ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING RESEARCH Assignment (Developing Research Question)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING RESEARCH Assignment (Developing Research Question)

BAB I

INTRODUCTION

A.    Background

Research is to finding a problem solve to solution in analyzing. Robert Adams, a high school teacher in Omaha, Nebraska, wants to investigate whether the inquiry method will increase the interest of his eleventh-grade students in history. Phyllis Gomez, a physical education teacher in an elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona, wants to find out how her sixth-grade students feel about the new exercise program recently  mandated by the school district. Tami Mendoza, a counselor in a large inner-city high school in San Francisco, wonders whether a client- centered approach might help ease the hostility that many of her students display during counseling sessions. Each of these examples presents a problem that could serve as a basis for research. Research problems—the focus of a research investigation— are what this chapter is about. This chapter to introduce or expand on many of the basic ideas involved in educational research. These include concepts such as hypotheses, variables, sampling, measurement, validity, reliability, and many others. We also begin to supply you with certain skills that will enhance your ability to understand and master the research process. These include such things as how to select a research problem, formulate a hypothesis, conduct a literature search, choose a sample, defi ne words and phrases clearly, develop a valid instrument, plus many others. Regardless of the methodology a researcher uses, all of these skills are important to master. We also discuss the ethical implications involved in the conduct of research itself.

B.     Problem Foundation

1.      What is the research question?

2.      what are the characteristics of the research question?

C.    Problem Purpose

1.      To found out the best way to make good question.

BAB II

CONTENT

A.    Defition Research

1.      What Is a Research Problem?

A research problem is exactly that—a problem that someone would like to research.

For researchers and students alike, research problems are usually identified from several sources including:

(a) The research literature— sees detailed discussion in Chapter 3 on the role of the literature review in formulating research questions;

(b) Problems in practice or work related contexts; and

(c) Personal biography or history (such as current or past personal experiences or identities, race, ethnicity, gender, class background, family customs, religion, and so forth).  

2.      Research Question

Research Questions Usually a research problem is initially posed as a question, which serves as the focus of the researcher’s investigation. In our view, the research question should dictate the research type and paradigm (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method) used to conduct the study rather than the other way around, i.e., the methodology determining the question. The following examples of initial research questions in education are not sufficiently developed for actual use in a research project but would be suitable during the early stage of formulating a research question. An appropriate methodology and research paradigm (in parentheses) are provided for each question. Although there are other possible methodologies that might be used, we consider those given here as particularly suitable.

• Does client-centered therapy produce more satisfaction in clients than traditional therapy? (Experimental research; quantitative) 

• What goes on in after-school programs during an average week? (Ethnographic research; qualitative) 

• Does behavior modification reduce aggression in autistic children? (Single - subject experimental research; quantitative) 

• Do teachers behave differently toward students of different genders? (Causal-comparative research; quantitative or mixed method) 

• How can we predict which students might have trouble learning certain kinds of subject matter? (Correlational research; quantitative) 

• How do parents feel about the school counseling program? (Survey research; quantitative) 

3. Does high school achievement infl uence the academic achievement of university students?   

4. What is the best way to teach grammar? 

5. What would schools be like today if World War II had not occurred? We hope you identifi ed questions 2 and 3 as the two that are researchable. Questions 1, 4, and 5, as stated, cannot be researched.

Question 1 is another metaphysical question and, as such, does not lend itself to empirical research (we could ask people if they   believe  God is good, but that would be another question).

Question 2 asks for the “best” way to do something. Think about this one for a moment. Is there any way we can determine the best way to do anything? To be able to  determine this, we must examine every possible alternative, and a moment’s refl ection brings us to the realization that this can never be accomplished. How would we ever be sure that all possible alternatives have been  examined?

Question 3 requires the creation of impossible conditions. We can, of course, investigate what people  think  schools would be like. 

Chapter 4.    Let us discuss some of these characteristics in more detail.

• Why do first-generation college students have a lower graduation rate at San Simeon University? (case study; mixed method) 

• How can principals improve faculty morale at lowperforming middle schools? (interview research; qualitative) What all these questions have in common is that we can collect data of some sort to answer them (at least in part). That’s what makes them researchable. For example, a researcher can measure the satisfaction levels of clients who receive different methods of therapy. Or researchers can observe and interview in order to describe the functioning of an elementary school classroom. To repeat, then, what makes these questions researchable is that some sort of information  can  be collected to answer them. T here are other kinds of questions, however, that  cannot  be answered by collecting and analyzing data. Here are two examples: 

• Should philosophy be included in the high school curriculum? 

• What is the meaning of life?   

Why can’t these questions be researched? What about them prevents us from collecting information to answer them? The reason is both simple and straightforward: There is no way to collect information to answer either question. Both questions are, in the fi nal analysis, not researchable.  The fi rst question is a question of  value —it implies notions of right and wrong, proper and improper—and therefore does not have any    empirical    (or observable)    referents.

There is no way to deal, empirically, with the verb  should.  How can we empirically determine whether or not something “should” be done? What data could we collect? There is no way for us to proceed. However, if the question is changed to “Do people  think  philosophy should be included in the high school curriculum?” it becomes researchable. Why? Because now we can collect data to help us answer the question. T he second question is  metaphysical  in nature— that is, transcendental, beyond the physical. Answers to this sort of question lie beyond the accumulation of information.  Here are more ideas for research questions. Which ones (if any) do you think are researchable?   

3.      Characteristics of Good Research Questions

  Once a research question has been formulated, researchers want to turn it into as good a question as possible. Good research questions possess four essential characteristics.

1. The question is feasible (i.e., it can be investigated without expending an undue amount of time, energy, or money).

2. The question is clear (i.e., most people would agree as to what the key words in the question mean). 

3. The question is significant (i.e., it is worth investigating because it will contribute important knowledge about the human condition).

4. The question is ethical (i.e., it will not involve physical or psychological harm or damage to human beings or to the natural or social environment of which they are a part). We will discuss the subject of ethics in detail in Chapter 4.

4.      Research Question Should Be Feasible

Feasibility is an important issue in designing research studies. A feasible question is one that can be investigated with available resources. Some questions (such as those involving space exploration, for example, or the study of the long-term effects of special programs, such as Head Start) require a great deal of time and money; others require much less. Unfortunately, the field of education, unlike medicine, business, law, agriculture, pharmacology, or the military, has never established an ongoing research effort tied closely to practice. Most of the research that is done in schools or other educational institutions is likely to be done by “outsiders”—often university professors and their students—and usually is funded by temporary grants. Thus, lack of feasibility often seriously limits research efforts. Following are two examples of research questions, one feasible and one not so feasible.

Feasible:  How do the students at Oceana High School feel about the new guidance program recently instituted in the district?

Not so feasible: How would achievement be affected by giving each student his or her own laptop computer to use for a semester?[1]

5.      Research Question Should be Clear

Because the research question is the focus of a research investigation, it is particularly important that the question be clear. What exactly is being investigated? Let us consider two examples of research questions that are not clear enough.

Example 1. “Is a humanistically oriented classroom effective?” Although the phrase humanistically oriented classroom may seem quite clear, many people may not be sure exactly what it means. What is a humanistically oriented classroom? We begin to discover that it is not as easy as we might have thought to describe its essential characteristics. What happens in such classrooms that are different from what happens in other classrooms? Do teachers use certain kinds of strategies? Do they lecture? In what sorts of activities do students participate? What do such classrooms look like––how is the seating arranged, for example? What kinds of materials are used? Is there much variation to be found from classroom to classroom in the strategies employed by the teacher or in the sorts of activities in which students engage? Do the kinds of materials available and/or used vary? Another term in this question is also ambiguous. What does the term effective mean? Does it mean “results in increased academic profi ciency,” “results in happier children,” “makes life easier for teachers,” or “costs less money”? Maybe it means all these things and more.

Example 2. “How do teachers feel about special classes for the educationally handicapped?” The first term that needs clarification is teachers. What age group does this involve? What level of experience (i.e., are probationary teachers, for example, included)? Are teachers in both public and private schools included? Are teachers throughout the nation included, or only those in a specific locality? Does the term refer to teachers who do not teach special classes as well as those who do? The phrase feel about is also ambiguous. Does it mean opinions? Emotional reactions? Does it suggest actions? or what? The terms special classes and educationally handicapped also need to be clarified. An example of a legal definition of an educationally handicapped student is A minor who, by reason of marked learning or behavioral disorders, is unable to adapt to a normal classroom situation. The disorder must be associated with a neurological handicap or an emotional disturbance and must not bedue to mental retardation, cultural deprivation, or foreign language problems Note that this definition itself contains some ambiguous words, such as marked learning disorders, which lend themselves to a wide variety of interpretations. This is equally true of the term cultural deprivation, which is not only ambiguous but also often offensive to members of ethnic groups to whom it is frequently applied. As we begin to think about these (or other) questions, it appears that terms which seemed at first glance to be words or phrases that everyone would easily understand are really quite complex and far more difficult to define than we might originally have thought.

6.      Research Question Should be Significant

Research questions also should be worth investigating. In essence, we need to consider whether getting the answer to a question is worth the time and energy (and often money). What, we might ask, is the value of investigating a particular question? In what ways will it contribute to our knowledge about education? to our knowledge of human beings? Is such knowledge important in some way? If so, how? These questions ask researchers to think about why a research question is worthwhile—that is, important or significant. It probably goes without saying that a research question is of interest to the person who asks it. But is interest alone sufficient justification for an investigation? For some people, the answer is a clear yes. They say that any question that someone sincerely wants an answer to is worth investigating. Others, however, say that personal interest, in and of itself, is an insufficient reason. Too often, they point out, personal interest can result in the pursuit of trivial or insignificant questions. Because most research efforts require some (and often a considerable) expenditure of time, energy, materials, money, and/or other resources, it is easy to appreciate the point of view that some useful outcome or payoff should result from the research. The investment of oneself and others in a research enterprise should contribute some knowledge of value to the field of education. Generally speaking, most researchers do not believe that research efforts based primarily on personal interest alone warrant investigation. Furthermore, there is some reason to question a “purely curious” motive on psychological grounds. Most questions probably have some degree of hidden motivation behind them, and for the sake of credibility, these reasons should be made explicit. One of the most important tasks for any researcher, therefore, is to think through the value of the intended research before too much preliminary work is done.

Three important questions should be asked:

1. How might answers to this research question advance knowledge in my field?

2. How might answers to this research question improve educational practice?

3. How might answers to this research question improve the human condition?

As you think about possible research questions, ask yourself: Why would it be important to answer this question? Does the question have implications for the improvement of practice? for administrative decision making? for program planning? Is there an important issue that can be illuminated to some degree by a study of this question? Is it related to a current theory that I have doubts about or would like to substantiate? Thinking through possible answers to these questions can help you judge the significance of a potential research question. In our experience, student justifications for a proposed study are likely to have two weaknesses. First, they assume too much—for example, that everyone would agree with them (i.e., it is self-evident) that it is important to study something like self-esteem or ability to read. In point of fact, not everyone does agree that these are important topics to study; nonetheless, it is still the researcher’s job to make the case that they are important rather than merely assuming that they are. Second, students often overstate the implications of a study. Evidence of the effectiveness of a particular  teaching method does not, for example, imply that the method will be generally adopted or that improvement in student achievement will automatically result. It would imply, for example, that more attention should be given to the method in teacher-training programs.

7.      RESEARCH QUESTIONS OFTEN INVESTIGATE RELATIONSHIPS

There is an additional characteristic that good research questions often possess. They frequently (but not always) suggest a relationship of some sort to be investigated. A suggested relationship means that two qualities or characteristics are tied together or connected in some way. Are motivation and learning related? If so, how? What about age and attractiveness? speed and weight? height and strength? aprincipal’s administrative policies and faculty morale?

It is important to understand how the term relationship is used in research, since the term has other meanings in everyday life. When researchers use the term relationship, they are not referring to the nature or quality of an association between people, for example. What we and other researchers mean is perhaps best clarified visually.

The hypothetical data for group A show that out of a total of 32 individuals, 16 are Republicans and 16 are Democrats. It also shows that half are male and half are female. Group B shows the same breakdown by party affiliation and gender. What is different between the two groups is that there is no association or relationship between and political party in group A, whereas there is a very strong relationship between these two factors in group B. We can express the relationship in group B by saying that males tend to be Republicans while females tend to be Democrats. We can also express this relationship in terms of a prediction. Should another female join group B, we would predict she would be a Democrat since 14 of the previous 16 females are Democrats.[2]

B.     Qualitative Research Question

In a qualitative study, inquirers state research questions, not objectives (i.e., specific goals for the research) or hypotheses (i.e., predictions that involve variables and statistical tests). These research questions assume two forms: (a) a central question and (b) associated subquestions.

1.      Ask one or two central research questions. The central question is a broad question that asks for an exploration of the central phenomenon or concept in a study. In qualitative research, the intent is to explore the general, complex set of factors surrounding the central phenomenon and present the broad, varied perspectives or meanings that participants hold.

2.      Ask no more than five to seven subquestions in addition to your central questions. Several subquestions follow each general central question; they narrow the focus of the study but leave open the questioning.

3.      Relate the central question to the specific qualitative strategy of inquiry. For example, the specificity of the questions in ethnography at this stage of the design differs from that in other qualitative strategies.

4.      Begin the research questions with the words what or how to convey an open and emerging design. The word why often implies that the researcher is trying to explain why something occurs, and this suggests to me probable cause-and-effect thinking that I associate with quantitative research and that limits the explanations rather than opening them up for participant views.

5.      Focus on a single phenomenon or concept. As a study develops over time, factors will emerge that may influence this single phenomenon, but begin a study with a single focus to explore in great detail. I often ask, “What is the one, single concept that you want to explore?”

6.      Use exploratory verbs that convey the language of emerging design. These verbs tell the reader that the study will do the following:

·         Report (or reflect) the stories (e.g., narrative research)

·         Describe the essence of the experience (e.g., phenomenology)

·         Discover (e.g., grounded theory)

·         Seek to understand (e.g., ethnography)

·         Explore a process (e.g., case study)

7.      Use these more exploratory verbs as nondirectional rather than directional words that suggest quantitative research, such as affect, influence, impact, determine, cause, and relate.

8.      Expect the research questions to evolve and change during the study in a manner consistent with the assumptions of an emerging design. Often in qualitative studies, the questions are under continual review and reformulation (as in a grounded theory study). This approach may be problematic for individuals accustomed to quantitative designs in which the research questions remain fixed and never change throughout the study.

9.      Use open-ended questions without reference to the literature or theory unless otherwise indicated by a qualitative strategy of inquiry.

10.  Specify the participants and the research site for the study if the information has not yet been given.

C.    Quantitative Research Question

In quantitative studies, investigators use quantitative research questions and hypotheses, and sometimes objectives, to shape and specifically focus the purpose of the study. Quantitative research questions inquire about the relationships among variables that the investigator seeks to know. They are frequently used in social science research and especially in survey studies.[3]

Descriptive research questions

Descriptive research questions simply aim to describe the variables you are measuring. When we use the word describe, we mean that these research questions aim to quantify the variables you are interested in. Think of research questions that start with words such as "How much?", "How often?", "What percentage?", and "What proportion?", but also sometimes questions starting "What is?" and "What are?". Often, descriptive research questions focus on only one variable and one group, but they can include multiple variables and groups. We provide some examples below:

Question:         How many calories do Americans consume per day?

Variable:          Daily calorific intake

Group: Americans

Question:         How many calories do American men and women consume per day?

Variable:          Daily calorific intake

Group: 1. American men

2. American women

Question:         How often do British university students use Facebook each week?

Variable:          Weekly Facebook usage

Group: British university students

In each of these example descriptive research questions, we are quantifying the variables we are interested in. However, the units that we used to quantify these variables will differ depending on what is being measured.

Comparative research questions

 research questions aim to examine the differences between two or more groups on one or more dependent variables (although often just a single dependent variable). Such questions typically start by asking "What is the difference in?" a particular dependent variable (e.g., daily calorific intake) between two or more groups (e.g., American men and American women). Examples of comparative research questions include:

Question:         What is the difference in the daily calorific intake of American men and women?

Dependent variable:    Daily calorific intake

Groups:           1. American men

2. American women

Question:         What is the difference in the weekly photo uploads on Facebook between British male

and female university students?

Dependent variable:    Weekly photo uploads on Facebook

Groups:           1. Male, British university students

2. Female, British university students

Question:         What are the differences in usage behaviour on Facebook between British male and female university students?

Dependent variable:    Usage behaviour on Facebook (e.g. logins, weekly photo uploads, status changes, commenting

on other users' photos, app usage, etc.)

Group: 1. Male, British university students

2. Female, British university students

Groups reflect different categories of the independent variable you are measuring (e.g., American men and women = "gender"; Australian undergraduate and graduate students = "educational level"; pirated music that is freely distributed and pirated music that is purchased = "method of illegal music acquisition").

Comparative research questions also differ in terms of their relative complexity, by which we are referring to how many items/measures make up the dependent variable or how many dependent variables are investigated.

Relationship research questions

Whilst we refer to this type of quantitative research question as a relationship-based research question, the word relationship should be treated simply as a useful way of describing the fact that these types of quantitative research question are interested in the causal relationships, associations, trends and/or interactions amongst two or more variables on one or more groups. We have to be careful when using the word relationship because in statistics, it refers to a particular type of research design, namely experimental research designs  where it is possible to measure the cause and effect between two or more variables; that is, it is possible to say that variable A (e.g., study time) was responsible for an increase in variable B (e.g., exam scores). However, at the undergraduate and even master's level, dissertations rarely involve experimental research designs, but rather quasi-experimental and relationship-based research designs [see the section on Quantitative research designs]. This means that you cannot often find causal relationships between variables, but only associations or trends.

However, when we write a relationship-based research question, we do not have to make this distinction between causal relationships, associations, trends and interactions (i.e., it is just something that you should keep in the back of your mind). Instead, we typically start a relationship-based quantitative research question, "What is the relationship?", usually followed by the words, "between or amongst", then list the independent variables (e.g., gender) and dependent variables (e.g., attitudes towards music piracy), "amongst or between" the group(s) you are focusing on. Examples of relationship-based research questions are:

Question:         What is the relationship between gender and attitudes towards music piracy amongst adolescents?

Dependent variable:    Attitudes towards music piracy

Independent variable: Gender

Group: Adolescents

Question:         What is the relationship between study time and exam scores amongst university students?

Dependent variable:    Exam scores

Independent variable: Study time

Group: University students

Question:         What is the relationship amongst career prospects, salary and benefits, and physical working conditions on job satisfaction between managers and non-managers?

Dependent variable:    Job satisfaction

Independent variable: 1. Career prospects

2. Salary and benefits

3. Physical working conditions

Group: 1. Managers

2. Non-managers

As the examples above highlight, relationship-based research questions are appropriate to set when we are interested in the relationship, association, trend, or interaction between one or more dependent (e.g., exam scores) and independent (e.g., study time) variables, whether on one or more groups (e.g., university students)[4]

BAB III

CLOSING

A. Conclusion

            This chapter to introduce or expand on many of the basic ideas involved in educational research. These include concepts such as hypotheses, variables, sampling, measurement, validity, reliability, and many others. We also begin to supply you with certain skills that will enhance your ability to understand and master the research process. These include such things as how to select a research problem, formulate a hypothesis, conduct a literature search, choose a sample, define words and phrases clearly, develop a valid instrument, plus many others.

B. Suggestion

            This paper has some benefits for readers to raise their knowledge about how to developing research question and know about characterisctic of research question. On the other side, in writing of this paper there are certainly a number of weaknesses, therefore the authors really expect criticism and suggestions from readers to improve the quality of this paper.

Reference

Fraenkel, Jack R., Wallen, Norman E., and Hyun, Helen H. (2012). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: The MacGraw Hills Companies, Inc, 28-29.

Creswell, W John. (2014). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (forth  edition).  University of  Nebraska - Linclon.  p.188 - 189.

“Types of quantitative research questions” accessed from http://desertation.laerd.com/types-of-quantitative-research-question.php

---

[1] Fraenkel, Jack R., Wallen, Norman E., and Hyun, Helen H. (2012). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: The MacGraw Hills Companies, Inc, 28-29.

[2] Fraenkel, Jack R., Wallen, Norman E., and Hyun, Helen H. (2012). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: The MacGraw Hills Companies, Inc, 28-29.

[3] Creswell, W John. (2014). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (forth  edition).  University of  Nebraska - Linclon.  p.188 - 189.

[4] “Types of quantitative research questions” accessed from http://desertation.laerd.com/types-of-quantitative-research-question.php, on october 1st 2018 at 5.50 pm