This textbook provides a hands-on introduction for students embarking on their first qualitative research projects in language teaching and learning environments. The author addresses theoretical, methodological, and procedural aspects of conducting qualitative studies on issues of language teaching and learning, and includes examples which take a closer look at real-world scenarios and obstacles that might occur in language education research. Written in learner-friendly language, this textbook provides a rare how-to text for beginner qualitative researchers, and will be a valuable resource for upper undergraduate and postgraduate students on courses in applied linguistics, second/foreign language teaching, TESOL, literacy studies and related fields.

Doing Qualitative Research in Education Settings, Second Edition is a methods book that speaks directly to qualitative researchers in the field of education, providing a step-by-step guide to the development of a research project. Written in accessible language, the book emphasizes learning how to do qualitative work. Specific examples from real studies, using real data and demonstrating real analyses, are provided throughout. The book is designed to guide doctoral candidates through the dissertation process, from unpacking assumptions and identifying research questions, through project design, data collection and analysis, to writing the final draft. Recommendations for publishing qualitative work are included. New to the second edition are a comprehensive updating of citations and references, new sections addressing the impact of computer-mediated communication (especially as related to data collection and analysis), an overview of the recent history of qualitative research, and an overall refresh that acknowledges the many changes that have occurred in society and academe since the original publication.

Research in applied linguistics and language education often faces a challenge due to a lack of updated knowledge and understanding of research methods, particularly among undergraduate and graduate students and novice researchers. This knowledge gap can lead to ineffective research practices, inaccurate data interpretation, and limited progress in the field. To address this challenge, Applied Linguistics and Language Education Research Methods: Fundamentals and Innovations provides a comprehensive solution by offering a detailed exploration of research methods tailored to the needs of students and novice researchers. This book covers qualitative and quantitative approaches, research processes, literature reviews, and other vital aspects of academic rigor in research. It also addresses common challenges faced during the research process, such as formulating research aims, questions, and hypotheses and effectively collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Through clear and accessible explanations, readers gain a deeper understanding of these complex topics, enabling them to navigate the research process confidently. Additionally, the book covers various research types and designs, including experimental, survey, correlational, narrative, action research, and mixed-methods designs. Ensuring readers are well-equipped to choose the most appropriate methodology for their research needs leads to more robust and impactful studies in their respective fields.

This book provides an overview of affective individual variables that are considered relevant for second language learning and outlines a novel approach to researching them. In the first part of the book, the most prominent concepts and theories in connection with affective individual variables and tasks are discussed, followed by a literature review of the most significant empirical studies conducted on the reviewed individual variables with the help of tasks. The second part of the monograph reports the findings of a research project which investigated the relationships of motivation, emotions, flow experiences, and self-efficacy beliefs of secondary school students studying English in Hungary. These constructs are examined at two levels: in connection with learners’ English classes in general and in connection with a particular language task, thus linking task performance measures to specific affective states experienced while performing a task and their general trait versions reported in connection with the language classes. Teacher interviews provide further insights into the language tasks used by the teachers of the students taking part in the study and their affective correlates. The book offers multi-level interpretations of the results, puts forward pedagogical implications, and delineates further research directions.

The fourth edition of this reader-friendly book offers an accessible introduction to conducting qualitative research in education. The text begins with an introduction to the history, context, and traditions of qualitative research, and then walks readers step-by-step through the research process. Lichtman outlines research planning and design, as well as the methodologies, techniques, and strategies to help researchers make the best use of their qualitative investigation. Throughout, chapters touch on important issues that impact this research process such as ethics and subjectivity and making use of technology. The fourth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated featuring new examples, an increased focus on virtual and digital data collection, and the latest approaches to qualitative research. Written in a practical, conversational style and full of real-world scenarios drawn from across education, this book is a practical compendium on qualitative research in education ideal for graduate and advanced undergraduate research methods courses and early career researchers alike. Hear Marilyn discuss what inspired her to write this fourth edition and what readers can expect. In this podcast episode of The Qualitative Report, she discusses the various types of qualitative research and what defines quality and rigor as well as current issues in education and how qualitative research methods can be used to address them. Finally, she shares her thoughts about technology and the future of qualitative research.

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and Learning Research is the only entry-level introduction to research methods using stories, either as data or as a means of presenting findings, and a practical guide for those interested in carrying out narrative studies. This successful text is grounded in published empirical research within the field of language teaching and learning and clearly defines basic concepts in narrative inquiry, explaining how and why narrative methods have been used in language teaching and learning research and outlining different choices and approaches. It also examines the different ways of eliciting, analyzing, and presenting narrative inquiry data, which offers exciting prospects for language teaching and learning research. This second edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect the latest research and includes new sections on multimodal digital narrative research and the reporting of findings in dissertations and theses. This original and well-respected textbook is an ideal course book for specialist courses on narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning. It is an excellent entry-level text for undergraduate students preparing honours projects, postgraduate masters’ and doctoral students embarking on narrative projects, and more advanced researchers seeking to understand the role of narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning research. It is also the go-to choice as a reference on narrative in more general applied linguistics research methodology courses.

What sets Qualitative Research Methods for Second Language Education apart from existing books is its balance between theories and learning activities. The activities are designed to be interactive so that they provide a chance for both students and teachers to reinforce their understanding of the research topic. It is the author’s belief that one learns research by conducting research rather than by talking about it. Thus, the activities created in the book provide opportunities for students to develop and sharpen their research skills. Developing these skills will be very useful when students later conduct their own research.

This text describes important considerations for conceptualizing, designing and carrying out qualitative research in community settings. The book covers various research aspects with respect to teaching, learning, practicing and assessing. Readers will gain insights into qualitative methodology as a vital stand-alone approach and find it to be an illuminating supplement to quantitative methodology and a core component of mixed methods studies. Some key questions answered by the book are: What's in it for us? What are collaborations and partnerships? How can knowledge and skills to achieve mean.

This book makes a fresh contribution to the field of research ethics by considering research issues through relatable autobiographical narratives. The book’s core offers narratives by novice second language education researchers who are completing PhD degrees using data from international research participants. These narratives expose challenges regarding the ethical identity of researchers working across diverse value and belief systems. The narrative chapters are followed by four chapters of commentaries from a line-up of international scholars with various academic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. The case study approach reports the experiences and reflections of research students before, during, and after the data collection phase of their projects, and offers insights into the recruitment of participants; acquiring and maintaining access; interpretations of the notion of informed consent; incentivising participants; the implications of ensuring anonymity and confidentiality; the right to withdraw participation and data; the positioning of the researcher as insider or outsider; potential conflicts of interest; the potential harm to participants and researcher; and the dissemination of findings. This practical and relatable book is aimed at research students and their supervisors in fields such as applied linguistics and education, as well as those following methods courses, to help illustrate the ethical challenges faced by researchers in the process of collecting qualitative data.