Narrowing+down+a+topic

>Applied Linguistics toc media type="youtube" key="IOscupleq6w" width="560" height="315"

=Narrowing down a research topic= Selecting a topic: Move from an everyday problem that you would like to investigate (stage 1) to defining a specific subject, perspective, and vantage point that defines your research topic (stage 2). The final stage (stage 3) is to remove yourself from the personal domain of refining the topic of interest to the formal world of academia. In this final stage, **//switch from everyday language to technical terminology used in a particular academic discipline (e.g., applied linguistics)//**. See list of possible research topics in applied linguistics below as a guide. Merge your topic with an area of linguistic focus: a) individual skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, speaking), b) grammar, c) vocabulary, d) or some combination of the aforementioned (e.g., reading and writing, listening and speaking, speaking and vocabulary, etc.).

=Task= After you have narrowed down your topic, your task is to consider the following questions this week and create a paragraph that addresses as many of these as possible. Post your paragraph in the comment section below.

What is your primary focus?

 * Understand a real-world problem
 * Build knowledge/theory
 * Develop an intervention/program
 * Evaluate something
 * Inform a larger study

Who is your primary audience?

 * Scholars, researchers, teachers, funders, clients, stakeholders, etc. who will read your thesis

Who are your participants?

 * Study population/sample, institution(s), eligibility criteria, students, teachers, administrators, parents, etc.

What are any comparative elements to include in your study (if applicable)?

 * Between vs. within group comparisons

What is the temporal orientation of your study?

 * Cross-section vs. longitudinal

What is your research objective?

 * To identify, explore, describe, explain, evaluate, etc.

What is your qualitative approach (if applicable)?

 * Types: Description, phenomenology, grounded theory, discursive analysis, narrative, and intuitive inquiry
 * Ethnography, inductive thematic analysis, case study, discourse/conversation analysis, mixed methods
 * Also, consider the theoretical tradition that applies to your study.
 * Note: Credit-seeking students attending the UAA are encouraged to choose specifically from the following: phenomenology, discursive analysis, or intuitive inquiry. Consider also a case study and whether a mixed methods (QUAL/QUAN) approach is appropriate. The decision-making process in this regard is solely dependent on your research questions.

What are the attributes of human experience to examine?

 * Behavior, attitudes/opinions/perceptions, values and emotions, knowledge, culturally shared meaning, social structure and relationships, processes and systems, environmental context

What are the data collection methods?

 * participant observation
 * in-depth interviews
 * focus groups
 * document analysis

What are the procedures that will inform your study?

 * Listing, categorizing, timelines, drawing/mapping, visual elicitation (projective), rating/ranking, post-event reflection, delphi technique, collages, building a campaign, laddering, ethnographic decision making

What are the sampling procedures for your study?

 * Inductive vs. a priori sampling

What are the sampling strategies?

 * Census, purposive, quota, convenience, simple random, systematic, etc.

What are the recruitment methods?

 * media-based, investigator initiated, socially based, panel/list-based

What are any time and resource constraints that you face?

 * Scheduling expectations, budget, research scope with the time and budget parameters, participant, stakeholders, etc. expectations

=Developing a researchable topic based on applied linguistics= This week you will be narrowing down your applied linguistics topic by revealing the purpose of your study. The purpose of your research should be (S)pecific, (M)easurable, (A)ttainable, (R)ealistic, and (T)imely (SMART). In order to research your topic, (1) review your literature review from academic writing (if relevant), (2) begin thinking about your participants (institutions, students, teachers, administrators, etc.), and (3) complete the research topic matrix making sure to include a separate row for each research question.
 * Specific and systematic
 * Measurable, observable and something one experiences via the senses (see, hear, touch, etc.)
 * Attainable, feasible, unequivocal, and logical
 * Realistic, relevant and systematic
 * Timely and current

What are your research questions?

 * Revisit the question above pertaining to your research objective...pay close attention to the verbs you use when formulating your research questions.

Moving from a topic to questions
(Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008) Brainstorm a set of questions from a variety of perspectives, beginning with asking who, what, when, where, but focusing on how, and why. Then continue brainstorming through the following types of questions:


 * Topic history
 * Ask questions about developmental context. How has this problem, technique, method, material, etc. changed over the years? Why has it changed over the years? etc.
 * Structure and composition
 * How does your topic relate to a bigger context? What is the composition of your topic? How do the pieces fit together?
 * Categorization
 * How can your topic be grouped together? How does your topic compare and contrast with topics within the same or similar category.
 * Positive to negative questions
 * Turn positive questions to negative questions. Why have wikis not become a prevalent web tool in today's language classroom?
 * What if... questions
 * What if all language teachers had to use wikis with their learners?
 * Questions from sources
 * Search primary research articles and find questions for further research. Or tailor research questions from primary research articles to local research topic interests. Find questions from outside sources that allow you to fill the literature gap so that what you investigate adds to the body of knowledge that currently makes up the field.

Moving from questions to a problem
To move a question to its significance, try using the following prompts: Here are some examples with key words (nouns deriving from verbs) italicized... Add an indirect question (in bold) to your topic to indicate what you don't know or would like to understand better... Build research questions specifically around the indirect question (bold text) that you have created above.
 * I wish to learn more about...(a topic).
 * I am studying teachers' beliefs about formative assessments and related teaching techniques.
 * I am working on why students are reluctant to speak English in class.
 * I am trying to learn about teaching covert grammar and how students feel about different related teaching techniques.
 * Example: I wish to learn more about _ because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/how _.
 * I am studying teachers' beliefs about formative assessment because I want to find out how students feel about related teaching techniques.
 * I am working on why students are reluctant to speak English in class because I want to find out what authentic materials I might use to promote better interaction among students.
 * etc.

So what?
Your topic must be interesting to you, the researcher, but must also be interesting to others in the field. Add to your topic and indirect question the significance of your research. Moving from a topic to questions involves a three-part process: 1) stating what you want to learn more about, 2) tagging an indirect question to your topic (beginning with a because clause), and 3) concluding with the significance of your research (an in order to clause).
 * Example: I wish to learn more about because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/how _ in order to.
 * I am studying teachers' beliefs about formative assessment because I want to find out how students feel about related teaching techniques in order to demonstrate the role of formative assessment in the English language classroom.
 * I am working on why students are reluctant to speak English in class because I want to find out what authentic materials I might use to promote better interaction among students in order to place less emphasis on the coursebook as a syllabus.
 * etc.

Moving from questions to a problem
Reflect on your topic-to-question statement: First, distinguish between a practical problem and a research problem... A problem consists of a condition and a cost or consequence. The first question (the condition) helps answer the second question (the cost or consequence). Example: Knowing when to give feedback that allows students to feel more confident when speaking with their peers (question #1 or condition) addresses the bigger question of how teacher intervention can either promote or discourage student's oral production in class (question #2 or cost/consequence). Here are additional tips when searching for a problem to research:
 * Topic: I wish to learn more about...
 * Question: because I want to find out what/why/how etc....
 * Significance: (Reflect on the reader's point of view.): in order to...
 * Practical problem: Students are afraid to speak in class.
 * Research problem: How can I provide feedback to students in such a way that they feel more confident to speak English with their peers?
 * Research solution: Provide individual feedback when requested during the task, and group feedback once the task has been completed.
 * Practical solution: Avoid overcorrection or providing too much feedback to students.
 * (topic) I am studying teacher feedback (question #1 & condition) because I want to find out when giving feedback allows students to feel more confident when speaking L2 with their peers (significance, question #2, & cost or consequence ) in order to answer the bigger question of how teacher intervention can either promote or discourage student's oral production in class.
 * Ask teachers, students, administrators, and other experts in the field about problems they face related to teaching and learning an additional language.
 * Search primary research articles for related problems to find relevant examples.
 * Begin with a problem at the onset of your research, but understand that research problems may morph or emerge in different forms as one conducts a study.

Unit of Analysis
=Applied Linguistics Topics to Consider=
 * Bilingual education
 * Corpus linguistics
 * Cognitive linguistics
 * Classroom discourse
 * Grice and implicatures (part 1, part 2, & part 3)
 * L1 use in language teaching
 * L2 transfer and interference
 * Learner autonomy
 * Interactive/collaboraitve language learning.
 * Task-based learning
 * Problem-based learning
 * Performance-based learning
 * Language learning strategies
 * Language exchanges
 * English for Academic Purposes
 * English for Specific Purposes
 * Generative grammar
 * Chomsky's Universal Grammar
 * Overt/cover language teaching/learning
 * Implicit/explicit language teaching/learning
 * Chomsky's Universal Grammar
 * Grammar
 * Innatism
 * Krashen's hypotheses
 * Interactive/collaborative language learning
 * Language and culture
 * Language exchanges
 * Language and gender
 * Language and identity
 * Language emergence as a complex adaptive system
 * Language learning and culture
 * Language learning and technology
 * Language learning strategies
 * Language teacher education
 * Professional development or professional learning among (English language), in-service educators
 * Professional development or professional learning among (English language), pre-service educators
 * Language testing
 * Formative assessment in the language classroom
 * Formative vs. summative assessment in the language classroom
 * Dynamic assessment in the language classroom
 * Language exchanges
 * Task-based learning
 * Problem-based learning
 * Performance-based learning
 * Learner autonomy
 * Lexis
 * Linguistic imperialism
 * Motivation and effect
 * Multilingualism
 * Multimodality
 * Phonetics and phonology
 * Professional development or professional learning among (English language), in-service educators
 * Professional development or professional learning among (English language), pre-service educators
 * Psycholinguistics
 * Systemic functional linguistics
 * Sociocultural theories
 * Sociolinguistics and motivation
 * Translation & interpretation

=Six steps for conducting a literature review = (Machi & McEvoy, 2009)
 * 1) Select a topic.
 * 2) Search the literature.
 * 3) [|Develop an argument].
 * 4) Survey the literature.
 * 5) Critique the literature.
 * 6) Write the review.

=References=

Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams, J. (2008). __ [|The craft of research] __. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Cambridge English. (2015). //English language teaching//. Retrieved on July 12, 2015 from @http://www.cambridge.org/gb/cambridgeenglish/catalog Guest, G., Namey, E., & Mitchell, M. (2013). Collecting qualitative data: A field manual for applied research. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE. Machi, L. & McEvoy, B. (2009). //The literature review: Six steps to success//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

=Additional reading=
 * [|The Research Question]
 * [|Moving from a top of interest to a research question]
 * [|Choosing and refining topics]
 * [|Writing a thesis statement]