Research Methodology · 2020. 9. 21. · Research Methodology – Master 1 Linguistics The difference between the two categories of writing stands out clearly. The English composition

1 SILUE S. Jacques (MC)

Research Methodology – Master 1 Linguistics

Research

Methodology Master 1

General Linguistics & Applied Linguistics

June 2020

SILUE S Jacques (PT)

s a s s on g o s i lu e jp @ g ma i l . c o m

This is just a working document

mailto:[email protected]



The Research Methodology Course

Objective of the Course:

Initiate students to the basic principles of academic research and

introducing the logical steps of the Research Process

Expectations:

Students are able to write their Term Papers in compliance with the

academic research procedures

Students to be able to identify the key components in genuine

scientific paper.

Students be able to give written answers to questions on the content

of the course (for the official examination).



0. INTRODUCTION: What Scientific/academic Research is

In the ordinary language researching is to finding answers to interrogations that arise

from our curiosity or finding solutions to problems encountered in our living context in

view of improving the current situation.

Research is not necessarily scientific; in our daily lives we are always trying to find

answers to uncertainties in our knowledge system or trying to solve practical problems.

As a human activity, research can manifest itself in the form of intuition (more of less

instinctively we think that a phenomenon we observe can be accounted for this or that

way. Next to intuition, research has historically manifested itself in the forms of (folk)

beliefs. For example, stating that the earth is flat (not round) is the result of some sort

of observation to form, fuel and entertain such a belief.

Before the advent of events like the Enlightenment in Europe a seminal form of

research was with alchemy which was a mixture of magical practices and concrete

manipulation of physical objects. The period of the Enlightenment has contributed to

improve qualitatively thinking strategies with a clear consciousness of what is objective

and based on cold reasoning from what is not and which is based on impressionistic

attitudes and time-rooted beliefs.

today, anyone would agree that scientific research is a dynamic process and rational

approach to examine phenomena, solve problems by getting accurate answers from

investigations. Research leads to the acquisition of new knowledge through the

description, the explanation, the understanding, the possibly the prediction of facts,

phenomena and behaviors and there is no such human society that does not try to

produce and store knowledge and this because a society without any form of

knowledge organization through research will not make any progress.

As a matter of fact, the assessment of the progress that a human society can be

credited with is closely related to its innovation capacities and in turn these innovative

capacities are dependent of scientific research.

In the academic context some concrete manifestations of research work of academic

writings, the English Composition (Licence 1 or 2) and the dissertation in literature

(Licence 3) or the text of a project to an institution.

But any kind of writing will not qualify as being “scientific”. Academic writings such as

the Memoire (Master 1 and 2), the doctoral thesis, a paper in a Scientific review or a

book on the description of the analysis of a particular phenomenon, etc. do qualify as

scientific or academic research works.



The difference between the two categories of writing stands out clearly. The English

composition and Licence Dissertation in literature have a very precise content and

this content generally draws on the content of the lecture in English composition or

the literary criticism of a literary production. An administrative report is nothing but

an account of what has happened or going on; it is an account as a way of informing

the hierarchy. The project to submit to an institution is a special research short

text to “sell an idea” to an Institution so as to convince it to providing financial support.

Evidence provision is not required.

The academic research (Memoires and Thesis) differs from former pieces of writing in

that it is original and neither student nor the supervisor knows exactly the outcome of

the research before it is completed.

1. A TYPOLOGY OF RESEARCH TYPES

In considering the diversity of academic disciplines, there is no surprise that there be

a great variety of sorts and categories of research works. This has inevitably leads

academic to suggest varied classifications of research works and no classification

makes a definite authority.

In the present lecture we will resort to three criteria:

- the type of research,

- the research method or process involved

- the outcome of the research.

1.1 RESEARCH ACCORDING TO RESEARCH TYPE

The literature of Research Methodology distinguishes four types of research

works:

- Exploratory Research - Descriptive research

- Explanatory/Analytical Research - Predictive Research

1.1.1 Exploratory research

As the term suggests, exploratory research is often conducted because a problem has

not been clearly defined as yet, or its real scope is as yet unclear. In the exploratory

research the focus is on gaining insights and familiarity with the subject area for more

rigorous investigation later.



The exploratory does not work on the basis of a hypothesis to verify and the aim of

the research is modest: to better understand a phenomenon and very often in

exploratory research (that some academic also call “ethnographic research) the

researcher supports his claims not with quantifiable or measurable information but

with second-hand resources like quotations, illustrative oral or written

passages/utterances.

Exploratory research can be quite informal, relying on secondary research such as

reviewing available literature

The following topics will be readily classified as exploratory research types

e.g.

The mystery of life and death (Philosophy)

Traditional marriage among the Xhosa people (anthropology)

The linguistic operations of modality in English (theoretical linguistics)

1.1.2 Descriptive research

This research types is meant to describe phenomena as they stand. Descriptive

research is used to identify and obtain information on the characteristics of a particular

issue or phenomenon we observe.

The following topics will be easily classified as descriptive research types:

e.g.

The systematic description of Degah language

The morphological system of English or Baule

The underachievement of L2 student in Listening comprehension

to support their arguments and claims, researchers involved in descriptive research

use either non-quantifiable or quantifiable information or qualitative or quantitative

data that are retrieved from the conversion of observations made on situations or

phenomena.

Descriptive research goes further than exploratory research in examining a problem,

a situation or a phenomenon observed and this to ascertain and describe the

characteristics of the issue or the phenomenon.



One of its major limitations of descriptive research is that it cannot help determine

what causes a phenomenon. In other words, it cannot establish a causal relationship

between two things or phenomena.

1.1.3 Explanatory/ Analytical research.

Epistemologically, this research type is the most ambitious because goes beyond mere

description to inch close to the explanation or the analysis of why or how something

is happening. Thus, analytical research aims to understand phenomena by discovering

and measuring causal relations among them.

Explanatory research strives to answer questions such as:

Does the amount of reading increase the vocabulary stock of a foreign language learners?

Does the gender of speaker determine their degree of politeness?

1.1.4 Predictive research.

Predictive research goes further by forecasting the likelihood of a similar situation

occurring elsewhere. This remains rare in general and applied linguistics and even in

social sciences and humanities in general. Predictive research is praised in domains

where the research consists in making forecast like in economics, life sciences, etc.

based on some mathematical modelling.

1.2 RESEARCH ACCORDING TO THE RESEARCH PROCESS OR METHOD

There is no consensus about how to conceptualize the actual undertaking of

research. However, there are two main traditions of approaching a research from the

point of view of the research process of method: qualitative research and

quantitative research and qualitative, each of them calling for different methods.

1.2.1 Qualitative research

In qualitative research, the researcher also describes a phenomenon but insists on

those characteristics that are generally measurable. Case studies range among

qualitative research. Even if it were to explain phenomena, the qualitative research

does not correlate the phenomenon under study with another phenomenon. Situations

or phenomena are described as self-contained entities.



The following topics will be easily classified as qualitative research:

The English language proficiency among pupils of Lycée classique of Abidjan.

The use of deictic operators in Shakespeare playwrights

The use of modal verbs in written advertising messages in Times journal

Note that if this research were to be appreciated from the point of view of type of

research, it would have been a descriptive research.

The qualitative research will use non-quantifiable and quantifiable information or data.

to determine the English language proficiency, the data in need might be the

measurements of some language skills and the measurements can be estimated with

scores or marks. For the topic on “The use of modals… the research task can be to

determine the most recurring modals in advertising messages.

1.2.2 Quantitative research

The quantitative approach usually starts with a theory or a general statement

proposing a general relationship between things or phenomena. With this approach

researchers, generally, an objective position and their approach will be to treat

phenomena as hard and real.

Quantitative research will favor surveys and experiments, and will attempt to test

hypotheses or statements with a view to generalizing from the particular. The

quantitative research typically concentrates on measuring or counting and involves

collection and analyzing numerical data and applying statistical tests.

Both qualitative and quantitative research will observe phenomena, transform the

observations into concepts which manifestations will be treated as variables.

The following topics will be easily classified as quantitative research:

Listening to the BBC and positive attitude to English language

Reading and increase of the vocabulary stock of a foreign language learners?

Does the gender of speaker determine their degree of politeness?



1.2 RESEARCH ACCORDING TO THE OUTCOME OF THE RESEARCH

Research works can be classified according to the outcomes that is what the research

is intended for. Three main categories of research can be cited, based on their

outcome.

1.2.1 APPLIED RESEARCH

Applied research is practical problem-solving oriented as the research is carried out

to solve a specific problem that requires a decision, for example, the improvement of

learning conditions or the development of positive attitudes toward native languages.

e.g.

Addressing the problem of the listening comprehension course in L1 curriculum

1.2.2 Basic or fundamental RESEARCH

Basic/ fundamental is also called “pure research”; it is conducted primarily to

improve our understanding of general issues, without any emphasis on its immediate

application. It is regarded as the most academic form of research since the principal

aim is to make a contribution to knowledge.

Fundamental research may take the form of Discovery (a totally new idea or

explanation emerges from empirical research, which may revolutionize thinking on that

particular topic), of Invention (a new technique or method is created), Reflection

(Where an existing theory is re-examined possibly in a different perspective). We do

not expect invention is general linguistic but in applied linguistic (adult literacy) this is

possible.

Note that Nobel prices in hard sciences are rewarded for findings in fundamental

research.

e.g.

Red blood cells are more numerous in some types of populations in the world

1.3.3 Action research

Action Research is the type of research conducted to remedy or solve a specific

practical problem as a way of repairing an unpleasant situation or improving the

current state of an institution. In general, Action research works are commissioned by

or aim at taking actions/measures, concrete implementing solutions. Quite often, to



gain credibility, action research often starts by looking for the causes from which

solutions are derived.

e.g.

“The Students’ underachievement in Licence 3”

Improving Language Learning conditions in Lycée classique”

The Action research can be commissioned by a concerned institution to repair or

improve the current situation thought to be negative or likely to be significantly

improved.

CONCLUSION TO RESEARCH TYPES

Note that epistemologically, all classifications or typologies “leak” (M. Halliday)! And

another researcher may come up with a different classification. For the student

researcher, the most important thing to retain is that even though there are varied

types of research works, the decision to choose the appropriate research depends on

the topic and quite often on the discipline. For example, a researcher in clinical

psychology or in medical sciences or pharmaceutics will favour experimental research

and feel bound to produce very precise results in which approximation is ruled out…

Researchers in general linguistics will prefer fundamental research while language

education researcher (applied linguistics) will feel more attracted by action research;

as for the research process or method, they are likely to favour either quantitative or

quantitative approaches. The sociolinguistic researcher may frequently make the

option on either approach depending on the micro-sociolinguistic or macro-

sociolinguistic orientation of the research.



2. THE LOGICAL SEQUENCING OF THE RESEARCH TASKS

The research work is not an ordinary task like finding one’s way in a city, using

strategies to get help from parents or an institution or repairing a machine or part of

a construction work. It is quite an abstract task and in the university context, it proves,

by far, more abstract than other schools exercise like writing a language composition,

a dissertation in literature.

Given its nature, the research work needs to be planned carefully (Paul N’Da 2000,

2015; Pierre N’Da 2007, 2015; Bahia 2011; Turabian 1996; Bell 1987) with, in mind,

the logical sequencing of the major steps to follow:

- The Selection of the topic or the identification of the Research Problem

- The Research Objective / Research Hypothesis

- The Research question(s)

- Outlining the Research or Designing the research

- Data collection

- Readings and brainstorming

For the present level, Master 1, only broad information will be given on the data

collection procedures and a few words on some editorials musts.

2.1 THE RESEARCH TOPIC = RESEARCH PROBLEM

In general, the first concern of a student expresses in levels where a research work

must be written is finding a research topic. And yet, once we speak of a research topic,

this means that a certain problem has been identified. In other words, when someone

claims to have a research topic, this automatically means that he is being

“tortured” by a problem which he would like to look into or investigate.

Be it in the academic research context or in real life, whenever we think of thinking

over an issue and feel motivated to undertake this research task, it is because there is

a problem. N’da (2015) even goes as far as stating bluntly that “there is no research

if there is no problem”. Clearly, prior to the intellectual process of finding a research

topic is the identification of the research problem.

Now, be it in the academic research context or in real life (research) problems originate

from three possible sources:

Abnormality of a situation we have observed:

Non-satisfaction with the findings or former studies research or theory

Malfunctioning of a situation



a. Abnormality in a situation observed:

Based on common sense or our own experience we observe that a phenomenon is

abnormal in the sense that there is a gap between what a phenomenon should

normally manifest itself and how it appears to be as we observe it. This situation

immediately raises a problem of comprehension, understanding: “why does this

phenomenon manifest itself this way?” “What is going on?”

We say there is a problem when our normal understanding is being challenged: for

example, is it not abnormal that “all L1 students have learned English for years but

some of them cannot pronounce English interdental sounds correctly”.

b. Former studies/Theories or Documents questionable

The research problem may originate from the disagreement with a former theory or

the conclusions of another researcher. By way of example, people used to think that

language is acquired through imitation of adults and now, by the light of new cognitive

theories, we known that there a great deal of innateness in language.

A research would then be undertaken by the light of a more recent or upgraded theory.

c. Malfunctioning of a situation

In a professional situation, things may not be going well and this causes concerns;

therefore, this calls for repair, remedy or corrective actions. By way of example, “In

spite of the use of well-equipped language laboratory and the good will of

monitors, students still have bad marks on Listening comprehension”.

The research will then analyze the situation, find the possible of this abnormality and

suggest remedy actions to the hierarchy.

All in all, whatever the research topic you have, it must come under one of these three

categories and, a topic becomes a real and valid Research topic if an observation leads

you to acknowledge that there is a problem calling either for comprehension, for

verification or for remedy/pair.

Circumstances where problems can be identified

The circumstances where problem can stem from are unlimited. However, experience

informs that research topics or problems can stem out from:

The student’s or researcher’s own curiosity or ingenuity



An idea picked up during a lecture, a conference or readings and we wonder it

is true or if it holds

The conclusions of a former research that we want to further or to challenge

(by the light of a new theory);

A problem which settlement will improve a situation

The current research paradigm of my institution, my Research team, or my

supervisor

Literature from other disciplines.

Current social concerns.

Phrasing the research problem

For a research problem to be valid and of real help, it must be very clear and to be

clear it must be formulated without any nuance of ambiguity, otherwise there will be

real difficulties all the way through the research process and till the end.

In the example with L1 student having failing to pronounce interdental sounds

correctly, the problem here can be:

“In spite of 10 years of English language learning, L1 Students still fail to pronounce interdental sounds in English”

Why is the Research Problem so crucial?

From the above, it would have been clear that the identification of the Research

problem is a crucial step in finding a Research topic and subsequently for conducting

the related research.

The Research Problem…

is the real starting point of any research;

indicates the importance of the topic in terms of (scientific, social or personal) pertinence;

raises the interest of the prospective reader of the research work;

creates interest of the topic in that it indicates how the research being conducted will add up to the pre-existing findings/knowledge on the issue being investigated.

A Research Problem must be worded in an indicative declarative sentence with

carefully chosen verbs: verbs of action (show, explain, compare, describe, etc.) that

lend to concrete verification.



In case the young researcher thinks he has found a topic already, he can still check

the validity of the topic by “interrogating the topic about the underlying problem

attached to it”: This can be done by asking the following questions:

In this topic what is the problem or what problem can I identify?

Which problem/issue deserves being looked into?

What do I intend to demonstrate exactly?

A word of caution is in order:

Not all kinds of discipline or all kind of research works will lend themselves to a sharp

and undisputedly clear wording. If the research has to describe an abstract

phenomenon or explain a phenomenon, the identification of the Research problem is

crucial and prior to formulation of the Research topic. However, in some topic likes

sheer linguistic description, the research topic is self-evident as for the identification

of the research problem.

e.g.

The phonology of X Language

This research which is clearly an exploratory or “ethnographic” and we can readily

guess the problem to solve here is to make know the phonological system of a

language. Still here, there is a Research problem but it is so obvious that we don’t

think of it as a problem in the first place. The assumption here is that the phonological

system of the so-called language has never being revealed through description (i.e.

gap in the knowledge of phonological in the world languages).

Note that if the researcher were interested in the phonology and grammar of English

language, this topic will be calling more than a blunt description. Implicitly, it is as if

the researcher were interested in some sort of relation between the phonological

system and the grammatical system and such a research would be leaning on a

particular research problem.

Once the problem is identified and approved by the supervisor, the stage next is the

wording of the Research Objective or the Research hypothesis.

2.2 THE RESEARCH QUESTION

The Research Question is an additional way to specify the Research Objective or

Hypothesis further. Research questions refer to inquiries or interrogations which the



researcher would like to be answered so that his research is realized and lead him to

the result he is expecting. Research questions are useful in two ways: they act both

as guidelines for the research and they are crucial to help determine the kind of

information and the kinds of readings the researcher may need to substantiate his

research.

In a research, the Research question is directly related to the Research Problem that

was presented as the starting point of the research and there is always a central

question to which subsidiary questions are attached.

Let’s imagine that the Research Problem was formulated in the form of a declarative

sentence; the Research Question is worded from the actual wording of the Research

Problem itself: the very sentence used to formulate the Research problem is simply

turned into an interrogation (a question).

topic: “Oral performance of L1 Students and the type of Lycée attended at secondary school” …

If we imagine the Research problem to be the researcher has been struck by the fact

that all L1 students attended Lycées and now they do not seem to have the same

easiness on oral speech. The central interrogation can read like:

… Does the type of Lycée attended by Tle pupils impact their oral performance?

Note that the Research Question is in a way related to the Research Objective or

Hypothesis; the Research Questions aims at calling for more clarifications on the

problem to solve.

For a topic like:

The family environment and pupils’ performance in English in Collège St Viateur of Abidjan

The possible R Question(s):

- Does the type of Lycée influence the teaching of oral speech?

- Do we have several types of Lycées in the country and what makes the difference among them,

- By “type of Lycée”, do we actually mean the sort of teaching language method in use there?

- Do didactic facilities or infrastructures influence pupils’ training on oral speech

- Do parental factors influence the pupils’ performance in English at St Viateur?

- What do we mean by “oral speech”

- Do we restrict “oral performance” to the oral skill or do we extend it to oral exchanges?



2.3 THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVE/ HYPOTHESIS

The Research Objective and the Research Hypothesis act as guide-lines for the

conduction of the research, like a compass in the hands of the navigator. In the

absence of a Research Objective or Research Hypothesis, the researcher runs the risk

of going astray and the research will come out without any clear purpose and will

hardly make sense.

The roles of the Research Objective and Research Hypothesis is not limited to framing

or paving the way to the results we want to achieve when the research it completed;

the two instruments can also help detect whether the research is worth being

conducted (if not trivial), whether it is feasible or whether it does not raise ethical

issues.

For example, from a topic like

Comparing English language learning in English in Ghana and in Cote d’Ivoire

If we derive a Research Objective such as:

The objective is to show that we learn English more easily in Ghana than in Cote d’Ivoire

Clearly, the research will be trivial because you don’t have to do a research to show

that it is easier to learn English in an English-speaking environment (Ghana). Such a

topic must be thrown away outright!

A research topic, through its objective might require that you compile data in an

environment that you will not easily access because of distance, the topic will not meet

the feasibility requirement:

The situation of native languages in Cote d’Ivoire (a French speaking nation) and in South Africa (an English-speaking nation).

The collection of data will prove difficult for a Master 1 or Master 2 research work

especially if the he has to interview people in South Africa as a way of collecting data.

For some research works, right from the Research problem and through the Research

Objective or Research Hypothesis, the research topic can be rejected by the academic

institution because it raises ethical problems. The Rector of a University in France was

sacked in the early 1980s when the Ministry got informed that a doctoral thesis was

presented there with the Research “giving evidence that concentration camps had

never existed”.

Or a topic like:



Muslim students have better academic performance than Buddhist students Christian students

Controversy around the 3 Research instruments: R. Objective & R. Hypothesis

In social sciences like linguistics and specifically sociolinguistics and language

education (language teaching), the Research Objective differs from the Research

Hypothesis in many ways. Not only the Research Objective and the Research

Hypothesis do not have the same operational function, they do not come in the same

type of research.

If the aim of some research works is to explore or describe a phenomenon observed

for people to see how this phenomenon manifests itself, this research must be directed

by a Research Objective. In the case of students having problems with the

pronunciation of interdental consonants, the aim of the research can be to describe

what is happening with students as regards this category of sounds or this abnormality.

By contrast, if the aim of some research works is to go beyond the mere description

and ambition to explain the phenomenon, then the researchers will word a Research

Hypothesis to guide his research. In the case of students having the interdental sounds

pronunciation, the researcher might want to explain how come those students in L1

still fail to pronounce this sound while they have been learning English for years.

In such a study the Research will have to word a Research Hypothesis.

Wording the Research objective

The notion of “Research objective” in Research Methodology should not be confused

with the “objective of an activity” as expressed in ordinary language. In academic

research the “objective” is what the researcher wants to show and not what the

research can be used for. In other words, the Research Objective is not the (social,

economic, scientific or academic) utility of the Research.

The Research objective is the methodological instrument which role is to direct you to

what you are looking for, to state the underlying actions to take in order to reach the

objectives. to be operational, the Research Objective must be formulated in once

sentence with one conjugated verb in the present tense indicative.

Preferably, Research objectives should be worded verbs that describe the intellectual

activity involved: study, define, verify (check), describe, observe, compare,

identify, distinguish, measure, etc.



e.g.

“The verbal behaviour of L1 Students”,

What can be the Research Objective here?

Many possible Research Objectives such as…

I want to describe all the ways L1 students speak

I want to show the speaking styles of L1 students

I want to describe what makes the components of the speaking style of L1

students

I want to identify the most salient features of L1 students’ speaking style

I want to show that L1 students are have poor performances on oral speech

I want to describe all the ways L1 students speak

I want to show the speaking styles of L1 students

I want to describe what makes the components of the speaking style of L1

students

I want to identify the most salient features of L1 students’ speaking style

I want to show that L1 students are have poor performances on oral speech

Note that if the researcher were interested in the “The verbal behaviour of L1 students

and the type of Lycée attended at secondary school”, this might not be just a blunt

description of verbal behaviour but rather a claim by the researcher that the verbal

behaviour and the type of Lycée attended by pupils significantly affects their speech

style…

Wording the Research Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a statement which asserts a relationship between concepts (G. Bouma

2000: 28) or two or more phenomena. The relationship can be of several kinds but in

any case, a logical link (simple connection between two things, causal relationship,

and impact or influence relationship).

The Research Hypothesis is the anticipated answer to what we want to show, to

demonstrate or give evidence of. Like the Research Objective, the research Hypothesis

is a key instrument to progress safely with the research and it must comply with some

criteria:

The Research Hypothesis must be a declarative sentence in the present tense

indicative in affirmative independent clauses stating a correlation between two things.



The Research Hypothesis must lend itself to verification in humanly normal

circumstances and/or with the current scientifically available possibilities;

Example of a hardly verifiable RH:

The impact of pupils’ psychological development and their performance in 2nd language grammar

The information on psychological development among pupils may not be available and

the researcher may be not qualified enough to undertake experiments on this

phenomenon, at least for a Master 1 or 2 memoire.

The Research Hypothesis must be plausible; it must not suggest reasonably unrealistic

relationship non-reasonable. An example of a Research Hypothesis hardly plausible

would be:

The type of sport some people regularly practice and their speaking style

As can be seen, it is hard to imagine that the fact of having a very good, an acceptable

or an awful speaking style be function of sport preference!

The Research Hypothesis must be precise and free of any ambiguity: it should be

understood the same way by all other researchers.

A question is often raised to know whether a research cannot have a Research

objective and a research hypothesis ate the same time or if the possibility of worded

a research Hypothesis is denied for some research works. A research will call for both

a Research Objective and a research hypothesis: in correlational research, the

Research Hypothesis can be preceded by a Research objective;

In the case of the Type of Lycée impacting on speaking style, the objective can be “to

show that the school attended before university affects the speaking style”; still, it can

be seen that in practice that objective (showing that….) must rely on the hypothesis

that there is a correlation between with the type of school attended and the way

students speak”

The same way one can claim that when a researcher is interested in the oral

performance of the pupils of a particular school, he may lay the Research objective

that…

I want to show that pupils of this school have poor performances



And in ordinary language someone can claim that he is working on the hypothesis

“that pupils of this school have poor performances”. In ordinary language it is a

hypothesis, but epistemologically in the field of Research methodology considered as

an autonomous and independent discipline, it is not a hypothesis but an assumption.

This statement will not qualify as a research hypothesis because there is no correlation

to detect between two phenomena…

The other difference between the Research Objective and the Research Hypothesis is

that while the former is a matter of a wide range of possibilities (open paradigm), the

latter restricts the possibility of answers to one (close paradigm). It is as if the Research

Objective is to lead me to a wide range of answers, while the research Hypothesis

leads to an answer narrowed down to one thing. These two situations can be

schematized as follows:

As a matter of fact, a research guided by a Research objective will generally be of a

qualitative kind whilst a research guided by a research hypothesis will generally be of

a quantitative nature.



Definitely, whilst a research aiming at a mere description has a relatively simple

purpose: “what is going on with X”, how does X manifests itself, a research having an

explanatory purpose is obviously more ambitious (and more complex!) because, quite

often a times, this research will try to find a relationship between two or more

phenomena.

In an explanatory research, the relationships might be simple or complex; it is simple

if the problem is to find any kind of relationship between the two phenomena or to

state that two phenomena are related:

e.g. There is a relation between X and Y”

The relation is understandably more complex if the researcher wants to find a cause-

and-effect (causal) relationships among the phenomena: X causes or impacts Y.

E.g. X impacts on Y”

In our example, the researcher would like to correlate the type of Lycée attended

before University and the verbal behaviour of students in L1.

X

Y

X

Y



Practice….

Suggest a Research Objective or a Research Hypothesis and Research Question to refine the topics:

1. A look at reading comprehension tasks in Go for English 4ème from a communicative perspective.

2. The impact of the linguistic status of learners on the English language proficiency at the University

3. Oral Communicative Skills in English among Terminales Classes at Lycée Classique d’Abidjan

4. English and job opportunities in Côte d’Ivoire: the perception of employers and employees.

5. A comparative study of the verbal system of “nyarafolo” a Gur language and the verbal system of contemporary English.

3. OUTLINING AND DESIGNING A RESEARCH

The outlining or the Design phase of the research consists in giving a content and a

structure/articulation to the research work. The content is the substance of the

memoire: which ideas to develop as an answer to the Research question and as an

outcome of the Research objective. The articulation or structure of the research work

is the logical sequencing of the different parts of the research work, that is, the plan

or the outline.

In present day academic contexts, two main types of plans/outline make authority:

The Introduction-Development-Conclusion structure or plan (IDC) and the

Introduction-Methods-Results-And-Discussion outline or plan (IMRAD).

The first type (IDC) is of a French academic inspiration or tradition while the IMRAD,

is more Anglo-Saxon (American academic tradition). More than that: the IDC structure

will work for speculative types of research and the IMRAD structure is more effective

for other types of research where measurements or the description of things take the

form of quantitative assessments are required. Definitely the decision to use the IDC

or the IMRAD structure is highly dependent on the type of discipline and more

importantly on the type of research (exploratory, descriptive or explanatory).

For exploratory (or ethnographic) research types in disciplines like in literature,

philosophy, theoretical linguistics, theology, etc., the IDC plan, adopted, whilst for

explanatory research works like in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycho-

linguistics, very often, the IMRAD more effective.



Additionally, the distinction between the two types of plans and even research types

is dictated by the type of evidence to sustain researcher’s claim. For Exploratory

research, is generally of an informational kind, (i.e. arguments in the form of

supportive quotations, second-hand source for the information provided). In such

researches, evidence comes in the form of non-quantifiable information like selecting

utterances containing the linguistic form under study.

For Explanatory research, the evidence provided is in the form of measurable

information, clearly quantifiable information or, in short, quantitative data (numbers,

percentages, frequencies, proportions). In between the two extreme types of research

works, the descriptive research draws both on the exploratory research and the

explanatory research types.

In some cases, evidence provided for descriptive research will be quantifiable

information (marks obtained during exams or scores on a test), while in other cases,

evidence will be strictly qualitatively non-measurable information (quotations of other

researchers, carefully selected supportive utterances.

3.1 OUTLINING AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH



Once the Research Objective is set, to decide on the content and its articulation, the

researcher must ask himself “What do I need to talk about in order to reach my

Research objective?”

For a topic like:

“The nominal relation in English and Lobiri”

The research Objective can be:

I want to compare the nominal system of Lobiri to the nominal system of English

In order to devise a sketchy (broad) outline as a fresh start, the researcher will then

ask himself:

What do I need to talk about in order to reach the Research Objective (Comparing the nominal system of Lobiri to the nominal system of English)?

Now how do we proceed to compare the nominal systems of languages? Such an

interrogation should have been normally worded in the section devoted to the

Research question(s). to refine the questioning the researcher can even ask himself:

At which level of language (linguistic domains) can we look for similarities and differences in the nominal systems of languages?

Note that the answer to this question of “in which linguistic domains?” comes from

two possible sources or the combination of the two sources: The answer can come

from our own intuition or our inspiration or, alternatively, from readings: the research

task requires that we read available literature on the phenomenon under study, here,

the nominal system/determination. Based on this information, the researcher can

decide that the most reasonable way would be to compare nominal systems is to

develop the following ideas:

1. Reporting differences and similarities in the two nominal systems

2. Describing the categories/ of nouns in English & Lobiri

3. Identifying and describing the operators (determiners) of the nominal relation in English & Lobiri.

These are 3 major blocks of ideas which represent the content of the Gross Outline.

The assumption here is that if the researcher develops these three major ideas

correctly, then he could reach his Research Objective and these major ideas constitute

the skeleton of the research work, the Gross or provisional outline/plan.

3.1.1 The Gross outline



The outline is said to be a “gross” because it is just a sketchy or skeleton outline for

which the research knows very broadly what is going to be in his work once it is

completed. Additionally, the outline is “gross” in contrast to the “detailed” outline. The

outline is “provisional” because the sequencing of the three major ideas making the

content of the research may change, idea n°1 can turn out to be in the second or third

position if the researcher wants to be logical and consistent.

For the research in hand, the gross provisional outline looks like the following figure:

As it stands, this outline represents the content of the research work; but is it

logically organized? Is the order of the three major ideas suggested in the

provisional gross outline really logical? Certainly not! The most logical way would

have been:

1. Describing the categories/ of nouns in English & Lobiri

2. Identifying and describing the operators of the nominal relation in English & Lobiri.

3. Reporting differences and similarities in the two nominal systems

Therefore, the definite gross outline is as follows:



3.1.2 The Detailed outline

The detailed outline is devised by splitting each major part of the Gross outline in finer

ideas. The most reasonable way would be to assign each major part a specific

Objective: what do we want to show in Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, etc.

It will be seen that Part 1 has a different status and does not constitute a problem

for the gross outline: the content of Part 1 is conventional and is part of the “identify

card” of the research.

It was indicated that the content and logic of the outline is the answer to the question:

What do I need to talk about in order to reach my R. Objective?”

Note that research works in literature fall under the heading of qualitative research

and if a researcher were to research on a topic like:

Female power in the literary work of Chinua Achebe

With a Research Objective that reads...

Women are in the process of increasing their social power in the Igbo society

to devise the Gross Outline, the researcher could ask himself:

In the literary work of Chinua Achebe what are the elements indicating an increase in the social power of woman characters?



3.2 THE DESIGN OF A DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

When for a Descriptive research led by a Research Objective (as expected) the nature

of the evidence to use is non-measurable information (just supportive secondary

information like quotations or carefully selected utterances compiled from real

speaking situations, the outlining follows that of purely exploratory researches. By

contrast if the descriptive research concerns phenomena that can be measured

or/and compared, then the outline is based on the design.

The design of a research is the presentation and description of the operations the

researcher needs to carry out in order to reach the Research Objective(s). This process

comprises intellectual operations such as converting observations on a phenomenon

into concepts/constructs and then finding variables to represent the concepts. In the

last resort, the Design of a research is the move from the conceptualization of a

research to its operationalization.

For an applied or sociolinguistic research topic like…

The English Language proficiency of L3 students

where the Research Objective is to account for or describe the English Language

proficiency of this category of learners, the researcher may decide that the best way

to go about this research is to measure in one way or another the language proficiency.

But the problem is that not only “language proficiency” is not directly observable, like

a house, a football game, it does not lend itself to any kind of measurement. How to

measure something you can’t see with the eyes or you cannot touch concretely?

Once again, the researcher will ask himself: “what should we understand by

‘Language proficiency’”?

Once again, s/he researcher can resort to his/her own intuition (deduction) or consult

the available literature, that is, resort to readings, to make sense of “Language

Proficiency”.

“Making sense of this construct” means to determine its concrete and measurable

manifestations; hence, the following operationalization of the case under discussion:



The possible manifestations of the Language proficiency that are the four skills

(speaking, listening, reading and writing) can each be taken as variable that represents

the phenomenon observed (Language proficiency). The manifestations of the

Construct, or the observable realities to represent Language proficiency” like listening,

speaking, reading and writing are called the variables of the concept.

In a research we generally resort to one variable to measure a construct through its

varied observable manifestations. Several variables like the four skills can be used, but

this will correspond to a more complex design which, in itself brings about an even

more complex procedure with multifactorial considerations namely.

If the objective of the research were to find the quality of the Language proficiency,

that is, if Language proficiency can be appreciated as good or bad, then the researcher

will measure the four variables and the end, he may come with the conclusion that:

- x % of the L3 students got at least 10/20 on the speaking skill;

- x’ % of the L3 students got at least 10/20 on the reading skill;

- y % of the L3 students got at least 10/20 on the listening skill;

- y'% of the L3 students got at least 10/20 on the writing skill;



4. READINGS AND BRAINSTORMING

4.1 READINGS

The reading and brainstorming activities cannot be listed among the logical steps in

preparing a research since this activity is a going-on one since the beginning to the

end. It goes without saying that readings are crucial at any stage: even readings can

help decide on the research topic.

In the non-literacy context of ours, there are many questions that can be asked:

What to read?

Why to read?

When to do the readings?

How to read?

to the question “What to read?” a blank answer could be: “about the topic”! The

selection of the things to read is dictated by the RO/RQ! The RO/RQ are phrased with

some words considered to represent the key (linguistic) concepts and it is those

concepts that I need to better understand and master in order to conduct the research

safely.

The subject/topic may also embody some key concepts and they also represent the

concepts I need to investigate deeply, so such concepts are the compasses guiding

the selection of the materials (books, articles, documents) to select and read.

to the question “Why to read?” the answer is “to substantiate what I know more or

less intuitively about the key concepts” embodied in the topic or concepts in the RS/RQ.

It is simply out of imagination to complete a research without the readings; readings

are used to construct the Review of Literature which sometimes sounds like a reading

account but an oriented reading account.

To the question “When to read? » a blank answer could be “any time”! Though

readings are made all the way through and till the submission of the Research work

before a Jury, in the process of preparation there are readings before and often time

to help select a topic or to refine its phrasing. Next, once the Research problem,

Research objective and Research questions are set, the researcher knows very

specifically what to read. Such readings are selective as they will be exploited to fuel

my lines of arguments.



to the question “How to read” the answer is “it all depends what you are reading

for”!

There are two types of readings: casual reading and intensive readings. The former

are the preliminary readings when still in the situation of someone searching for a

research topic; they have an exploratory function. Intensive readings are when the

topic is known and the RP/RQ/RS clearly formulated and agreed upon with the

Supervisor.

The difference between casual readings and intensive readings is that with the former,

you are reading without a specific expectation as what to write down as notes; the

(intensive) is specific in that you no longer anything is not in connection with your

topic (key concepts namely). When you are in the intensive reading step, and to

optimise time, you select a book after consulting its contents to see if it is of any

interest: you no longer read for nothing!

4.2 BRAINSTORMING

The Brainstorming takes place during conversations with peers, at night when lacking

sleep, even in the toilets! Basically, all researchers practice this activity (When asked

how he discovered the theory of gravity, Newton had answered: “by thinking of it all

the time”):

e.g.

The Ivorian artist, Bouabré who has allegedly discovered a writing system claims that the technique has been revealed to him when he was sleeping.

In fact, it is because the invention of a way to represent speech through graphic has

been “torturing him” for quite a while.

Keeping records Anything found about the topic must be carefully recorded (written down) and carefully

filed in a copy book or a file. Whenever you have a document in hand about the topic,

it is highly recommendable to write down:

the full name of the researcher (author)

specify whether it is a book or an article

year of edition of the document

city of edition

number of pages of the document

If a web document: write down the Website address and the date of consultation



5. CORPUS, DATA AND DATA COLLECTION

5.1 CORPUS

In all academic research type, we need to sustain our argumentations with linguistic

facts especially gathered to be used as evidence for our explanatory purpose.

The corpus is the set of materials collected (sometimes from various sources) from

which our illustrations (utterances, frequency of occurrence of a unit under study,

actions identified, etc. will be taken.

For a literature research on the literary work of Achebe, the corpus will be made of the

novels written by this author; in a research on class performance of students or pupils,

the corpus is the exam minutes in which students’ marks are recorded. For a research

aiming the use of modals by native speakers, if the researcher decides to exploit

movies, the particularly selected movies make the corpus.

The corpus, the pre-existing documents (written, audio-recorded, audio-visual

material) make the corpus; the particular things looked after, are the data.

5.2 THE DATA

The notion data is another way of referring to the materials used to substantiate the

arguments or claims of the researchers. Whilst the corpus if an aggregate of materials

from which you retrieve what is of interest for you, the data are the particular element

taken from the corpus. In a research in applied linguistics where the focus is on the

performance of students, the Examination Minute is the corpus, but the particular

marks of students in reading, listening… are the data.

If a researcher observes some people who are speaking in a strange way and records

all the special uses of instances of mispronunciation, these particular ways of speaking

and the instances of mispronunciation are the data and these data will not be taken

as a corpus.

5.3 THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

A sound academic research work is not an accumulation of assertions and statements.

It is rather an elaborated set of arguments that are substantiated with evidence taken

from the things we observe.



The collection of data is heavily dependent on the nature of the evidence to provide,

and where it would be collected. The data collection techniques are conventional

procedures and Research Methods recognize three data collection instruments:

- The observation

- The interview

- The questionnaire

The observation is presumably the first data collection instrument in the evolution

of research as a scientific practice; it consists in being present and watching the things

or the phenomenon we are interested in based on an observation protocol like the

observation sheet. The observation requires the presence of the researcher or an

assistant specially trained for this purpose.

The interview is a conversation guided by the Research Objective and its destined

to collect information that cannot be obtained through readings only. Interviews are

often used to clarify some concepts embodied in the research by talking to experts of

the domains or people having a particular knowledge on the issue under investigation.

The interview is always a face to face exchanges…

The questionnaire is a document with very precise questions to ask to members of

the group of individuals the researcher is interested in. The data collection activity does not necessarily require the presence of the researcher.

6. THE KEY COMPONENTS AND THEIR CONTENT/ROLE

In an academic research work like a memoire/thesis, there are some key components

that can be considered as institutional components. Based on the structural

organisation of a memoire or thesis, these key components divide between the

strategic Research Instruments and the Components that frame the research and so

make the Conceptual framework.

6.1 THE KEY STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS: THE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The key strategic research instruments and their content correspond to the genesis of

the research work since they specify the decision to undertake the research (the

stakes) and also give it an orientation guiding the researcher and so prevent him to go

astray. The content of the Strategic Research Instruments actually corresponds to the

General Introduction to a Memoire or a Thesis.



The Key Strategic Instruments (General Introduction) contains:

a. The lead of the introduction

b. Presentation of the research topic

c. Statement of the Thesis

6.1.1 The General Introduction

The” lead” of the introduction

The introduction normally starts with a “lead”, a short passage of one or two

paragraphs indicate the content of the introduction. This lead must not consist in

farfetched unnecessary generalizations about (human) Language(s) and linguistics.

Rather it should start with one aspect of the research problem though in the most

general way.

An introduction should not start like:

Language is a system of communication used in all human societies….

or

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and there have been structural linguistics,

TTG, Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics, etc.

Rather go to the central problem embodied in the research topic: if this topic concerned

language change it would be better to write the lead around the language change

phenomenon itself:

e.g.

The contact among languages has always affected all languages including

European standard ones…

The Presentation of the Research topic

The section on the presentation of the topic consists in situating the topic in a linguistic

trend first and stating:

- The origins of the topic, that is, the circumstances in which the topic was

selected or decided on.

- The paraphrasing of the topic: A great many topics are worded in the form

of complex noun phrases, generally without a conjugated verb; this is what is

actually recommended. The problem with the laconic recommended wording of



topic is that it is not very telling to the reader, hence a necessity to present it.

The presentation of the topic can be a clarifying paraphrase or comment on the

topic as for what it really means.

6.1.2 The Statement of the Thesis (problématique)

The Statement of the Thesis covers the following sub-components:

- Research problem identified

- Discussion of the research problem identified

- Interest or pertinence of the research

- The Research Objective(s)/Hypotheses

- The research Question(s)

o Research problem identified (see Section 2. Identifying a research problem

to find a research topic)

o Discussion of the research problem identified

The French term “plobématique” is presumably more expressive than the English

“Statement of the Thesis” since this is the section where you “problematize” the topic

which means showing “how the research topic really raises a problem that requires

being treated”. to achieve this, the researcher needs to present all contours of the

Research topic with the objective of showing that there is a problem deserving being

investigated.

Interest or pertinence of the research

Personal, scientific, social interest in realizing this study. Note that all research works

will have a social or economic interest or pertinence as they are often meant to further

knowledge in a domain or on a phenomenon.

The Research Objective(s) and/or Hypotheses

The section includes a central objective/hypothesis split into subsidiary

objectives/hypotheses. Note that the subsidiary objectives/hypotheses are meant to

better clarify the central ones.



The research Question(s)

The section includes a central question followed by the specific/operational questions

also meant to clarify the research problem and the Research Objectives if necessary.

NB: The editing layout of these elements can be in the form of listing with dots or in

plain sentences (see your supervisor).

6.2 THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Conceptual Framework is the three pillars on which a research work relies or the

three pillars that “frame” the research work. The first pillar concerns the situation of

the issue under investigation in the context the sets of research that have been already

conducted in the same domain, or research works close to current research. The

second pillar is the linguistic theory or theories that will be required to treat the

problem raised by the topic. The third pillar concerns how the evidence will be gathered

to sustained the arguments allowing the researcher to verify her/his Research

Hypothesis and so reach the Research Objectives.

6.2.1 The review of the Literature

This section is meant to show that the researcher is well informed about his topic for

having read works by former researchers having a direct or indirect link to the Research

topic. The Review of the literature makes a general roundup of readings on the topic

but a reading account which is oriented in that, its content is function of my own

position concerning the issue under analysis.

Each time the researcher reads a document concerning the topic, he should be able to

indicate whether he agrees with the content, whether he disagrees and/or how far the

document consulted is of a certain help.

6.2.2 The Theoretical Framework

This section is meant to tell which linguistic theory or sets of theories will be the

foundation and guiding scientific procedure pf the research. A researcher does not just

take a linguistic problem and starts analysing it as “he feels like”. The problem under

analysis must fall under the heading of a theory known by the scientific community of

linguists. Does the topic or the research problems that should be treated by the light



of transformational grammar, language variation in sociolinguistics, pragmatics,

syntactic theory or the psych-mechanic of langue?

6.2.3 The Methodological Approach

This section is meant to tell what sort of evidence the researcher will use to answer

the Research Objectives and Questions in terms of supportive information. What

corpus or data will be exploited? How will the corpus and/or data be collected (methods

or instruments)?

Definitely, this section on the methodological approach includes:

- the nature of evidence to use to support the claims;

- how this evidence is collected (where to find it, from whom to find it)

- how it will be presented and analysed.



7. SOME EDITORIAL MUST’S AND DON’T’S

Academic writing is ruled by general editorial principles most of which are international.

One crucial aspect of these conventions concerns the bibliographical references. As we

write a research document, it is important that readers spell out clearly our own ideas

out of those of other researchers which work we consult and exploit. This is so because

another researcher might want to use the same information or go further in the

exploitation of the information and it is a way to acknowledge indebting to former

researcher and show consideration and respect.

Quoting the references on former researchers and their works is also a way to confer

scientific authority to my work and most importantly, a way of ridding ourselves from

the accusation of plagiarism.

7.1 QUOTATIONS

There are two types of quotations, long quotations and ones. Short quotations are

directly inserted in the body of the text. Long quotations must be extracted from

the text and with line spacing 1, smaller police font and indented left and at the end

of the quotation, insert the initial(s) of the author’s name, the author’s Last name, the

year of edition, the page number. This information is edited on the right-hand side of

the long quotation. (see Editorial Chart of the Department)

7.2 THE REGULAR STRUCTURE OF A MEMOIRE/THESIS

In a Memoire of a Thesis, the numbering of chapters and sections encompasses the

parts to be continued:

0. General Introduction

0.1 Presentation of the topic

0.1.1 Origin of the Topic (if applicable)

0.1.2 Reformulation of the topic (is necessary)

Part 1: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Part 2: Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 6

etc.



7.3 THE CONTENT AND OUTLINE OF THE MASTER 1 TERM-PAPER

Introduction

A. PRESENTATION OF THE TOPIC

Origin of the topic

Reformulation if necessary

B. STATEMENT OF THE THESIS

Research Problem

Research Objective/Hypothesis

Research question(s)

5 pages (1 500 computer-words)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=

Review of the Literature (Reading account of documents in connection with the topic)

Methodological approach (corpus and/or data)

Provisional outline for the master 2 memoire

Provisional bibliography

10 pages (3 000 computer-words)



Further Readings BAHI, K. 2011. Le processus de réalisation d’un mémoire ou d’une thèse en marketing. Paris: L’harhmattan. 138 p BOUMA G. 2000. (4th Edition). The Research Process. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 178 p. BRITAIN, D. 1998. Essex Research reports in linguistics. Colchester: University of Essex, Vol 21. HATCH, E. & Laraton, A. 1991. The Research Manual. Design and Statistics for Applied Linguistics. Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. 437p. HERSON, M, Morris, L. L. & Fitz-Gibbon, C. 1987. How to measure Attitudes. London: SAGE Publications. 67 p. N’DA, Paul 2000. Méthodologie de la recherche. De la problématique à la discussion des résultats. Abidjan: PUCI. 131 p. N’DA, Pierre. 2007. Méthodologie et guide pratique du mémoire de recherché et de la thèse de doctorat. Paris: L’Harmattant. 240 p. N’DA, Pierre. 2015. L’article scientifique en lettres, en langues et sciences humaines. Paris: L’Harmattan 162 p. N’DA, Pierre. 2007. Manuel de méthodologie et de rédaction de la thèse de doctorat et du mémoire de master en lettres, langues et sciences humaines. Paris : L’Harmattan. 328 p. SHOLDFIELD, Ph. 1999. Procedures in Research Design. (NP Course, Universoty of Essex, Colchester, UK). SHOLDFIELD, Ph. 1994. Quantifying language. A researcher and Teacher Guide to Gathering Language Data and Reducing it to Figures. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters 243p.