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CHAPTER 1: KEY
ISSUES IN RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
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Outline
1. Definition of research
2. The process of research
3. Quantitative and qualitative research
4. Research quality
5. Ethics and research
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1.1 Definition of Research

Questions?
Problems?

• Do teachers behave differently towards students

of different gender?
• Does the presentation of target vocabulary in the
format of a song influence the recall of the target
vocabulary?
• What is the effect of the native language on
learning a foreign language?
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How to find answers to questions

Source: Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009, p. 10

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Nature of scientific methods

• Careful, systematic measurement
• A process:
Identify problems collect data analyze and
interpret data
• Investigations made public
• Tentative conclusion
Example: “Coronavirus appears to be of 'natural' origin”.
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“Research is a process of steps used to collect

and analyze information to increase our
understanding of a topic or issue” (Creswell, 2012,
p.3).
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1.2 The Process of Research

Source: Creswell, 2012, p. 8

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1.3 Quantitative and Qualitative research

Are the following statements about quantitative (1) or
qualitative (2) research?
a) A large sample is used. 1
b) Few participants are used. 2

a) Researcher collect data in form of words. 2

b) Researchers collect numerical data. 1

a) Non-statistical, interpretive methods of data analysis are

used. 2
b) Statistical methods of data analysis are used. 1
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a) Researchers are interested in individual stories. 2

b) Researchers are interested in the commonalities that
exist in the data. 1

a) Questionnaires and tests are common data collection

methods. 1
b) Observations and open-ended interviews are common
data collection methods 2
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Quantitative research
Quantitative research is an approach for testing objective
theories by examining the relationship among variables.
These variables, in turn, can be measured, typically on
instruments, so that numbered data can be analyzed using
statistical procedures. The final written report has a set
structure consisting of introduction, literature and theory,
methods, results, and discussion. Like qualitative
researchers, those who engage in this form of inquiry have
assumptions about testing theories deductively, building in
protections against bias, controlling for alternative
explanations, and being able to generalize and replicate
the findings. (Creswell, 2014, p.32)
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Qualitative research
Qualitative research is an approach for exploring and
understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to
a social or human problem. The process of research
involves emerging questions and procedures, data typically
collected in the participant’s setting, data analysis
inductively building from particulars to general themes, and
the researcher making interpretations of the meaning of the
data. The final written report has a flexible structure. Those
who engage in this form of inquiry support a way of looking
at research that honors an inductive style, a focus on
individual meaning, and the importance of rendering the
complexity of a situation. (Creswell, 2014, p.32)
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Group work
• Complete the following table with appropriate information.
Features Quantitative Qualitative

Purpose of
research
Kinds of data

Data analysis

Report
structure
Interested in
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Group work
• Complete the following table with appropriate information.

Features Quantitative Qualitative

Purpose of Testing theory, Exploring and understanding

research explaining relationship a group’s or individual’s
among variables interpretations social or
human problems
Kinds of data numbers words

Data analysis Statistical procedures Inductive, making

interpretations of meaning
Report structure Set Flexible

Interested in Generalize, replicate Individual meaning,

findings complexity of a situation
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Strengths and weaknesses of quantitative

research
• Strengths
• Systematic, rigorous, tightly controlled, involving
accurate measurement
• Reliable and replicable data
• Research process is quick, good value for
money
• High reputation with any audience and
stakeholders
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• Weaknesses
• Ignore the subjective variety of individual life
• Not sensitive in exploring the reasons for a
particular observation or the dynamics
underlying the examined situation or condition.
• Being criticised as “overly simplistic,
decontextualized, reductionist in term of its
generalization”
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Strengths and weaknesses of qualitative

research
• Strengths
• Suitable for exploratory studies
• Making sense of complexity
• Answering why question
• Broadening our understanding
• Longitudinal examination of dynamic
phenomena
• Flexibility when things go wrong
• Rich materials for the research report
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• Weaknesses
• Small sample size and lack of generalizability
• Results of data analysis depends on the
competence of the researchers
• Lack of methodological rigour
• Too complex and too narrow theories
• Time consuming and labour-sensitive
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Homework
1. Read course materials for chapters 1 and 2
2. Read the following two sample studies and identify the
features of quantitative/ qualitative research regarding
the research purpose, research design, data collection
and analysis, etc. Use details from the studies to
illustrate your answers.
• Sample quantitative study (Creswell, 2012, pp. 29-40)
• Sample qualitative study (Creswell, 2012, pp. 42-54)
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REFERENCES
Brown, J. D. (1996). Testing in language programs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Regents.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative
and qualitative research (4th ed). Boston. MA: Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches (4th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into
Practice, 39(3), 124–130. http://doi.org/10.2307/1477543
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed
methodologies. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Fraenkel, J. R., & Wallen, N. E. (2009). How to design and evaluate research in education.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Lodico, M. G., Spaulding, D. T., & Voegtle, K. H. (2006). Methods in educational research: from
theory to practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
McKay, S. (2006). Researching second language classrooms. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: methodology and design.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.