Book Review on Applied Linguistics： Research Methods and Thesis Writing

【Abstract】：The book Applied Linguistics： Research Methods and Thesis Writing is concerned with both how to conduct research and how to write a thesis or a dissertation. For the book report， I will give a brief introduction of the book contents firstly， and then I will make some comments on this book.

【Key Words】：Research methods， Thesis writing， Review， Comments

1. Introduction

The book was published by foreign language teaching and research press. The authors of this book are Wen Qiufang， Yu Hongliang， and Zhou Weijie. The book consists of three parts： introduction， researching， and thesis writing. Those three parts were divided into more specific chapters， and the total contents consists of fifteen chapters.

2.Main Points of the Contents

2.1 What is Research and Fundamental Concepts

Hatch and Farhady （1982） Research is “a systematic approach to finding answers to questions”. It implicitly tell us three essential elements of research： questions， a systematic approach， and answers.

Good questions ensure the research goes in the right direction， delimit the research boundary and keep you focus on what you intend to do. We should use a systematic approach. It means that research should follow a set of procedures which are clearly described and can be fully justified. According to Rudestam and Newton （1992）， we may use a wheel as a metaphor to describe the stages of the research process. Research can be classified in terms of aims as theoretical or practical in terms of its sources as primary or secondary. Postgraduate students are expected to learn to do various types of research.

2.2 Researching

In developing research questions， you should start with identifying a general topic followed by narrowing down the topic to get a focus. Reading literature is a task frequently undertaken by a researcher through the whole process of research. Research designs are classified into two opposing camps： quantitative and qualitative. A survey study usually involves a relatively large sample and employs a questionnaire with closed questions to collect quantitative data. An experimental study is a study in which the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables and measures their effects on the one or more dependent variables while controlling for the effect of extraneous variables for the purpose of establishing a causal relations.

The Statistical Package for Social Science （SPSS） is a commonly used statistical package that consists of three main windows： Application. Output and Data Editor. Qualitative data can be analyzed either qualitatively or quantitatively or both. To prepare for analyzing interviewing and thinking-aloud data qualitatively， you have to transcribe the tapes faithfully with a set of standardized codes to indicate the pause， stress，etc. To clarify unclear parts of the tape it is better to ask for help from the participant rather than depending on the researcher’s own speculation.

2.3 Thesis Writing

To clarify unclear parts of the tape it is better to ask for help from the participant rather than depending on the researcher’s own speculation.A thesis is an argument in which different parts are logically related and all center around research questions.

Introduction in a thesis presents the reader with an overall pictures of the study. The literature review is the place where your study is situated in its context. Writing a thesis is not like writing a poem， a novel or an essay. In creative writing， you exert efforts in order to be different form the others both in content and in form. However， a thesis has a required writing style. A thesis should be written in a clear and explicit style that is different from creative writing. It should follow a relatively standardized structure and use formal and succinct language. Theses in the field of applied linguistics are usually written according to the publication manual of the American Psychological Association （APA）.

3. Comments on This Book

This book is written in an accessible style and interactive manner so that the readers can follow the text without too much difficulty. The book has cited various examples from thesis and papers written by Chinese scholars and graduate students facilitated the understanding of abstract terms and the research process.

Moreover， unlike books on research methodology published in the western context， this book has particularly focused on Chinese graduate students’ difficulties and problems in their research and thesis writing. Therefore， this book can be used as a text book for a course on research methods as part of postgraduate program as well as a reference book for completing a master’s thesis or a doctoral dissertation.

Reference

文秋芳，2001，Applied Linguistics： Research Methods and Thesis Writing [M]. 北京：外語教學(xué)與研究出版社