Course description
Proseminar, Mi. 11h-13h, Raum F, Beleg-Nr.:, A1, A3
Intuitition is a possible source of data in linguistics, but one that
is to be scorned on for its high degree of subjectivity. Instead, empirical
linguists rely primarily on observable data of human behaviour in relation
to language. An unsuitable empirical research design will, however, undoubtably
lead to meaningless findings. In conducting such research, therefore, it
is necessary to consider a number of fundamental questions such as: what
kind of data do I need to test my hypothesis?; is this data readily available
or do I have to collect it myself? If the latter is the case, what instrument(s)
should I use? How many subjects constitute a suitable sample and how do
I access these? Once I have my data, how do I analyse this and present
my findings?
This course aims at providing students with a detailed appreciation
of the basic principles of research design in empirical linguistics. Following
the course, students should be better able to formulate research questions,
critically read published studies, collect and analyse data, and finally
present findings in an appropriate manner.
The course will be conducted through English. Students wishing to acquire
a Leistungsnachweis will be required to conduct empirical research. If
you are interested, please register for the course on my homepage (http://www.uni-bonn.de/~upp20010/methodology.htm).
Alternatively, you may register by email (a.barron@uni-bonn.de) or in my
office hour.
Introductory readings:
Brown, J. (1988), Understanding research in second language learning.
A teacher's guide to statistics and research design. Cambridge, etc.:
Cambridge University Press: 1-6.
Hatch, E./Lazaraton, A. (1991), The research manual. Design and
statistics for applied linguistics. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle
Publishers: 1-6.
Nunan, D. (1992), Research methods in language learning. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press: 1-23.
Vaux, B./Cooper, J. (1999), Introduction to linguistic field methods.
München:
Lincom Europa.
