Linguistics: Research Tools

Uitgebreide vaknaam	English Linguistics: Research Tools
Leerdoelen	As part of this course, English linguistics students transition from being students to being researchers. As such, after this course, the learner: (1) Has knowledge of tools appropriate for linguistic research (2) Can determine the type of research best suited for a given English linguistic research question (3) Can decide on an appropriate tool for the type of research (4) Can analyze the results using appropriate quantitative or qualitative tools (5) Can discuss and write up results in an academic genre appropriate for linguistics
Omschrijving	Research Tools for linguistics aims to provide students with both quantitative and qualitative tools to conduct research in language related issues and issues related to the study of English Linguistics in particular. After an overview of the types of research that can be done in linguistic research and ethical, theoretical and practical issues that have to be kept in mind, sessions are devoted to setting up a questionnaire study, a corpus based study, and an experimental design. Interspersed, there are sessions on how to analyze the data obtained statistically. As such, the course is highly recommended for those students with a keen interest in the linguistics track of our degree programme and/or who already know that they will be writing their BA thesis in the realm of English linguistics. It is also highly recommended for students wishing to pursue an MA or Research MA degree in linguistics. Course materials: No set course book will be used in this course. Instead, the course is based on a series of research papers that will also be used to analyze in terms of report structure, and employed methods. Course assessment: The course will see biweekly research assignments pertaining to course topics and research methods: - Questionnaire research (to be handed in at the end of week 2) - Empirical (experimental) research (to be handed in at the end of week 4) - Corpus research (to be handed in at the end of week 6) Each of these research assignments constitutes 10% of the course grade. At the end of the course, students integrate what they learned in writing a research proposal for an English linguistics study, which constitutes 60% of the final course grade. They also present this proposal to their peers in the final week of the course, in a format where a funding agency interview is mimicked (10% of the final grade). As part of the proposal, students stipulate a research question they wish to explore, as well as methods they plan on using. In this process, all methodological choices are justified based on what students learned throughout the course. Students need not have passed all course components with a sufficient grade, as long as the average is a pass mark. In case of a course fail, the research proposal may be rewritten in the resit period of the following block). Week-by-week outline: Week 1: Science in transition – students to researchers. Topics discussed: - Things to consider in conducting independent research - This week incudes a research ethics workshop - Formulating effective research questions - An overview of the different types of linguistics research Week 2: Questionnaire studies Topics discussed: - The type of research questions for which to use questionnaires - Questionnaire construction - Item and construct validity - Administering questionnaires reliably Week 3: Doing experimental research Topics discussed: - The type of research question for which to use experimental designs - Different types of experimental tasks incuding some hands-on experience - Recruiting and testing human subjects and consent forms Week 4: Introduction to statistics Topics discussed: - What can statistics do for language researchers? - Passively understanding results sections in research papers - An introduction to descriptive statistics and tools (statistical software) Week 5: More statistics: Topics disussed: - An introduction to inferential statistics - How to carry out a t-test - How to carry our a correlation analysis Week 6: Corpus research Topics discussed: - The type of research question for which to use corpora - The most commonly used English language corpora: COCA, BNC - How to conduct corpus research - (if time allows): an introduction to the CHILDES database Week 7: Your research proposal Throughout the course, students have worked on research ideas. This is the week in which those ideas can be worked out (to be handed in as a full research proposal by week 10 of the course) and when they receive feedback on those ideas from both their peers and the course instructor. In the final session, all students briefly present (pitch) their research ideas in class.
Uren per week	4
Onderwijsvorm	werkcollege
Toetsvorm	digitale toetsing, wekelijkse opdrachten
Vaksoort	bachelor jr 2
Coördinator	PhD. G.J. Poarch
Docent(en)	PhD. G.J. Poarch
Entreevoorwaarden	45 ECTS of the propedeutic phase of the Major English Language and Culture
Opmerkingen
Opgenomen in	Opleiding Jaar Periode Type Course units for exchange students 3 semester II a verplicht Ba English Language and Culture 2 semester II b keuze