The Questionnaire:
A questionnaire is a group of questions aimed at answering the research questions when making surveys (the survey method); therefore, a researcher has to operationalize the questionnaire (to make it structured as much as possible in order to get quantitative data).
Example: a question with choices can be coded and scored so that we can analyse data easily by having numbers and percentages.
The questionnaire is also used in the exploratory phase in experimental research to gain initial information about the topic of research. It should be anonymous so that respondents do not hesitate to answer it.
Planning a questionnaire:
according to Cohen and Manion planning a questionnaire involves the following phases/steps: -
Specifying the objective.
-Identifying topics that are related to research aims. -Formulating information related to each issue.
Types of questionnaires:
Cohen and Manion think that there is a simple rule: The larger the size of the sample, the more structured, closed and numerical the questionnaire is. The smaller the size of the sample, the less structured, open and word-based the questionnaire is. Structured questionnaires (closed Q): it is to set closed questions and their responses. The questionnaire is closed.
Semi-structured questionnaires: the researcher sets the questions but does not expect the responses. Unstructured questionnaires: there is no clear structure, just ideas in the mind of the researcher, the questionnaire is open.
Types of questionnaires’ questons:
there are many types, for instance:
1. Dichotomous questions: they require yes/no answers.
Eg. Do you think that attention has an influence on increasing foreign language proficiency?........................
yes / no.
2. Multiple choice questions: it is a question with various possible answers. Eg. Teaching computer science in the English Department is:
a. Helpful because the student can know new information.
b. A waste of time and unnecessary because students already know how to use the computer and can practice outside the classroom.
c. Can be helpful if it were in English.
3. Rank ordering: it is to ask a person to order items by identifying priorities. Eg. Indicate your priorities by placing numbers from 1 to 4.
To write effectively, students have to: -listen to the foreign language. -read texts written in English. -write by imitating native English texts. -write freely.
4. Rating scales: it is to ask a person to order items by identifying degrees of response. There are many types of scales, for example:
*The Likert scale:
e.g. How important do you consider learning English in the primary school? not at all very little a little a lot a very great deal
CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) is very helpful in teaching second and foreign languages.
(strongly disagree, disagree,
neither agree,nor disagree partially agree,agree
strongly agree)
The semantic differential scale:
e.g.
(necessary.....1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ......... unnecessary )
To what extent is the use of the thesaurus in learning English necessary?
5. Open-ended questions: they are questions without choices.
e.g. -
Could you add extra information about this topic?... -
Could you please add any comments on this topic?...
-Would you please complete the following sentence:-effective teaching is based on…
Piloting thequestionnaire:
a researcher has to pilot his questionnaire:
to try it in order to see whether its questions are clear and valid or not; and to check the time of its completion (from 30 to 45 minutes). At this stage s/he can add or delete some questions.
The Interview :
History and Definition: The term interview comes from the French word “entre voir” which means “toglimpse or to see each other.” (Debasish & Das, 2009, p. 146).
In 1970, Mouly has defined the interview as “a conversation” that occurs between the interviewer and the interviewee. (as cited in Baraceros, 2000, p.81).
Later, in 1975, Wiersman has defined the interview as “a data-collection procedure that involves “a face to face confrontation between the interviewer and a subject or a group of subjects” (as cited in Baraceros, 2000, p.146). Additionally, the interview is “a meeting for obtaining information by questioning a person or persons”.
It is “a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee”. (Debasish & Das, 2009, p.146).
The interview is “a twoperson conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research-relevant information.” (Cannell and Kahn, as cited in Cohen, L , Manion, L and Morrison, K. 2000: 269).So, it is a process which allows the researcher to interact verbally with the informants.
Purposes of the interview:
to gather data in surveys or experimental studies. According to Tuckman the interview enables the researcher to know what is “inside a person’s head”. (as cited in Cohen, L Manion, L & Morrison, K. 2000: p. 268).
Types of interview
a. Classification according to the number of the interviewees:
The individual interview: it is a verbal interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. The group interview (no more than eight people) It provides the researcher with a wide range of answers due to discussion. For instance the teacher interviews college students from different levels of LMD: first, second and third years and students from the old/classical system to compare the two systems. Group interview could help the researcher to gain time.
A form of group interview is:
Focus groups: it is not an interview between the researcher and the group but between the members of the groups. The researcher introduces a topic to each group so that the participants interact with each other and discuss it. S/he collects data that emerges from this interaction in unnatural settings. Concerning the size of each group Morgan (as cited in Cohen, L Manion, L and Morrison, K. 2000: p.288) suggests between four and twelve persons per group.
b. Classification according to Patton: according to Patton there are four types of interviews
1. Informal conversational interview: unstructured: no questions, no topic for each question.
2. Interview guide approach:
semi-structured: no questions but there is the topic of each question.
3. Standardized open-ended interview: structured (open questions: no choices).
4.Closed quantitative interview: structured (closed questions: with choices).
Designing the interview: The researcher has to decide which questions to use: -Open and/or closed questions. -Direct and/or indirect questions: direct: Do you like teaching? ; indirect: What is you view about education?. According to Tuckman the indirect questions are more likely to get frank responses. -Specific and/or non-specific questions: specific: What do you think about the teaching method of your teacher of the writing module?. Here, the respondent is cautious and less honest. Non-specific: What is your view about the teaching methods used in your college?
Writing the report: The nature of the report is based on the nature of the interview: a structured interview may yield numerical data that may be reported in tables and graphs whereas unstructured interview will yield a word-based report.
According to Kvale (as cited in Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. 2000: p.286) the report includes:
1-an introduction about the theme.
2 -design of the interview.
3- data analysis and interpretation.
4 - a discussion.
Definition of observation: it is to gather ‘live’ data from ‘live’ situations.
As claimed by Patton observation is “to look at what is taking place in situation rather than at second hand” (cited in Cohen, L , Manion, L and Morrison, K. 2000: 305).
We have direct/live/first-hand observation and indirect/second-hand observation (others’ past observation: when someone tells you about what had happened...).
Types of observation
a. Classification according to structure:
1. Structured/ standardized observation:
The researcher knows in advance what s/he is looking for. The hypothesis is already decided and data from the observation is used to confirm or reject the hypothesis. So, the structured observation is hypothesis-testing unlike the semi-structured and the unstructured observations which are hypothesis-generating. The structured observation enables the researcher to collect numeric data. Observation chart / schedule in structured observation to get
quantitative data: making observation objective and scientific.
Topic (students’ interaction in the classroom) + hypothesis (if students’ interact with each other, their oral performence would improve)
2. Semi-structured observation:
to observe what is happening in order to generate hypotheses about a specific topic.
3. Unstructured observation: the researcher has no clear idea about what s/he is looking for. S/he will generate the hypothesis after the observation.
b. Naturalistic/participant observation:
it is to observe events or persons in their natural settings. This type of research involves "that method in which the observer participates in the daily life of the people under study … observing things that happen, listening to what is said and questioning people, over some length of time" (Becker and Geer 1957). According to Gold (1969) participation of the researcher has degrees:
1. The complete participant: to take an insider role in the group being studied, the researcher doesn’t declare that s/he is a researcher; so, the group does not realize that they are being observed (covert research). In this context, the researcher can stop to be a researcher and becomes a member of the group since s/he becomes influenced by their values and habits.
2. The participant-as-observer: the group which is studied knows from the beginning that s/he is a researcher who records what is happening for research purposes. S/he participates actively and becomes a member in the group (overt research).
3. The observer-as-participant (the marginal observer): the researcher is detached from the group. S/he is not involved in their activities. The group knows that s/he is a researcher (overt research).
4. The complete observer: the researcher observes the events without being noticed. S/he simply observes public behaviour (covert research).
THE CASE STUDY
Introduction :-
The case study was introduced by Frederic Le Play in the field of social sciences in 1829. A case study is a descriptive and a qualitative inquiry that investigates a phenomenon in its real context (the real world). The case study observes the characteristics of an individual unit (a child, a class, a school, a community...etc.) in order to generalize the findings to the whole population.
Robert K. Yin (1984) defines the case study research method as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used (p. 23). For instance Halliday’s (1975) study of the language development of his own child.
According to Woodside, A.G (2010. p. 2) CSR (Case Study Research) is not related only to “real-life contexts” because it is also suitable for studying historical events. He also thinks that the case study is not always qualitative; it can be quantitative through experimental design. (2010: 11).
Example: Schmidt’ s (1983) study of Wes, an ESL learner. Wes is Japanese, aged 33 years. He received little formal instruction in English. Schmidt studied his language development for a 3-year period when he visited Hawaii for business. He found that pragmatic competence is separated from linguistic competence. Although Wes has a pragmatic ability to produce sentences, those sentences were not
4grammatically accurate. (Mackey, A and Gass, S. M. 2005: 171)
When do researchers use case study method?
# The type of research question: typically to answer questions like “how” or “why”.
# Extent of control over behavioural events: when the investigator has a little/no possibility to control the events.
# General circumstances of the phenomenon to be studied: contemporary phenomenon in a real-life context.
Types of cases
Yin (1993) has identified some specific types of case studies:
Exploratory cases: they are sometimes considered as a prelude to research.
Explanatory cases: they may be used for doing causal investigations.
Descriptive cases: they require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting the research.
Stake (1995) included three other types:
:-Intrinsic cases- when the researcher has an interest in the case.
:-Instrumental cases - when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer.
:-Collective cases- when a group of cases is studied.
Designs of case studies: single- or multiple-case studies.
Research methods in case studies: qualitative or quantitative, or both.
Case study methodology (steps)
1-Determine and define the research questions.
2-Select the cases and determine data gathering and analysis techniques.
3-Prepare to collect the data.
4-Collect data in the field.
5-Evaluate and analyze the data.
6-Prepare the report.
Yin (1994)’s four stages:
1.Design the case study,
2.Conduct the case study,
3.Analyze the case study evidence.
4.Develop the conclusions, recommendations and implications.
Flyvbjerg (2006) identified five statements regarding the limitations of case study as a research:
1. General, theoretical knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical knowledge.
2. One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case and, therefore, the case study cannot contribute
to scientific development.
3. The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for
hypotheses testing and theory building.
4. The case study contains a bias toward verification, i.e., a tendency to confirm the researcher’s
preconceived notions.
5. It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies.
Main advantages of case studies:
1-They provide an in-depth description and analysis of a phenomenon.
2- They allow the researcher to focus on the individual.
3- Their applicability to real-life, contemporary, human situations and its public accessibility through written reports.
Main disadvantage of case studies: -
Case studies are difficult to generalize because of inherent subjectivity and because they are most of the time based on qualitative subjective data.
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