On completion of the course, the students should be able to

a) list and define the components of research;
b) list and define the components of a research proposal;
c) present major differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods;
d) design a qualitative as well as a quantitative research study;
e) design a questionnaire and evaluate its validity and reliability;
f) write a complete research proposal for a second language research study;
g) interpret descriptive and basic inferential statistics;
h) critique second language research studies;
i) use SPSS for Windows to define variables and create data files; and
j) use SPSS for Windows to run basic quantitative data analysis procedures.

On completion of the course, the students should be able to

a) list and define the components of research;
b) list and define the components of a research proposal;
c) present major differences between qualified and quantitative research methods;
d) design a qualified as well as a quantitative research study;
e) design a questionnaire and evaluate its validity and reliability;
f) write a complete research proposal for a second language research study;
g) interpret descriptive and basic inferential statistics;
h) critique second language research studies;
i) use SPSS for Windows to define variables and create data files; and
j) use SPSS for Windows to run basic quantitative data analysis procedures.

This 3-credit semester-long course is designed for graduate students in the field of applied linguistics, including second language acquisition and foreign language education. The course will start with an introduction to second language research methods and fundamental statistics; then move on to research design, including both qualitative and quantitative research procedures, the development of research questions, hypotheses, instruments, and validation of the research instruments; and end with the topic of data collection and analysis. Examples of relevant research studies and assignments of hands-on practice will be incorporated to facilitate the students’ understanding and applying what they have learned in this course.

This 3-credit semiconductor-long course is designed for graduate students in the field of applied linguistics, including second language acquisition and foreign language education. The course will start with an introduction to second language research methods and fundamental statistics; then move on to research design, including both quality and quantitative research procedures, the development of research questions, hypotheses, instruments, and validation of the research instruments; and end with the topic of data collection and analysis. Examples of relevant research studies and assignments of hands-on practice will be incorporated to facilitate the students’ understanding and applying what they have learned in this course.

a) Textbooks:
Second Language Research Methods, by Herbert W. Seliger & Elana Shohamy (1989),
Oxford University Press.
Understanding Research in Second Language Learning: A teacher s guide to statistics and
research design, by James D. Brown (1988), Cambridge University Press.

b) Supplementary Class Materials (SCM): Readings, figures, symbols, formulas, and tables.

a) Textbooks:
Second Language Research Methods, by Herbert W. Seliger & Elana Shohamy (1989),
Oxford University Press.
Understanding Research in Second Language Learning: A teacher s guide to statistics and
research design, by James D. Brown (1988), Cambridge University Press.

b) Supplementary Class Materials (SCM): Readings, figures, symbols, formulas, and tables.