MA in TESOL

Course: TESOL 2002

Lecturer: SAM Chanphirun

Chapter Review
Week 2: Variable and Hypothesis
Jack R. Fraenkel (2012) Chapter 5

Submitted by: Din Koldevinkea

 Some research questions suggest a relationship of some sort to be investigated but some do
not if the researchers want to identify characteristic, behaviors, feelings and thoughts.
 Scientists highly value research questions that suggest relationships to be investigated,
because the answers to them help explain the nature of the world in which we live, to predict
results, cos if A causes B, the improve A will also improve B; this is more useful, while the
other (Pure Descriptive Research) only provides limited understanding; You may learn what
happened, where, and when, but not WHY; not enough. The answer to the question to the
descriptive study doesn’t help you understand much, but the relationship between 2 things
are better.

 Example: Girls are better at learning English than boy. The relationship is the gender and the
performance. When you study a relationship, you learn Why and How. When you find out
the existence of relationship, you can make a prediction and then be proactive; take some
actions; that’s why it is important.
 If you want to study about motivation, you will see the relationship between the motivation
and academic performance (Relationship), not just the extent of the motivation
(Descriptive).

 In the study, we want to find out the relationship of a number of variable, say, family
income and SS performance, GPA and Income you will get

I. What is Variable?
 Variable is the heart of a research.
 Variable is a concept—a noun that stands for variation within a class of objects. The
individual member in the class of objects must differ or vary to qualify the class as a
variable. If the individuals are the same, then we do not have a variable. /
 It is the concept/ characteristic/ attribute that varies and they are measured and observed by
the researchers.
 Concept is abstract; it is hard to be measured; example: effectiveness, while variable can be
measured.
 Example:
  Socioeconomic status is abstract; three different variables such as educational level,
occupations, income level.
 Living Condition is a concept: Their salary is a variable, their house is a variable, their
expense and income are variables.
 Students’ performance is a concept: test score is a variable.
 Those individuals in the class of objects, which do not differ or vary, are constant.
 In any study, there will be both constants and variables together.
 Also, variables have to be carefully and meaningfully defined to be studied.

II. Quantitative Vs. Categorical Variable

Variable are classified into 2 types:

 Continuous Variables/ Quantitative exist in some degree (rather than all or none) along a
continuum from less to more, and we can assign numbers to different individuals or objects
to indicate how much of the variable they possess, such as heights, weights, interests,
temperatures, test scores, etc. NUMBER.
 Categorical/ Qualitative Variables do not vary in degree, amount, or quantity but are
qualitatively different, such as eye color, gender, occupation, etc. CATEGORY.
 Sometimes, it is based on the researcher to categorize a variable as a Quantitative Variable
or as a Categorical Variable. Say, Age can be classified as continuous (exact age), but if
there is age range, then it become categorical; same for incomes, if exact, it is continuous, if
range, it is categorical.

 There are 4 measurement scales based on the types of variables

1. Nominal Scale for Categorical; can be in any orders when put in research tool (SPSS):
Nominal: Types of occupation: teacher, accountant, lawyer, doctor (Categorical)
2. Ordinal Scale for Categorical; need to be in order, if not, the interpretation will mess up
when used in research tool: Example; Ordinal: Educational Level: Primary, Lower
Secondary, Upper Secondary, Higher Education (Categorical)
3. Interval Scale for Continuous; there is an interval and Zero is not true, say, 0 degree
means a particular coldness.
4. Ratio Scale for Continuous; there is a true zero; say if your income is 0, then it means
you earn nothing. Or if you weigh 0 kg, it means you weigh nothing.

 In SPSS, there are only 3 scales, Nominal, Ordinal and Quantitative Scale which is a
combination of the Interval and Ratio.

III. Independent Vs. Dependent Variable

 Independent Variables are those that the researcher chooses to study in order to assess
their possible effect(s) on one or more other variables; affects the other.
 The variable that the independent variable is presumed to affect is called a Dependent
Variable.
 Example; Qualification (Independent) affects teaching performance (Dependent).
  Don’t think that Independent is a cause and Dependent is the effect; they corelate with each
other not always cause and effect. The outcome of Independent is Dependent.

 An independent variable can either be a Manipulated or Selected Variable.

 A Manipulated Variable, also called Experimental Variable, or Treatment Variable, is
one that the researcher creates, which is usually found in experimental studies.
 For example: the Variable is methods of teaching, you create 3 groups, one group receives
method A, the 2nd one B, the 3rd one get C, and you can see which one is most effective.
Different treatments.
 Selected Variable is the variable that researchers select and it already exists. They are
found in causal-comparative and correlational studies.
 Relationship between independent variable and dependent variable sometimes reverse.
 Outcome Variable is the dependent variable which is quantitative that is affected by the
independent variable which is categorical in the studies comparing different methods and
treatments.

IV. Moderator Variable

 A Moderator Variable is a special type of independent variable. It is a secondary
independent variable that has been selected for study in order to determine if it affects or
modifies the basic relationship between the primary independent variable and the dependent
variable.
 It modifies the relationship of the Independent and Dependent.
 Usually, the moderator variable could strengthen or weaken the relationship between the
Independent and Dependent.

better resource at library affect SS performance

 Independent variable: Better Resource at Library
 Moderator variable: the SS’s motivation/ How often do they go to
 Dependent variable: SS performance

“Does anxiety affect test performance and, if so, does it depend on test-taking experience?”
 Independent variable: anxiety level
 Moderator variable: test-taking experience
 Dependent variable: test performance

V. Mediator Variable/ Intervening Variable

 While a moderator variable can modify or influence the strength of a relationship between
two other variables, a Mediator Variable is one that attempts to explain the relationship
between the two other variables. It doesn’t come to modify, strengthen or weaken but why
there is a relationship of the 2 variables. Sometimes, it is hard to explain the relationship,
that’s when mediator comes into play.

You have A and B, but without C, it’s hard to explain the relationship of A and B or sometimes you
don’t understand the relationship at all.
Educational Level affects Income Level. A affects B.
But people from the same educational earn differently, so there must be another variable to prove
the relationship. In this case, occupational types play a role as the Mediator Variable. It doesn’t
come to strengthen or weaken the relationship but it explains.

“Does anxiety affect test performance and, if so, does it depend on test-taking experience?”
 Independent variable: anxiety level
 Moderator variable: test-taking experience
 Dependent variable: test performance
 Mediator variable: socioeconomic status (SES) because it could
explain why there is a relationship between Anxiety Level and Test-
taking Performance.

VI. Extraneous Variable

 Extraneous Variables are variables that influence or effect of other variables that exist.
They are independent variables that have not been controlled; unwanted, uncontrolled,
additional variable.
 They are not the variable of interest in the research although they are independent.
 There are 2 ways to control:
o try to eliminate the effects of the extraneous variables by making the extraneous
constant: when you are dealing with the affects of sth over gender, you will need to
balance the number of males and females in your study, or when age comes to play,
you make sure that you have the participants in the same age only; but this is quite
difficult sometimes because there are way too many extraneous variables.
o Include all the variables in the study, but point out that one of which is the variable
of interest.

VII. Hypothesis
 A Hypothesis is, simply put, a prediction of the possible outcomes of a study. Predicted
results of the study. Some people even have hypothesis before having a clear research
question.

 Research Question: Will students who are taught history by a teacher of the same gender
like the subject more than students taught by a teacher of a different gender?
 Hypothesis: Students taught history by a teacher of the same gender will like the subject
more than students taught history by a teacher of a different gender.

Example: factors affect SS’s performance

Hypothesis: teaching (you make a prediction)

Advantages of Stating Hypothesis

 First, a hypothesis forces us to think more deeply and specifically about the possible
outcomes of a study. It helps/ guides you collect the data for the study.
 A second advantage of restating questions as hypotheses involves a philosophy of science; it
is a good strategy because it enables one to make specific predictions based on prior
 evidence or theoretical argument; contribution of the new study to the existing body of
knowledge. You predict based on some theories and you come up with hypothesis. If that
hypothesis is proven, you will make verification for the theories and it becomes even more
trustworthy. Einstein Theory: he made a theory and then people verify it through research
and study later.
 Lastly, stating a hypothesis helps us see if we are, or are not, investigating a relationship.

Disadvantages of Stating Hypothesis

 First, stating a hypothesis may lead to a bias, either conscious or unconscious, on the part of
the researcher.
 Second, the disadvantage of stating hypotheses at the outset is that it may sometimes be
unnecessary, or even inappropriate, in research projects of certain types, such as descriptive
surveys and ethnographic studies.
 Third, the disadvantage of stating hypotheses is that focusing attention on a hypothesis may
prevent researchers from noticing other phenomena that might be important to study. You
only have one direction and you miss out/ ignore the other directions which might be or are
important.

In Quantitative, the job is to test/justify the hypothesis. And they can’t be changed along the way of
the study. Cos the research tool will have to be changed if that happens.

A Directional Hypothesis indicates the specific direction (such as higher, lower, more, or less) that
a researcher expects to emerge in a relationship.

A Nondirectional Hypothesis does not make a specific prediction about what direction the
outcome of a study will take. It does not state the direction of the difference, it indicates only that a
difference exists.

VIII. Hypotheses and Qualitative Research

 In qualitative research is that they are typically not stated at the beginning of a study, but
rather they emerge as a study progresses.
 In qualitative, hypothesis gives a direct where the study should turn to.
 The hypothesis can be changed or adjusted during the study. They are just tentative.
 Many qualitative researchers do state some of their ideas before they begin a study, but these
are usually called Propositions rather than hypotheses.
 Propositions differ from hypotheses in that they are not intended to be tested against the data
(as in quantitative research) but rather are viewed as flexible tools intended to help guide
researchers in their collection and analysis of qualitative data.
In-class Discussion
 Research process
 You start with the identify the research problem, then you review the LIT REV whose
purpose is to broaden your knowledge and understanding the topic and narrow it down and
improve your research methodology and to give direction to your research.
 If you are sure about the topic, you can jump to the Lit Rev; it is basically chicken-and-egg
situation between Identifying the Problem and LIT REV.
 Usually, for TESOL, probably, because we are exposed to the educational issues and got
some ideas but not too specific, you can jump to Lit Rev because it will make it specific.
 Then, collect the data. Choose the right method. Prepare the right research instruments/
tools.
 Then, analyze and interpreted the data collected. Interpreting is to try to make sense or to
get the meanings of the data you collected and when you are trying to compare your findings
and the previous findings to find the consistency.
 Next, report and evaluate your research findings. And if you have some more problems, the
cycle repeats.
 Process of Lit Rev: Specify a problem, then, Justify the problem, and then, suggest a need to
study the problem for the audiences. Make it clear why the problem is important to be
studied; so, you need to prove that the problem really exists.
 What is research problem? Research problem is the difficulty or anything that concerns you
and you want answers to that. In TESOL,
 Research Problem: it is educational problems or issues that you want to justify in your study,
then it becomes your research problems.

 The problem: SS are demotivated to study English, then you got curious about the
Motivation, that problem becomes your research problem. We want to find out the factors,
and that factors will be our objectives. Then, the Research Question is what are the factors
that make ss want to study English?

 4 criteria/ characteristics of Research Question:

1. Clarity (Specific enough and can be measured),
2. Feasibility (Can you do this in terms of your backgrounds? do you have enough expertise?
do you have enough time?),
3. Significance (not just the sake of interest; who will benefit from it?; if not you will waste
your time and resources),
4. Ethic (the research must not have bad impacts/ effects, cause psychological or physical
harms, or discomfort to anybody)

Then, you need to decide the type of the research.

For quantitative research, everything needs to be measurable/ clear/ specific. We need to think
that you will use only NUMBER as the data for your study, not words. If the data is not number,
find ways to convert it into number to actually quantify the concepts. Without the statistic, you
cannot analyze because the software will not recognize the WORDS.
Primary purpose of research is to find out the cause of sth or to explain something or to know
the problem, not to solve.

Research questions should always be in Positive form cos negative forms are hard to answer.

Quantitative uses questionnaires therefore the research tools need to be done at the very
beginning and can’t be changed; for Qualitative, the research tools (interview) can vary from
one person to another.

We will touch Statistical Tools later.

Teacher’s Performance and Their dress code

Research Question: Are there any correlation between Teacher’s Performance and Their dress
code? (no study has been done before)

Class duration
How long is the most efficient duration for a class? Is longer class-time makes students learn
more or less?

Does classroom facility impacts students’ performance?’

Teachers’ Burn-out
What are the factors influencing the Teachers’ Burn-out of ESL Teachers in Cambodia?

Corrective feedback
Enhancing student’s L2 Writing Ability through corrective feedbacks. (Qualitative)

Motivational strategies for university students

What are the strategies of learning writing of higher-achievers? (Qualitative)

Learning disability in ESL classrooms

Is it important to train teachers to teach students with learning disability?

Homework; Read Chapter 6 Fraenkel and make a summary. Sampling.