A Study Of Mixed Methods Research In Language Teaching:Trend And Design Issues

Mixed methods research (MMR) is commonly defined as the kind of research where the researcher combines both qualitative and quantitative components into a single study. It has been widely applied into many of the social science disciplines. In the approximate 20-year history of mixed methods, the landscape of this field has developed dramatically, especially so in the years since the first edition of Handbook. Since mixed methods research is now becoming increasingly popular, simply categorizing the research into Qual where qualitative elements dominate or Quan where quantitative elements prevail will no longer meet the requirement of the times.Based on the mixed methods research reported in the TESOL Quarterly between 2003 and 2013, this paper gives a thorough investigation into the classification and design issues of mixed research methods in applied linguistics especially in language teaching in western countries. Through a survey of applied linguistics articles published in TESOL Quarterly---a major western journals between 2003 and 2013, it is found that 31 mixed methods research have appeared in this journal in the last eleven years, taking up 15.9% of the total number of 194 empirical studies. Though it is only a minor presence in this field, mixed methods research seems to be on a rise. Those 31 mixed methods research are of three general types based on its integration stage:combination of both QUAN and QUAL methods at both data collection and data analysis stages; QUAN or QUAL method at data collection stage and combination of QUAN and QUAL methods at data analysis stage; combination of QUAN and QUAL methods at data collection stage and QUAN or QUAL method at data analysis stage.This paper starts with my method of doing this research and then a discussion of mixed methods research definition, followed by a summary of classification of mixed methods research of applied linguistics based on the mixed methods research reported in the TESOL Quarterly between 2003 and 2013. It then discusses some of the major factors to consider in designing a mixed methods research:the stage of integration, the implementation or sequence of data collection, and the priority or dominance given to qualitative or quantitative components. For the first design factor, quantitative and qualitative components may mix at research questions stage which is the very beginning of a research. But the most frequently-seen integration lies in both data collection and data analysis stages. Occupying 77.4% of the 31 mixed methods research, it can be regarded as the trend of mixed methods research. Most of those 31 mixed methods research collected their data sequentially and in sequential design, researchers may iterate between qualitative and quantitative data collection. The third design issue---the priority/dominant factor is among all those elements, very likely the most difficult one to decide. But research projects have a theoretical drive which could either be inductive (for discovery) or deductive (for testing). The theoretical drive (inductive or deductive) determines the overall purpose of the study as a qualitative-dominated research or a quantitative-dominated research. In addition, equal-dominated research is possible.Research questions of mixed methods, techniques of data collection and data analysis are further discussed. "The dictatorship of research question" highlights the crucial role that research questions have played in the process of conducting research. In the following, three most frequently-used data collection techniques have been elaborated:questionnaire, interview and observation, which are also the resources of data analysis. During data analysis, qualitative data can be quantitized and quantitative data can be qualitized. What’s more, the qualitative and quantitative analyses can be conducted in sequential order or concurrent order.This thesis aims to disclose the trend and design factors of mixed methods research in the last eleven years, in hope that it would offer significant reference for domestic language teaching scholars’understanding and applying mixed methods in language teaching research.