Choosing a topic and identifying research questions Ana Kedveš, Marta Natalia Wróblewska MA English Language Teaching Additional sessions in Term 3 University of Warwick Centre for Applied Linguistics 1

What are the key elements of a good research project ?... 2

Topic – the subject or subject matter of your proposed study. You should be able to express this in a few words or sentences. But is this enough? Research Topics 3

RQ: the question around which you centre your research. It should be: clear focused concise arguable Research Question 4

Research Questions -Examples What metacognitive strategies do ESL students use and report when reading and learning from printed and web-based texts? What face-threatening communicative interactions do students encounter in problem-based learning tutorials? 5

6

Research hypothesis Focused statement which predicts an answer to your research question Based on previous studies or your experience with the subject Null hypothesis The Bowen technique will have no significant effect on intermediate-level, college- age ESL students' accuracy when pronouncing voiced and voiceless consonants and tense and lax vowels.' Alternative hypothesis The "Bowen technique" will significantly improve intermediate-level, college-age ESL students' accuracy when pronouncing voiced and voiceless consonants and tense and lax vowels. 7

(Lim, Loi, Hashim 2014) From research questions to hypotheses 8

Good or bad research hypothesis? Students with high levels of anxiety will be less motivated to engage in oral presentations than students with low levels of anxiety. Women are better at intercultural communication than men. Task planning by the teacher will lead to differences in oral performance from task planning which is group-based. Students who are nominated frequently by the teacher to answer questions during a course of study will show higher levels of attentiveness and on-task behaviour than students who are never nominated. There is a positive relationship between good teaching and student progress. Analytically-oriented learners will learn grammar more effectively through a deductive approach than an inductive approach. 9

Where to look for research topics, questions & hypotheses interesting for me interesting for the ‘audience’ I could answer The best RQ will be here 10

How to come up with a good research question - step by step 1.Find an issue which interests you 2. Explore the issue 3. Start asking questions 4. Refine and focus a question 11

Mobilising own resources 1.Theories I'm familiar with 2. Methods I am familiar with 3. My own experience and expertise that can be helpful ‘field of interests’ (see slide 12) Possible RQ:

Thanks and good luck with your thesis :) Ana Marta 13