ENG518 Highlighted Handouts

Lesson-01

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

Topic-001: What is Research?

The course provides in-depth understanding of research methodologies. The focus is emphasize each step involved in research methodology starting from locating the research problem to designing and developing a complete research. The course will equip the students with the awareness of the distinctive concepts of research process and their varied implementation.

The course aims to: understand and have an overview of the fundamentals of research methods used in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) critically evaluate a research problem and formulate research questions and objectives for astudy to address the issue. formulate (in a particular context) the major components of a research study (e.g., title, abstract, introduction, research design, discussion and conclusion) present a research proposal and critically argue to defend the research design

Research is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypotheses, suggests new interpretations of data or texts, and poses new questions for future research to explore (Jolla, 2015).

Research consists of:

Asking a question that nobody has asked before; Doing the necessary work to find the answer; and Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience.

In practice, research methods vary widely, depending upon the academic discipline’s accepted standards, the individual researcher’s preferences, or a particular study’s needs. Research in science and engineering often involves conducting experiments in the lab or in the field. Research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences may include archival work in the library or on the internet, conducting surveys or in-depth interviews, and a wide range of creative and artistic projectsfrom costume design to playwriting to curating a fine arts exhibit.

Topic-002: Definitions of research

In the broadest sense of the word, research includes any formal gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge. Research is conducted according to the researcher’s intention, their purpose, and the paradigm they are operating from within. While many people use the word “research” to loosely mean “gathering information” scientists use this word in a more specific way. The term “research” in a scientific context usually refers to the entire scientific method from start to finish. Research adds to the scientific knowledge of the subject. According to Francis G. Cornell, it is a reliable verifiable and exhaustive process. Research is a careful inquiry or examination in seeking facts or principles (Clifford Woody Uof Michigan), it urges for the discovery of truth (critical thinking), defining and redefining problems, formulating hypotheses (or suggesting solutions) collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions. CC Crawford says that research is simply a systematic and refined technique of thinking, employing specialized tools, instruments, and procedures; we opt for research to obtain a more adequate solution of a problem than would be possible under ordinary means. Encyclopedia of Social Science defines it as the manipulation of things concepts or symbols-generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge. V. Redman and A.V.H. Mory state that research is a systematized effort to gain new knowledge. Francies Rummel discussed about research as an endeavor to discover, develop and verify knowledge, an intellectual process which is developed over hundreds of years, ever changing in purpose and form and always searching for truth. According to P.M. Cook, research is an honest exhaustive, intelligent searching for facts and their meanings or implications with reference to a given problem. The product or findings of a given piece of research should be an authentic, verifiable contribution to knowledge in the field studied.

Topic-003: General Characteristics of Research

The characteristics of research are: The nature of research is systematic-logicalempirical-reductive-replicable. It gathers new knowledge or data from primary or first-hand sources. Emphasis upon the discovery of general principles Exact systematic and accurate investigation involved Uses certain valid data gathering devices Logical and objective Resists the temptation to seek only the data that support his hypotheses Eliminates personal feelings and preferences Patient and unhurried activity Carefully recorded and reported Conclusions and generalizations are arrived at carefully and cautiously

Topic-004: Functions of Research

Research is the name of seeking new knowledge for continuous improvement. Through research refinement and extension of knowledge happens, it provides baseline data or simply a picture of how things are. Research makes decision-making easier, concerning the acquisition of knowledge in a specific field It improves learning and teaching processes It improves various aspects of human life

Topic-005: Specific Characteristics of ELT Research

There are 50 + research journals (TESOL website) available to take guidance regarding ELT research. Why such a huge research is there in ELT? It provides a sound philosophy, deep insight and imaginative. It offers problem solving techniques. ELT research is both theoretical and applied. ELT research desires to make things better, improving teaching and learning. It is not as exact as physical sciences, also involves subjectivity. There is no restriction for ELT research to be held by specialists only. It is an interdisciplinary research. It can bridge Psychology [e.g., motivation and anxiety] and Sociology [e.g., cultural assimilation and social varieties].