Mixed Methods Research in Language Teaching and Learning; A. Mehdi Riazi

A. Mehdi Riazi [+–]

Macquarie University

A. Mehdi Riazi is Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University, Sydney.

This volume is the first to examine MMR in language teaching and learning and how such a methodology works in practice. The book brings together all the main topics related to MMR in one place and attempts to elaborate on and discuss them in plain language to help researchers better understand and use the methodology. In addition to detailed discussion of the theoretical (for example, the worldviews underlying MMR) and practical (purposes, designs, data collection and analysis), the book presents a framework for analyzing MMR (FRAMMR) studies.

In the third section of the book where FRAMMR is presented, eight published MMR articles addressing different topics in language teaching and learning are analysed and eight more are suggested to be analysed by the readers using FRAMMR. Another salient feature of the book is Chapter 7 in which writing MMR proposals is discussed. The chapter should be of particular interest to postgraduate and doctoral students as well as early career researchers who will be preparing thesis and/or research proposals.

Given the scarcity of resources on MMR in applied linguistics in general, and language teaching and learning in particular, the current volume can fill this gap to a great extent. Attempt has been made to present a coherent and transparent discussion of sometimes confusing MMR issues and topics. As a newly developed research methodology, MMR poses its own challenges to researchers. These challenges are also discussed in different chapters of the book so that researchers can consider them when planning for and implementing MMR projects.

Preliminaries

List of Figures [+–] xi-xii

Mixed methods research (MMR), where quantitative and qualitative methods are combined in the collecting and analysing of research data, is gaining increasing prominence and utility across a range of academic disciplines including applied linguistics and language teaching and learning. This volume is the first to examine MMR in language teaching and learning and how such a methodology works in practice. The book brings together all the main topics related to MMR in one place and attempts to elaborate on and discuss them in plain language to help researchers better understand and use the methodology. In addition to detailed discussion of the theoretical (for example, the worldviews underlying MMR) and practical (purposes, designs, data collection and analysis), the book presents a framework for analyzing MMR (FRAMMR) studies. In the third section of the book where FRAMMR is presented, eight published MMR articles addressing different topics in language teaching and learning are analysed and eight more are suggested to be analysed by the readers using FRAMMR. Another salient feature of the book is Chapter 7 in which writing MMR proposals is discussed. The chapter should be of particular interest to postgraduate and doctoral students as well as early career researchers who will be preparing thesis and/or research proposals. Given the scarcity of resources on MMR in applied linguistics in general, and language teaching and learning in particular, the current volume can fill this gap to a great extent. Attempt has been made to present a coherent and transparent discussion of sometimes confusing MMR issues and topics. As a newly developed research methodology, MMR poses its own challenges to researchers. These challenges are also discussed in different chapters of the book so that researchers can consider them when planning for and implementing MMR projects.

List of Tables [+–] xiii

Preface

Preface [+–] xv-xvi

Mixed-methods research (MMR), where quantitative and qualitative methods are combined in the collecting and analysing of research data, is gaining increasing prominence and utility across a range of academic disciplines including applied linguistics and language teaching and learning. This volume is the first to examine MMR in language teaching and learning and how such a methodology works in practice by analysing published sample studies.

Introduction

Introduction [+–] xvii-xviii

Part One: Theoretical and Philosophical Aspects of Mixed Methods Research

Chapter 1: Researching Language Teaching and Learning: Three Research Approaches [+–] 3-30

This introductory chapter provides the reader with the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the three research methodologies, namely, quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research (MMR). The aim is to create a context for the subsequent chapters of the book. In this review we refer to the more conventional paradigms (positivism and constructivism) that inform quantitative and qualitative research approaches and review two philosophical frameworks which justify the use of MMR, namely, pragmatism and critical realism, to show how MMR is theoretically conceptualized. The purpose here is to help readers understand the scope of knowledge production in our field and how it has been conceptualized in terms of the relationship between research paradigms and research methodologies. Such a classification and review encompasses quantitative and qualitative methods as well as research studies which have attempted to combine both. What this introductory chapter does, then, is to provide a motivated and well-grounded account of the relevant theoretical background for the reader so as to provide a well-argued basis for the subsequent chapters of the book.

Chapter 2: Underlying Worldviews (Philosophies) for Mixing Methods [+–] 31-54

This chapter builds on the discussion of theory and method in the first chapter to provide the rationale for using MMR in language teaching and learning as well as to provide a clear account of its principles and techniques. We argue that given the complex social and cognitive nature of language learning and teaching, MMR offers a way to overcome the limited focus of either approach and will discuss how it is possible to address more complex questions that can build on both perspectives using a systematic and principled way to create a new paradigm for research. The role of theory in research and the relationship between theorizing and MMR will be discussed. Our perspective is that Language Teaching and Learning researchers need to plan MMR studies in principled and creative ways so that the integration of methods occurs throughout the whole process of research and not just at one stage of data collection or analysis. The practicality of integrating quantitative and qualitative methods within a principled and creative MMR study is therefore the key focus of this chapter. Discussion of MMR techniques targets possible designs of MMR studies.

Part Two: Practical Aspects of Mixed Methods Research

Chapter 3: Following a Purpose and Achieving Goals in Undertaking MMR [+–] 57-84

This chapter focuses on how to define and achieve research purposes when undertaking MMR. Each of the five main purposes of MMR, namely, Triangulation, Complementarity, Development, Expansion, and Initiation will be described, explained and discussed in this chapter. By becoming familiar with MMR purposes, readers will be enabled to identify and understand more fully and critically the scope of a MMR-based research study.

Chapter 4: Mixed Methods Research Designs [+–] 85-106

This chapter addresses the important issue of formulating research questions in MMR studies. Different ways of formulating research questions in line with the purposes of MMR, as presented in Chapter 3, will be discussed and illustrated in this chapter. The formulation of research questions will be discussed in the light of the purpose and the design of the MMR study. We will elaborate on the link between the conceptualization of the research problem, the purpose of the study, and the specific research questions to be asked. This will help readers to see the formulation of research questions as a systematic endeavour and to place their questions in a broader context. Moreover, and given the importance of research questions in the subsequent phases of data collection and analysis, readers will be alerted to the what, how, and why of the data to be collected.

Chapter 5: Research Questions, Sampling Procedures and Data Collection Strategies [+–] 107-132

MMR draws on a variety of designs using different data collection tools and procedures from both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in integrated projects. What is significant is how MMR combines such methodologies in specific and appropriate ways to achieve the particular research purposes of a study so as to achieve a rich and principled account of its chosen data. While data collection tools and procedures used in MMR may not in themselves be entirely distinctive from those used in each individual methodology (quantitative or qualitative), the main point here will be to show how such methods and tools can be used in an integrated and innovative manner to create new designs.

Chapter 6: Analysing Data and Making Inferences [+–] 133-154

Once the required data (both quantitative and qualitative) are collected for a MMR study, analysis of the two sets of the data in a coherent way becomes the researcher’s main goal. This chapter will discuss the procedures of data analysis in MMR. It will also review and introduce some computer software packages MMR researchers can benefit from and use in their data analysis. Different types of inferences the MMR researcher can make, based on the analysis of the data, will be another important topic to be discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 7: Writing Proposals for MMR Studies [+–] 155-173

The final stage in the research process is that of making plausible inference and presenting research conclusions. This chapter will build on Chapter 6 to show how inferences and results of discussed types of inference in MMR studies can be formulated in research reports to be presented for various audiences, both academic and lay/professional, with a view to maximizing impact of the research in question. Along with the challenges researchers as a whole face in the process and conducting the research, novice and early career researchers often find producing a full and appropriately formulated report of their research a difficult and challenging task. Such reports/accounts may be directed at research sponsors and grant giving bodies, and typically will include research theses and journal articles and book chapters, but may also include reports to lay agencies. Accordingly, this final chapter in Part 2 shows how a MMR-based research study can be optimally presented to its key audiences.

Part Three: Review and Analysis of Published MMR Studies

Chapter 8: A Framework for Analysing MMR Studies [+–] 177-190

This first chapter in Part 3 of the book focuses on presenting a Framework for the analysis and evaluation of MMR studies. We offer a framework to guide and assist researchers in evaluating existing MMR studies, and in planning their own MMR studies in a coherent and warranted manner. This framework will then be used to review and evaluate sample MMR Case Studies we introduce and discuss in this Part 3 of the book and in relation to the themes below.

Chapter 9: Researching Language Components [+–] 191-216

Each chapter in this Part 3 of the book follows the structure outline below: • Introduction: The introductory section of each Chapter in Part 3 will present an overview of the two sample MMR studies to be reviewed in the given chapter. This will set the scene for the next section of each Chapter which illustrates in detail how the themes in question have been investigated using MMR. • Review and Analysis of MMR Studies: In this section of the Chapter, two published MMR studies relating to the theme in question will be analysed using the framework presented in Chapter 8 to showcase and evaluate the use of MMR in relation to that particular theme. The studies will be selected from quality journals and other sources in Language Teaching and Learning to ensure the standing and salience of the sources being drawn on. The MMR Studies will be selected to range over a number of diverse contexts and sites, involving a variety of participants. The following criteria will be used to select journals and papers: – The scope of the journal should address and focus one of the themes in Language Teaching and Learning we identify – The journal should have been indexed in one of the well-known data bases (SCOPUS, ISI, etc.) – The papers to be selected will be indicative of how MMR is used in its data collection and analysis. Accordingly, those papers which have only used either quantitative or qualitative as their research methodology will be excluded. • Commentary: We draw here on the preceding sections of the Chapter to highlight key aspects of MMR in relation to the theme in question, emphasising the way in which the particular Chapter reflects the issues set out in previous parts and as evidenced in the selected Case Studies. We will also provide a critical commentary on each Case Study to display how such studies could be made even more MMR focused.

Chapter 10: Researching Communication Skills [+–] 217-240

Chapter 11: Researching Motivation and Attitude [+–] 241-261

Chapter 12: Researching Language Testing and Assessment [+–] 263-283

Chapter 13: Round up of the book [+–] 285-294

This final chapter of the book will present an overview and will highlight the main features of MMR with the aim of directing readers to planning of their own MMR projects. We will emphasise here again the link to be made between theorizing/conceptualizing the object of the study and designing a given MMR project. In the second part of the chapter we will present a useful source of online resources for readers. These online sources, along with the references in the reference list of the book will serve to provide readers with necessary and appropriate resources to draw on and plan their own research studies.

End Matter

Index [+–] 295-297

Reviews

An excellent contribution to the field of second language learning and teaching research methodology, which can be appreciated by both graduate students and more experienced researchers alike.
LinguistList

Mixed Methods Research in Language Teaching and Learning makes some important contributions to how scholars in the language teaching and learning field may conceptualize MMR design and execution. First, Riazi lends careful attention to the convergence of quantitative and qualitative paradigms, including discussion of the different epistemological assumptions and “cultures” of each research camp that previously kept the two divergent. This text presents MMR as a paradigm that is much more than the sum of its parts, i.e., MMR is more than simply designing a study that has a qualitative component and a quantitative component, and it deserves the same depth of expertise and deliberation as other research approaches. Second, the book’s format qualifies it as a potential teaching textbook for methods professors or those mentoring theses or dissertations in the field of educational linguistics, applied linguistics, or language learning and teaching, or even as a self-study book for those wishing to develop their own MMR knowledge base. The clear, step-by-step procedural guidance is logical and would be valuable for researchers from conceptualization to publication of an MMR study on language learning or teaching.
Linguistics and Education

The merit of Riazi’s book lies in that it is field specific and addresses language-related issues and topics in depth.
Japan Association for Language Teaching Journal (JALT)

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Mixed Methods Research in Language Teaching and Learning

A. Mehdi Riazi [+–]

Macquarie University

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