1. Montarat Rungruangthum PhD. candidate in Applied Linguistics King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi Doing Research in Applied Linguistics Conference 21-22 Apr. 2011

2. Background of Cyber Deception This experimental research aims to investigate language used by truth-tellers and deceivers in Thai online chat. Problematic Research Design Factors e.g., chat program, ethics, and task design may influence the whole research design. Research Design Chat Program Ethics Tasks

3. Applied Linguistics “Dress Rehearsal” of full data collection procedures (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 75) (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 75) To perfect the study, making sure every factor of the study meets expectations Dress Rehearsal Piloting Implementation Dress-Rehearsal Piloting Making Decisions Planning  A trial run of research instruments  Identifying research problems and practicality

4. Nursing A small-scale study, as a “preparation” for doing the actual study (Polit, Beck, & Hungler, 2001) Decision-informing piloting at the early stage Decision-Informing Piloting Planning A A B B C C Pilot A Pilot B Pilot C Making Decisions Implementation  Giving information of the study when making decisions on research design. Full-scale piloting

6. What chat program should be used in my actual study? MSN Messenger Yahoo Messenger Others (QQ, ICQ) 1. Ask 100 subjects to complete questionnaire which chat program they frequently use. Decision-informing pilotin g 2.Talk to subjects (4-5 persons) to gather information on chat program.  What chat program do you frequently use?  Is the chat program compatible with Thai?

7. What are their attitudes on being asked to tell lies? Ethics concern Consent form Decision-informing piloting 1. Interview subjects gathering information on their attitudes towards being asked to tell lies and their chat experiences  Do you tell lies in online chat?, if yes, why?  How do you feel when being asked to tell lies in online chat? 2. Ask subjects to review the consent form  Do you have any suggestions for the consent form?

8. How should the instructions be given? Do these instructions influence the data? Pretend to be someone else in online communication Provide untruthful information in online communication Convince your chat partner that you are someone else in online communication Decision-Informing Piloting 1.Try out different instructions and find out how these could result in the data collection.  Telling fantasy story  Telling lie based on personal background 2.Ask subjects to read the instructions and report what the experiment is about  Getting feedback on the research design

10. Strengths Developing a research plan Assessing the feasibility and problems of the full-scale study Providing important data and guideline for the study Being aware of variables affected in the study. Training a researcher in as many elements of the research process as possible. Weaknesses  Time consuming  Successful pilot studies cannot guarantee the success in the main study.