Session 1:

Course Introduction &

Introduction to
Research

An Introduction to Research Methodology

in Foreign Language Education
Phùng Hà Thanh 1
Warm-up: Find someone in the class

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 Activity: Find someone…

 who is the tallest person in this classroom

 who often go to bed later than 1 a.m.
 who can sing very well
 who love doing research
 whose birthday is in September
 who always love, adore and find you fascinating

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 Course description

 basic concepts and  write a research proposal

principles of research in FLE,
 practice in carrying out  read critically research
the first steps in reports in FLE.
conducting a research
study

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 Course materials

 Hoang, X. H. and Nguyen, T. M. (2008).

Research methodology. Vietnam National
University, Hanoi University of Languages and
International Studies.
 Reading Package

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 Course assessment

 Participation (10%)
 Assignment 1(15%): Problem Statement,
Research Questions, and Literature Review
(Due: Week 6)
 Assignment 2 (15%): Research Methodology
(Due: Week 10)
 Final Assignment (20%): Research Proposal
(Due: Week 16)
 Final test (40%)

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 Lesson 1: Objectives

Students are expected to

 understand the importance of research
 understand the nature of research,
 have an overview of the research process,
 get familiar with key concepts of research in each step of
the research process
 develop some interest for research,
 identify a research area of interest and speculate
possible research problems within the area,
 draft some research questions based on the speculated
research problems.

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Contents

1 What is Research?

2 Basic Steps in Doing Research

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 A good way of understanding the nature of
research is to first experience it by doing it,
initially in a simple and elementary way.
Brown & Rodgers (2002, p.3)

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 What is research?

 systematic investigation into reality to gain

knowledge

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 How do U know what U know?

 Problem: Which reaches C first?

research is distinguished from speculation

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 Is this research?

 Research is grounded
in data, not
imagination.
 Data: pieces of reality

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 How do you know what you know?
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Is this research?

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 Is this research?

 An advertisement proudly boats about its

product with certain attributes testified by
some kind of research
sales pitch
Research is different from the use of
research

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 Activity: Find someone…

 who is the tallest person in this classroom

 who often go to bed later than 1 a.m.
 who can sing very well
 who love doing research
 whose birthday is in September
 who always love, adore and find you fascinating

You examine reality in a way.

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 What is research?

 systematic investigation into reality to gain

knowledge

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 How do U know what U know?

 Problem: Which reaches C first?

Research implies a problem of complexity

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Is this research?

 At a university, students collect data from here

and there and then reorganizing them in their
paper.
information gathering:
should be systematic and produce some new
knowledge to be considered research

Research implies a problem of complexity that

requires conscious efforts with clarified
methodology

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 How do you know what you know?

 Don’t show your knowledge. Show how you get

the knowledge.

the way to
knowledge is
not easy

primary
secondary
(empirical)

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 1. What is research?

A systematic process of inquiry consisting of

three elements or components:
(1) a question, problem, or hypothesis,
(2) data, and
(3) analysis and interpretation of data.
(Nunan, D. 1992, p. 232)

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Human needs (Maslow)

7. Aesthetic needs

6. Need to know and understand

5. Needs for self-actualization

4. Esteem needs

3. Love & belonging needs

2. Safety & security needs

1. Physiological (homeostatic) needs

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 Research- a Social Field

 Products of research are socially meaningful.

 From research - practice to research = practice
 research as a field of production
 valuable for all other fields (R&D: research and
development)
 Research as a means of socialisation

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 How do you know what you know?
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The Importance of Social Research

 Knowledge = vehicle of
social transformation
 Knowledge of the
social world = major
vehicle of social
transformation

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Contents

1 What is Research?
 Basic Steps in Doing Research

2

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 Basic research process

1. Identify problem areas

2. Survey literature
3. Formulate research questions
4. Construct research design
5. Specify sources of data
6. Specify data collection & data analysis
procedures
7. Execute research plan
8. Evaluate results and draw conclusions

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 Step 1: Identify problem areas
 Determine the general topic for investigation

Experience Reading Interest

General Topic

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 Example

 Group work

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 Step 1: Identify problem areas

 Narrow the general topic

 Identify problem areas
- Problem areas are more specific than general
topic
- Problem areas are:
+ what have been little known or unknown
+ what you are interested in finding out

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Example

Group work

In-class group work

Students’ participation in in-class group work

Factors influencing students’ participation

in in-class group work

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Experience Reading Interest

General Topic

Reading to see what is available

Changing or adjusting research problem

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 Step 2: Survey literature
Reading
Experience Interest

General Topic

Research problem

Surveying related literature

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 Step 2: Survey the literature

 Read the existing literature related to the

research problem
 What is a literature review?
- An account of what has been published on a
topic by scholars and researchers
- Not just a set of summaries or a descriptive
list of material

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 Review the literature means ….

• Finding out what knowledge and ideas have

been established on a topic
• Finding out relationships between different
works
• Finding out how it relates to your work
• Evaluating what their strengths and
weaknesses are

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 Step 3: Formulate research questions

Research questions operationalize the objectives of

the research
(Hedrick et. al., 1993 in Mertens, 2005)
 Characteristics of a GOOD Research Question
- Worth Asking
- Answerable

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What type of research question is problematic?

 It starts with “How can I…”

 It suggests a “yes” or “no” answer.
 Should..?
 It is rhetorical.
 It includes vague or ambiguous language.
NCSALL Practitioner Research Group
on Learner Motivation, Retention, and Persistence, 1998.

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 Example

Topic: Factors influencing students’ participation in

in-class group work
Research questions:
1. What factors facilitate EFL students’
participation in in-class group work?
2. What factors inhibit EFL students’ participation
in in-class group work?

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 Step 4: Construct Research design

 Clarify what approach you take as the general

orientation for the whole research or a general
plan of methods and procedures to answer the
research questions

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 Step 5: Specify sources of data

 Choose the participants in order to collect data

from
 Eg:
Topic: Factors influencing students’ participation in
in-class group work
 Choose several classes of second-year EFL
students at English Department, CFL, VNU as
the participants

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 Step 6: Specify data collection and data analysis
procedures

 Select appropriate instruments (questionnaires,

interviews, etc.) for data collection
 Specify data collection procedures:
Steps to collect data from the participants by using the
instruments
Eg: 1st step: pilot the questionnaires
2nd step: revise the questionnaires
3rd step: deliver the questionnaires to the participants
etc.

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 Step 6: Specify data collection and data analysis
procedures

 Specify data analysis procedures

Steps/ Methods used to analyze data collected
Eg: Questionnaire data: group the data under
categories which serve to answer the research
questions
1. Factors facilitating students’ participation in in-
class group work
2. Factors inhibiting students’ participation in in-
class group work

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 Step 7: Execute the research plan

 Use the instruments to collect data from the

participants, following the data collection
procedures set before

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 Step 8: Analyze and evaluate results, and draw
conclusions

 Follow the data analysis procedures to analyze

results (data collected)
 Evaluate the results
 Highlight findings (typical or significant things
among the results) that serve to answer the
research questions
 Draw conclusions of the research
 Draw implications (if any)

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 References

 Tống Thị Mỹ Liên (2008). Slides for theme 1:

Introduction to research. VNU, HULIS.

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Phùng Hà Thanh 46