By Dalat TESOL
Supporting novice researchers in ELT and applied linguistics
📌 Introduction
If you’re a graduate student preparing to conduct research in TESOL or Applied Linguistics, one of the first—and most critical—decisions you’ll face is:
👉 What research design should I use?
You might have heard terms like survey, experiment, or case study, but what do they actually mean in practice? And how do you choose the one that best fits your research question, context, and resources?
In this post, we’ll walk you through:
- What a research design is
- Why it matters
- Common research designs in TESOL
- How to choose the one that’s right for you
Whether you’re writing a thesis, planning a classroom-based study, or submitting a conference proposal, this guide will help you make informed and confident choices.
🧱 What Is a Research Design?
A research design is your overall plan or structure for collecting and analyzing data to answer your research question. It includes your:
- Type of data (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed)
- Participants
- Instruments or tools (questionnaire, interview, test, etc.)
- Data collection procedures
- Analysis methods
💡 Think of it like building a house:
- Your research question is the idea
- Your design is the blueprint
- Your methodology is the construction process
- And your data is the raw material
🧪 Experimental Research: Testing Cause and Effect
✅ What is it?
An experimental design allows you to test whether one variable causes a change in another. Typically involves two or more groups (control vs. experimental) and some form of pre-test and post-test.
🧑🏫 Example in TESOL:
You want to test whether using AI (like ChatGPT) improves students’ argumentative writing. You divide students into two groups: one uses ChatGPT for brainstorming, the other does not. You compare their essay scores after 4 weeks.
🔍 Key Features:
- Random assignment (if possible)
- Pre-test/post-test
- Control over variables
⚖️ Pros:
- Strong internal validity
- Can demonstrate cause-effect relationships
⚠️ Cons:
- Often hard to control everything in educational settings
- Ethical concerns (e.g., denying treatment to control group)
- Not always practical for small-scale classroom research
📊 Survey Research: Understanding Patterns and Perceptions
✅ What is it?
A survey design is used to describe or explore relationships between variables using questionnaires or structured forms, often with large samples.
🧑🏫 Example in TESOL:
You want to know how Vietnamese EFL students perceive the usefulness of mobile apps for vocabulary learning. You design a 20-item questionnaire and distribute it to 200 students in four universities.
🔍 Key Features:
- Quantitative and self-reported data
- Descriptive and correlational analysis
- Wide coverage, low cost
⚖️ Pros:
- Efficient for collecting data from many people
- Good for attitudes, perceptions, or frequency of use
- Easy to analyze statistically
⚠️ Cons:
- Doesn’t explain why something happens
- Depends on honest responses
- Limited depth
🧩 Case Study: In-Depth Exploration
✅ What is it?
Case studies explore a single case or small group in depth, often over time. Focuses on how and why things happen in real-life settings.
🧑🏫 Example in TESOL:
You follow one high school teacher in Dalat as they implement AI-supported writing instruction over 2 months. You observe their classes, interview the teacher and students, and collect students’ drafts.
🔍 Key Features:
- Rich, contextual data
- Multiple sources (interviews, observations, documents)
- Often qualitative
⚖️ Pros:
- Offers deep understanding of complex phenomena
- Good for classroom-based, small-scale research
- Ideal for novice researchers with limited samples
⚠️ Cons:
- Cannot generalize widely
- Time-consuming
- Requires careful narrative and thematic analysis
🔄 Mixed Methods: Combining the Best of Both Worlds
Sometimes, combining quantitative and qualitative methods gives a more complete picture.
🧑🏫 Example:
You conduct a survey on students’ self-efficacy in speaking (quantitative), then interview selected students to understand their experiences (qualitative).
✅ When to Use:
- When both statistical trends and personal perspectives matter
- When you want to validate or expand your findings
- When your question needs both breadth and depth
🧭 How to Choose the Right Design?
Here’s a simplified guide:
| Ask Yourself… | If YES, consider… |
|---|---|
| Do I want to test if something causes change? | Experimental |
| Do I want to describe or explore attitudes? | Survey |
| Do I want deep insight into a specific context? | Case study |
| Do I need both numerical and narrative data? | Mixed methods |
Also consider:
- Your time and resources
- Your access to participants
- Your comfort with data analysis tools
- Your ethics and feasibility
📝 Final Thoughts
As a graduate student in TESOL, don’t feel pressured to choose the most complex design. Choose the one that:
- Fits your question
- Matches your context
- Is doable with your timeline and resources
- You can explain and justify clearly
Remember: clarity is more important than complexity. Your research design is a reflection of your thinking, not just a technical choice.
If you’re ever in doubt, discuss with your supervisor or connect with others in the Dalat TESOL community. We’re here to help.
📣 Need feedback on your proposed design?
Comment below or email us at dalattesol@gmail.com – we’d be happy to support your research journey.
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🌿 Dalat TESOL – Chia sẻ kiến thức giảng dạy, nghiên cứu khoa học và cơ hội xuất bản