or
stages of the literary research, among others. Since the selection of materials is a
significant aspect in any literary research, it is labeled under steps of literary
research and not just a component of the methodology part.
e. Select Materials In selecting the materials for a literary research, make sure that
you have built your bibliography. This includes the selection of a few good articles
about the author and his/her work. Include the reviews made by literary critics of a
particular work. Other things to consider are the following:
f. Prepare the findings of the study In this section, the researcher answers the
research questions and addresses the hypothesis of the study.
g. Write the research report A research report must not only answer the research
questions and objectives, but also follow the conventions of writing. Having said
this, the researcher ensures that the final report is well edited and proofread to
adapt to the required style and format of the publisher.
ii) Translation
a. Topics to be explored
Research in Literature may include the study in translation. In doing this type of
research, the author may explore the following translation studies:
ii) Meaning-based Translation this method gives the highest priority to the
meaning and form of the original, and is appropriate to translations of source
texts that have high status. It retains the aesthetic value of the translated
texts. It is both semantic and communicative in nature.
One of the challenges for language and literature teachers in this information age is to
be active contributors of knowledge in academic setting. In academic institutions, from
elementary to tertiary, teachers are encouraged, and at some degree, are expected to
undertake a small-scale research. This small scale research is often focused on the
classroom interaction where the teacher researcher is a significant member.
Although the methods used in classroom research resembles those used in other types
of researches, classroom research can be considered distinct because it focuses on
issues and concerns of a specific classroom. Hence, classroom research addresses a
specific learning concern in the classroom setting.
ii) Classroom interaction this focuses on the type of talk observable inside the
classroom
iii) Classroom instruction this centers on the teaching styles of the teacher,
selection of materials, use of teaching methodologies and strategies, along
with the students response to the initiatives of the teacher.
iv) Classroom assessment this looks into the assessment and testing done in
the classroom using both teacher and expert made tests and assessment
tools.
The research is not complete without the written report. The report is the gateway
towards the understanding and appreciation of such intellectual endeavors. Basically the
report follows a conventional structure (as presented above). What is discussed on this
section is the convention in writing a research report that a researcher should observe. These
are the following:
1. The research writer is expected to fit in his report to the intended audience or
readers. This means that the researcher should meet the expectations, in terms of
format and style of the specific audience that who will read his work.
2. There are writing conventions for research report. The researcher should be aware
of the conventions in writing a report for language and literature research. It will
help if the research constantly reads the articles published in scholarly journals for
language and literature.
3. The technical details should be dealt with care. The researcher should be aware of
the style of presentation, the details and length of the account, the terminology
used, among others.
4. One should use the point of view preferred by the journal or the readers of the
journal. Eventhough, the first person point of view is gaining popularity in writing of
research reports, some research books still advise the sue of the third person in
writing the research report (Denscombe, 2003).
5. The need to use the appropriate tense form. Traditionally, the past tense is often
used in writing the findings and discussion. However, this has become a problem in
recent research report writing because the writer also makes a reflection on the
information at hand. In writing these reflection, the use of the present tense is
expected.