ELT Cast

Narrowing Down a Researchable Topic: Developing a Problem Statement & Thesis Statement_bls103

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Summarizing how to narrow down a topic

(Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008)

Reflect on your topic-to-question statement:

  • Topic: I wish to learn more about...
  • Indirect question: because I want to find out what/why/how etc....
  • Significance: (Reflect on the reader's point of view.): in order to...

    • First, distinguish between a practical problem and a research problem...

    • Practical problem: Students are afraid to speak in class.
  • Research problem: How can I provide feedback to students so that they feel more confident speaking English with their peers?
  • Research solution: Provide individual feedback when requested during the task, and group feedback once the task has been completed.
  • Practical solution: Avoid overcorrection or providing too much feedback to students.
    • The structure of a problem statement

    One way to look at a problem: A problem consists of a topic + indirect question + significance

    • I am studying teacher feedback [topic] because I want to find out when giving feedback allows students to feel more confident when speaking L2 with their peers [indirect question] in order to answer the bigger question of how teacher intervention can either promote or discourage student's oral production in class [significance, purpose, or objective].

    Another way to look at a problem: A problem consists of a condition and a cost or consequence.

    • I am studying teacher feedback [topic] because I want to find out when giving feedback allows students to feel more confident when speaking L2 with their peers [condition] in order to answer the bigger question of how teacher intervention can either promote or discourage student's oral production in class [cost or consequence].
  • The first (indirect) question, the condition, helps answer the second (indirect) question, the cost or consequence.

    • Example: Knowing when to give feedback that allows students to feel more confident when speaking with their peers (question #1 or condition) addresses the bigger question of how teacher intervention can either promote or discourage student's oral production in class (question #2 or cost/consequence).
    Here are additional tips when searching for a problem to research:

    • Ask teachers, students, administrators, and other experts in the field about problems they face related to teaching and learning an additional language.
  • Search primary research articles for related problems to find relevant examples.
  • Begin with a problem at the onset of your research, but understand that research problems may morph or emerge in different forms as one conducts a study.

    • Six steps to writing a literature review

    1. Select a topic. (See above.)
  • Search the literature.
  • Develop an argument.
  • Survey the literature.
  • Critique the literature.
  • Write the review (Machi & McEvoy, 2016)

    • Situational Questions
    Consider the following groups of questions when trying to narrow down your focus.
    Participants

    • Am I currently working (teaching)?
  • Have I taught somewhere that might be willing to accept my research proposal?
  • Have I taken classes somewhere that might be willing to accept my research proposal?
  • Do I know anyone who is working somewhere that might be willing to accept my research proposal?
  • Does my research objective relate to improving the BA in English language teaching at the UAA?
  • Does my research objective relate to improving extension courses at the UAA?
  • Does my research objective relate to improving foreign language courses at the UAA?
  • Does my research objective relate to children, adults, or both?

    • Data analysis

    • What's my unit of analysis?
  • What are my points of comparison?
  • Am I doing a case study?
  • Is my research design qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method?
  • What kind of data am I likely to collect?
  • Which best apply to my research objectives: interviews, observations, document (content) analysis, focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, stimulated recall, etc.?

    • Linguistic focus
    The mistake many researchers make is to focus too broadly on a linguistic aspect. Be specific in your linguistic focus. 

    • Am I going to focus on speaking?
  • Am I going to focus on writing?
  • Am I going to focus on grammar teaching?
  • Am I going to focus on pronunciation?
  • Am I going to focus on vocabulary?
  • Am I going to focus on material design? This could include adapting, reusing, repurposing, material, etc.
  • Am I going to focus on information communication technologies (ICTs)?
  • Am I going to focus on perceptions (opinions, beliefs, etc.) around a particular linguistic focus?
  • Am I going to focus on teacher talk time versus student talk time?
  • Am I going to focus on interactional patterns (social learning)?
  • Am I going to focus on peer assessment?
  • Am I going to focus on self-assessment?
  • Am I going to focus on expert assessment? Expert assessment falls under a variety of areas: teacher feedback, expert feedback, formative/summative assessment, recasts, etc.
  • Am I going to focus on learning strategies?
  • Communicative strategies, writing strategies, critical thinking, etc.?
  • Am I going to focus on motivation? Motivation itself is too broad of a topic, but you may begin here to narrow down a topic on the idea of motivation.
  • Am I going to focus on cognitive development?
    • Possible topics related to the English language learning classroom

    As you are narrowing down a researchable topic, consider the list below as a good place to start as one begins the process of narrowing down a researchable topic in the field of applied linguistics. Ask yourself the following questions:

    1. What problems or issues have I faced in the classroom or some other educational setting that relate to the learning process?
  • What problems or issues have I faced in the classroom or some other educational setting that relate to the teaching process?
  • What problems related to the classroom or some other educational context do researchers discuss when publishing peer-reviewed journal articles?
  • Are there enough studies from the literature to support my argument?
  • What are some keywords that relate to the answers to the aforementioned questions?
  • Who is my intended target audience? Who would benefit the most from having read my academic text?
    • Possible topics...
    • Grammar
  • Bilingual education
  • Classroom discourse
  • Corpus linguistics
  • Cognitive linguistics
  • Discourse analysis
    • Grice and Implicatures: Understanding Discourse part 1, part 2, & part 3.
  • Flipped learning; flex classes, hybrid classes, etc.
  • L1 use in language teaching
  • L2 transfer
  • Learner autonomy
  • Interactive/collaborative language learning.
  • Task-based learning
  • Problem-based learning
  • Performance-based learning
  • Language learning strategies
  • Language exchanges (Links to an external site.)
  • English for Academic Purposes
  • English for Specific Purposes
  • Generative grammar
  • Language and culture
  • Language and Gender
  • Language and Identity
  • Language Emergence as a complex adaptive system
  • Language learning and technology
  • Language teacher education: Professional development or professional learning among (English language), in-service educators
  • Professional development or professional learning among (English language), pre-service educators
  • Language testing: Formative assessment in the language classroom
  • Formative vs. summative assessment in the language classroom
  • Dynamic assessment in the language classroom
  • Language exchanges
  • Task-based learning
  • Problem-based learning
  • Performance-based learning
  • Lexis
  • Linguistic Imperialism
  • Multilingualism
  • Phonetics and phonology
  • Systemic functional linguistics
  • Multimodality
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Sociocultural theories
  • Sociolinguistics: Motivation (Be careful to not choose motivation if narrowing down the topic becomes a challenge.)
  • Translation

    • Other helpful websites include Choosing and Refining Topics and Writing a Thesis Statement.

    Next...

    Once you have narrowed down a searchable topic, create a skeleton outline.

    References
    Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams, J. (2008). *The craft of research* (Links to an external site.). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
    Machi, L. & McEvoy, B. (2009). The literature review: Six steps to success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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    ELT CastBy Benjamin L. Stewart, PhD