Thursday 11 February 2016

Research Seminars in TESOL and Language Studies

Is Mixed Methods Research the Answer?
James Dean Brown
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Date: Thursday 24th March 2016
Time: 16.00 – 17.00 pm

Venue: Education 325, The University of Sydney
This paper begins by defining the notion of research in TESOL, then moves on to discuss the various characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research, especially within the framework of a qual/quant continuum, wherein qualitative and quantitative research characteristics interact. The paper continues with a definition of mixed methods research (MMR), then explains the most salient features of MMR, while distinguishing among three main varieties of MMR: qualitative mixed, pure mixed, and quantitative mixed methods research. The paper then addresses:
1.      How mixed methods research is different from multi-method research.
2.      How MMR can and should combine the best features of qualitative and quantitative research with the goal of overcoming the weaknesses of each of these research paradigms.
3.      How researchers can combine qualitative and quantitative research strategies so they cross-validate each other by identifying connections between the two and searching for convergence, divergence, and elaboration.
Examples of these techniques are drawn from a large-scale MMR that the presenter recently conducted in Japan. MMR did indeed provide interesting answers.

Enquiry: Aek Phakiti (aek.phakiti@sydney.edu.au). This is a free seminar.

Map, visit http://sydney.edu.au/facilities/maps/guide_01.shtml