2017 ࣱ 7 త ˖‫ڍ‬ःၸឥᝒߥḸᔭ஠ḹ Jul.

2017
ኃ 40 ԃ ኃ 3 య Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics Vol. 40 No. 3

40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating

Content Areas, Research Methods, and
Statistical Techniques

Reza Khany & Khalil Tazik

University of Ilam, Iran

Abstract
This review study was designed to map out the research trends through an intensive text
analysis of 1,366 research articles (RAs) of applied linguistics during the past 40 years (from
1976 to 2015). RAs were coded and analyzed by four analysts to identify their content of
research, research methods, and statistical procedures. It was found that there has been an
increase in the number and the average length of articles. The average length has been on
the rise from 8.09 pages in 1976-1985 to 14.38 during 2006-2015. The extensive review of
the RAs also revealed a broad range of themes that belonged to 34 research domains. SLA,
Technology & Language Learning, Language Teaching Methodology, Language Testing, and
Psycholinguistics were the most widely researched areas. The qualitative method with 33.97%
was the dominant research method in the journals. Regarding the statistical techniques, it was
illustrated that descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and t-test were the most
commonly used procedures in the applied linguistic RAs.

Keywords: applied linguistics; content areas; research methods; statistical techniques

1. Introduction
At the very beginning, the young discipline of applied linguistics was more about the
transmission of linguistics findings to the practitioners, in general, and language teachers,
in particular (Corder, 1973). In other words, the nature of the field was to transmit and
its scope was pedagogy (Cook, 2015). This has been a one-way conduit; Widdowson
(1984) proposed that applied linguistics should find its own identity and avoid oscillating

ISSN 2192-9505 Chinese J. of Appl. Ling. 40-3 (2017), pp. 316-332 DOI 10.1515/cjal-2017-0018
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 Reza KHANY & KHALIL TAZIK

from linguistics to pedagogy. The main consequence of this proposal was the Applied
Linguists’ tendency towards theorizing and studying different areas of language use rather
than just language learning, teaching, and testing (Cook, 2015). This change of scope has
changed the definition of applied linguistics. Brumfit (1995) defined applied linguistics
as “the theoretical and empirical investigation of real-world problems in which language
is a central issue” (p. 27). That was an inspiring definition, but it is so broad as to open
the doors to almost limitless areas of research (Cook, 2015). Therefore, new areas were
added to the research interests: conversation analysis, deaf linguistics, corpus linguistics,
multimodal analysis, critical discourse analysis, language assessment, language planning
and policy, first and additional language learning, teaching, and use, to name but a few.
In theory, such diversity seems to be good: Academic studies provide insightful
findings to contribute to different areas of actual language use. In practice, however, this
diversity of areas and abundance of findings might endanger the meaningful disciplinary
identity of the field (Cook, 2015). This, for Cook (2015), does not mean that the field
has to maintain a unified and limited scope. But, he believes that “each area tends to
have its own audiences, its own outlets, [and] most significantly, some have different
theoretical premises” (p. 427). Therefore, if applied linguists are looking for fluidity and
change, they must accept that there would be some appearances and disappearances.
They need to know that the heydays of unified applied linguistics have passed and new
areas have gone which are related to the field but the attempt to federalize them is not
convincing (Cook, 2015, p. 427). Therefore, applied linguists’ concerns range from
language pedagogy, language assessment, and teacher education to the associations of
language and social issues, business communication, politics, and connections with some
social questions about migration, contact, attrition, ethnicity, ageing, identity, and gender.
Following such an expansion, some scholars aimed at overviewing the trends of research
in applied linguistics (e.g., Anton, 2011; Balduaf & Kaplan, 2010; Belcher, 2006; Hinkel,
2006; Kachru, 1966; Ker, Adamas, & Skyrme, 2013; Simpson, 2011; Swales, 1988, to name
but a few). The main purpose of these studies has been drawing the past trends and
the future trajectories of the field. Though the studies provide valuable information for
applied linguists and researchers interested in the field, most of them employed a cross-
sectional methodology and none of them provided a comprehensive picture of the field
and its specific research interests. For instance, Belcher (2006) only focused on the state
of English for specific purposes, Hinkel (2006) overviewed the developments of second
language teaching the four skills since its establishment as an independent discipline.
The studies have been area- or regional-specific, and researchers such as Anton (2011)
and Balduaf and Kaplan (2010) were interested in investigating the research trends in
New Zealand and Australia. This fragmentation in trend studies has not been considered
seriously among researchers. Therefore, one of the aims of this study is to fill the existing
gap and investigate the research trends of applied linguistics over the past four decades.
The main focus is on the published RAs where the main practices of the field occur (Swales,
1990). Additionally, applied linguistics as an interdisciplinary field of study is associated
with different disciplines. This multi-disciplinary nature creates a context for the use of
different research methods. The appearance of new methods and even the old ones were

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 40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating Content Areas, Research Methods, and Statistical Techniques

not considered comprehensively in the current research methodology books (Duff, 2002).
Therefore, it is constantly required to analyze the published studies and chase the methods
used. This is regarded as another aim of this study. The statistical procedures used in each
category are also important for studying in applied linguistics. The researchers, scholars,
students, and, in general, applied linguists need to know what research methods with
what statistical procedures are more frequently used in the field. This study is to consider
this matter, too. Hence, the purpose of this study is to conduct a content analysis and to
address the following areas:

· The content areas of applied linguistics investigated in the RAs

· The research methods adopted and used in the RAs
· The statistical procedures adopted in the RAs

All these purposes have been reached through a meticulous and careful analysis of all the
RAs published between 1976 and 2015. Based on these objectives, the following research
questions were provided:

1. What content areas are investigated in the RAs of applied linguistics?

2. What are the trends in research methods and statistical procedures in the RAs of applied
linguistics?

2. Review of Literature
This section includes a review of studies related to the content areas, research methods,
and statistical procedures in the RAs of applied linguistics.

2.1 Content Areas in Applied Linguistics

Because of the broad and large areas of activities to which language is related, applied
linguistics involves a wide range of activities with an open-ended scope. However, to make
this scope more specific and systematic, Cook (2003, p. 7) referred to the most relevant
areas under three headings:

1. Language and education which includes first-language education, additional-language

education, clinical linguistics, and language testing
2. Language, law, and work which includes workplace communication, language planning,
and forensic linguistics
3. Language, information, and effect which includes literary stylistics, critical discourse
analysis (CDA), translation and interpretation, information design, and lexicography

Cook (2003) emphasized that all these areas fall within the definition of applied linguistics
and are investigated by different organizations and journals. Similar to what Cook (2003)

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 Reza KHANY & KHALIL TAZIK

presented, Baldauf and Kaplan (2010) summarized the areas of research in applied
linguistics as follows:

· Second language acquisition includes sociolinguistic, socio-cultural, pragmatic, social-

psychological, and neurolinguistic orientations
· L2 reading and writing research which mainly focuses on reading processes and contrastive
rhetoric
· Language learning and teaching which encompasses second language teaching (and
English for academic purposes), foreign language teaching, bilingual and language minority
education, instructional approaches, language assessment, language policy and planning,
societal bilingualism and language contact, language use in professional contexts, corpus
linguistics, and critical perspectives in applied linguistics.

In a recent and more comprehensive study, Simpson (2011) presented 45 content areas
for applied linguistics under five sections: applied linguistics in action; language learning,
language education; language, culture, and identity; perspectives on language in use;
descriptions of language for applied linguistics. These sections encompass a variety of
topics which are presented below.

Applied Linguistics in Action. The first section consists of the topics which explain the
ways language studies provide descriptions of real world matters and suggest the ways
these problems can be addressed. Hence, the section mostly covers the practical matters of
the field and reflects the breadth of contemporary applied linguistics. The topics covered
in this section are as follows: /DQJXDJH3ROLF\DQG3ODQQLQJ%XVLQHVV&RPPXQLFDWLRQ
7UDQVODWLRQDQG,QWHUSUHWLQJ/H[LFRJUDSK\7KH0HGLD,QVWLWXWLRQDO'LVFRXUVH0HGLFDO
&RPPXQLFDWLRQ&OLQLFDO/LQJXLVWLFV/DQJXDJHDQG$JHLQJ)RUHQVLF/LQJXLVWLFV

Language Learning and Language Education. This section explains the two-way
relationships between the practical experiences of teachers and learners and the more
abstract and theoretical aspects of language learning. It includes Second Language
$FTXLVLWLRQ6/$/DQJXDJH7HDFKLQJ0HWKRGRORJ\7HFKQRORJ\DQG/DQJXDJH/HDUQLQJ
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/DQJXDJH7HVWLQJ&ODVVURRP'LVFRXUVHDQG/DQJXDJH6RFLDOL]DWLRQ

Language, Culture and Identity. Language learning is not confined to learning formal
properties of language. Culture and identity are intertwined with knowledge about
language as well as language use. Applied Linguists are concerned with the connections
and relationships between language-related issues of individual identity as the micro
scale and those of globalized society as the macro scale. The topics subsumed in this
section include Language and Culture, Language and Identity, Gender, Ethnicity, Sign
/DQJXDJHV:RUOG(QJOLVKHV/LQJXLVWLF,PSHULDOLVP0XOWLOLQJXDOLVPDQG/DQJXDJHDQG
Migration.
Perspectives on Language in Use. Perspectives on the study of language in use are the

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 40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating Content Areas, Research Methods, and Statistical Techniques

wide-ranging areas which relate to the role of language in our social relations and in
psychological and cognitive developments. The topics in this section focus on language
per se, investigating the question of what language is. The topics are Discourse Analysis,
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Neurolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Sociocultural
DQG&XOWXUDO+LVWRULFDO7KHRULHVRI/DQJXDJH'HYHORSPHQW6RFLROLQJXLVWLFV/LQJXLVWLF
Ethnography, Literacy, and Stylistics.
Descriptions of Language for Applied Linguistics. This section consists of those areas
linguists are concerned with making real-world decisions. The topics covered in this
section are Grammar, Lexis, and Phonetics which present models of language description
and relate to the parts of language which might be addressed via these models. The findings
of these topics could be influential when applied to Phonology, Corpus Linguistics,
&RJQLWLYH/LQJXLVWLFV6\VWHPLF)XQFWLRQDO/LQJXLVWLFV6)/*HQHUDWLYH*UDPPDU7KH
(PHUJHQFHRI/DQJXDJHDVD&RPSOH[$GDSWLYH6\VWHPDQG0XOWLPRGDOLW\
Among the three classifications introduced above, Simpson’s (2011) framework was
found to be the most recent, the most detailed and comprehensive one. Therefore, it was
selected in this study as the major analytical framework for identifying content areas of
applied linguistics.

2.2 Research Methods and Statistical Procedures in Applied Linguistics

Research methods used in applied linguistic RAs have been reviewed by some researchers.
For instance, Gao, Li, and Lü (2001) studied the trends in research methods in applied
linguistics across China and the West. For this aim, they selected 2,486 articles published
between 1978 and 1997 in Chinese journals and between 1985 and 1997 in English
journals. Results of their study indicated that the directions in Chinese articles moved from
non-empirical toward empirical with the rise of quantitative studies while in the West the
quantitative paradigm was found to be challenged by the qualitative one. Likewise, Brown
(2004) studied the available sources attributed to quantitative research methodology.
He tried to define the statistical procedures and conceptual topics that appeared in the
published books on quantitative research methodology between 1986 and 2002. His study
showed that about 45 statistical procedures and 29 conceptual topics were present in
those books. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, Spearman rank-correlation
coefficient, factor analysis, and multiple regressions were found to be the most commonly
used statistic procedures in the correlational studies. T-test, one-way ANOVA and factorial
ANOVA were found to be most frequently used in group comparison investigations. One-
way and multi-way chi-square were the common procedures for non-parametric studies.
In all the given studies, descriptive statistics were introduced as the essential parts of the
reported statistics. Lazaraton (2005) studied published RAs in a similar way but focused
on the use of quantitative research methodology in applied linguistics between 1991 and
2001. The first notable finding in her study was the overabundant use of quantitative
research methodology (about 86%) in the surveyed articles. The second was the popularity
of parametric statistical procedures in comparison with the non-parametric ones. She
reported that ANOVA (40%), t-test (23%), regression analysis (13%), and chi-square

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 Reza KHANY & KHALIL TAZIK

(11%) were the most frequently-used procedures in the quantitative studies. Analysis of
covariance (ANCOVA), factor analysis, and multiple analysis of variance (MANCOVA)
were also present in the quantitative articles. Chi-square was the most employed procedure
for non-parametric studies.

3. Method
3.1 Journal and RA Selection

This review was based on a systematic selection (one out of ten papers) of 1,366 RAs
published in10 journals of applied linguistics: Modern Language Journal, Language
/HDUQLQJ 6\VWHP )RUHLJQ /DQJXDJH$QQDOV$SSOLHG /LQJXLVWLFV 6WXGLHV LQ 6HFRQG
/DQJXDJH$FTXLVLWLRQ7(62/4XDUWHUO\/DQJXDJH7HVWLQJ$SSOLHG3V\FKROLQJXLVWLFV
and /DQJXDJH 7HDFKLQJ 5HVHDUFK. The selection complies with the top-most applied
linguistic journals by the researchers such as Jung (2004), Egbert (2007), and Plonsky
(2011). The procedure produced a corpus of 1,366 articles, of which the state of the art of
the field was investigated. Review articles, comments, and RAs written in other languages
such as French and German were excluded from the analysis. In the following sections, the
procedures of data collection and analysis will be elaborated on.

3.2 Procedures for Data Collection

To begin with, the electronic versions of RAs published in each journal were downloaded
and saved in 40 folders. Each folder was specific to one year and contained different
issues of that year. RAs in each issue were renamed with a number specifying its volume,
issue, and year of publication, plus the journal in which the paper was published. For
instance, a paper named “2.2.2.1990.System” was identified as the second RA in the
second volume, and the second issue of 6\VWHP published in 1990. This coding procedure
helped the researchers identify the cases of incompatibility of analyses. It should be noted
that four analysts, two researchers writing this paper and two PhD students in applied
linguistics, analyzed the texts and identified research variables. The analysts had ten three-
hour sessions in which the purposes of the study were elaborated on, the content areas of
applied linguistics published in 7KH5RXWOHGJH+DQGERRNRI$SSOLHG/LQJXLVWLFV, edited
by Simpson (2011) were reviewed, the procedure for identifying research methods and
statistical techniques were discussed, the common procedure for documenting the data
was mapped out, and finally, a pilot analysis was conducted to ensure that the group had
a correct interpretation of the purposes of the study. In the analyses, every researcher had
to write the number of pages, content area, research method, and statistical technique(s)
of every paper in a separate word document, saved in a way similar to the paper’s name.
In the last session, it was determined that the researchers should submit the data to the
senior researchers. The RAs were classified in four decades: 1976-1985, 1986-1995, 1996-
2005, and 2006-2015. The researchers analyzed the RAs of each decade and submitted the

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 40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating Content Areas, Research Methods, and Statistical Techniques

results to the senior researchers who reviewed the data and identified the incompatibility
of the cases. In cases of incompatibility, the senior researchers called the analysts to hold a
problem-solving session. The final decisions were always made after long discussions.

3.3 Procedures for Data Analysis

To identify the content areas of RAs, the topics, abstracts, and keywords of the papers
were reviewed by each researcher. Through the analysis of these parts, the most related
content areas were identified. If these parts were not clear enough for decision making
or more than one area of study was observed in these parts, other sections of the papers
were also reviewed. The space given to the variables and the main implications of the
studies were helpful in determining the content areas. After reviewing RAs in each decade,
the senior researchers held a meeting for collecting the data and discussing the points of
disagreement.
To address the methodology of RAs published in the applied linguistic journals, the
research categories and subcategories used by Gao, Li, and Lü (2001) were adopted for this
review. Gao et al. (2001) divided the research types under two broad categories: Empirical
(quantitative and qualitative) and non-empirical (see Table 1).

Table 1. Research categories and subcategories adopted from Gao et al. (2001)
Research types
Empirical Non-empirical
Quantitative Qualitative
Text analysis
Theory and implication
Experimental vs. non-experimental Ethnography
Pedagogical operation
Inferential vs. descriptive statistics Narrative accounts
Personal experience and views
Multivariate vs. univariate Verbal reports
Classroom interaction analysis

Gao et al. (2001) stated that empirical studies involve qualitative and quantitative studies
since both of these research types characterize systematic data collection and analysis.
Accordingly, those studies which do not rely on first-hand data were labeled as non-
empirical. In this classification, quantitative research, based on the definition given
by Henning (1986), involves “the tallying, manipulation, or systematic aggregation of
quantities of data” (p. 702). Thus, it may use descriptive and inferential statistics or
involve testing hypotheses in experimental studies. Qualitative or non-quantitative
research (in Henning’s 1986 words) involves data driven studies which report research
findings in a qualitative manner. According to Gao et al. (2001, p. 3), this type of research
includes analysis of formal features of discourse (text analysis); in-depth description of
communication in a field (ethnography); a corpus of life events or natural narrations
(narrative accounts); topic-centered reports, interviews or surveys (oral reports); coding
and classifying utterances in classroom interactions (classroom interaction analysis).
Non-empirical studies, on the other hand, involve discussing theoretical issues and their

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pedagogical implications (theory and implication); presenting detailed descriptions

of pedagogical mechanisms such as curricula, syllabi, tests, software etc. (pedagogical
operation); summing up personal views and experiences in a research paper (personal
experience and views). Based on these classifications adopted from Gao et al. (2001) and
the suggestions presented in Henning (1986), we coded the methodological characteristics
of the articles identified as Quantitative, Qualitative and Non-empirical research types.
Also, the articles were classified according to their major research methods. For instance,
if a research used both qualitative and quantitative methods but highly relied on statistics,
the article was labeled as quantitative. In problematic cases, the researchers held a group
discussion with their colleagues to reach a reliable decision.
In the third phase of the study, the statistical procedures used in the RAs published
in the journal were examined in detail. After coding the papers, the researchers listed
the statistical technique(s) used in each paper. They used “none” if a paper did not
use any statistical technique, “descriptive” if the paper only used descriptive statistics,
“descriptive+” if the paper used descriptive in addition to other statistical procedures (e.g.,
descriptive+ t-test, if the papers used descriptive statistics and t-test for data analysis),
“ANOVA” if the papers used this technique and so on. The total frequencies of techniques
were computed and presented from the highest to the lowest. After analyzing each decade,
the findings for each issue were compared in order to ensure agreement among the
researchers. Since the papers were coded, cases of incompatibility of data were identified
easily and solved by double checking. The senior researchers made the final check at the
end of each session.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1 The Number of RAs and Their Average Length

Reviewing RAs published in the journals revealed that some changes happened in the
number of articles received for publication and average length of those papers. Therefore,
to start with, changes in the number of articles and their average length during 40 years of
publication of applied linguistic journals were evaluated (Table 2).

Table 2. Number of articles and average length of papers selected for analysis
Years of publication
1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015
Number of articles 229 286 358 493
*Average length 8.09 9.48 13.96 14.38
*The total number of pages divided by the number of RAs

As shown in Table 2, the number of articles published was on the rise over the years. The
number of articles increased from 229 in 1976-1985 to 286, 358, and 493 in the next three
decades. The average length of RA pages also increased from the first decade to the fourth

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 40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating Content Areas, Research Methods, and Statistical Techniques

one. As depicted in Table 2 and visually demonstrated in Figure 1, the average length of
articles had a rising trend from 8.09 during 1976-1985 to 14.38 during 2006-2015. It is
implied that researchers are currently using more spaces to justify their research, present
their data, and discuss their findings.

Figure 1. Number and average length of RAs over 40 years of publication

4.2 Content Areas Covered in RAs

Results of our analysis showed that 34 content areas were investigated in the 40 years of
publications of applied linguistic journals. Occurrences of these areas over different years
of publication are given in Table 3.
It should be noted that in Table 3 the percentages in the first five columns are given
on the basis of the number of RAs coded and analyzed in each decade. For instance, 7.6%
for SLA is calculated from among 169 RAs in the first decade. In the last column, however,
the total frequencies and percentages of content areas among 1,366 RAs are presented. To
further explain the data in Table 3, first the content areas that received more attention in
each decade are given and then the total frequency of these areas among all the papers will
be considered.

Table 3. Frequency and percentages of content areas in 6\VWHP

Content areas Years of publications
1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015 Total
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) 19(8.30) 46(16.08) 46(12.85) 101(20.48) 212(15.52)
Technology & Language Learning 46(20.09)* 73(25.52) 46(12.85) 34(6.89) 199(14.57)
Language Teaching Methodology 61(26.64) 53(18.53) 52(14.52) 31(6.29) 197(14.42)
Language Testing 23(10.04) 35(12.24) 46(12.85) 34(6.89) 138(10.10)
Psycholinguistics 10(4.37) 15(5.24) 35(9.77) 50(10.14) 110(8.05)
Language Teacher Education 2(.87) 13(4.54) 25(6.98) 34(6.89) 74(5.42)
Language Planning & Policy 25(10.92) 15(5.24) 17(4.75) 15(3.04) 72(5.27)
Lexis 1(0.43) 2(0.70) 15(4.19) 24(4.87) 42(3.07)
Discourse Analysis 2(0.87) 4(1.40) 6(1.67) 22(4.46) 34(2.49)
Business Communication 5(2.18) 11(3.83) 6(1.67) 11(2.23) 33(2.41)
Sociolinguistics 3(1.31) 3(1.05) 2(0.56) 22(4.46) 30(2.19)

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 Reza KHANY & KHALIL TAZIK

Ⴤ՗
Content areas Years of publications
English for Academic Purposes - 4(1.40) 8(2.23) 14(2.84) 26(1.90)
Phonetics & phonology 4(1.74) 2(0.70) 7(1.95) 12(2.43) 25(1.83)
Literacy 8(3.49) 3(1.05) 9(2.51) 5(1.01) 25(1.83)
Grammar 3(1.31) 2(0.70) 11(3.07) 9(1.82) 25(1.83)
Corpus Linguistics - 1(0.35) 9(2.51) 9(1.82) 19(1.39)
Language & Culture - - 6(1.67) 7(1.42) 13(0.95)
World Englishes 2(0.87) - 2(0.56) 6(1.22) 10(0.73)
Bilingual Education 5(2.18) - 2(0.56) 2(0.40) 9(0.66)
Lexicography 2(0.87) - 2(0.56) 4(0.81) 8(0.58)
Language Socialization - 1(0.35) - 6(1.22) 7(0.51)
Systemic Functional Linguistics 3(1.31) 1(0.35) 1(0.28) 2(0.40) 7(0.51)
Critical Discourse Analysis 1(0.43) - - 6(1.22) 7(0.51)
Multimodality 2(0.87) - - 5(1.01) 7(0.51)
Gender - 1(0.35) - 5(1.01) 6(0.44)
Linguistic Imperialism 2(0.87) - - 4(0.81) 6(0.44)
Language & Identity - - 1(0.28) 5(1.01) 6(0.44)
Classroom Discourse - - 3(0.84) 2(0.40) 5(0.36)
Multilingualism - - - 5(1.01) 5(0.36)
Medical Communication - - - 5(1.01) 5(0.36)
Language & migration 1(0.43) - - 1(0.20) 2(0.14)
Generative Grammar - 1(0.35) - - 1(0.07)
Stylistics - - 1(0.28) - 1(0.07)
The Media - - - 1(0.20) 1(0.07)
Total 229(100) 286(100) 358(100) 493(100) 1366(100)
Note. * the higher frequency of content areas in each decade of publication

Table 3 shows the variability of topics investigated in the field of applied linguistics over
different years. It is observed that among 229 RAs published between 1976 and 1985,
about 22 content areas were investigated out of which Language Teaching Methodology
(26.64%) was the most researched topic. Technology and Language Learning (20.09%),
Language Planning and Policy (10.92%), and Language Testing (10.04%) were the other
topics which were vogue in this decade of publication. In the second decade (1986-1995),
more variability was observed in the investigated content areas (about 20 content areas).
In this decade, Technology and Language Learning was the dominant content area that
accounted for 25.52% of RAs. Language Teaching Methodology (18.53%), SLA (16.08%),
and Language Testing (12.24%) were also frequent in the publications of this decade.
Between 1996 and 2005, 24 content areas were investigated of which Language Teaching
Methodology (14.52%), SLA (12.85%), Technology and Language Learning (12.85%),
Language Testing (12.85%), and Psycholinguistics (9.77%) were the most investigated
ones. In the fourth decade of publication, 32 content areas were published in the journals.
The most researched areas in this decade were SLA (20.48%), Psycholinguistic (10.14%),
Technology and Language Learning (6.89%), Language Testing (6.89%), Language Teacher

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 40 Years of Applied Linguistics: Investigating Content Areas, Research Methods, and Statistical Techniques

Education (6.89%), and Language Teaching Methodology (6.29%). The broad range of
content areas found in the journals indicates the diversity of research interests of applied
linguists. Pica (2003) noted that along with the width of research on language, the learner,
and the learning process, the field of applied linguistics broadened considerably. Therefore,
researchers attempted to examine new theories associated with the language learning
process and brought about new findings in the field. As a consequence, the topics varied
considerably and addressed different issues from different areas of study such as linguistics,
sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and so on.
Of the total content areas, SLA was found to be the most frequent area (15.52%).
Technology & Language Learning (14.57%), Language Teaching Methodology (14.42%),
Language Testing (10.10%), and Psycholinguistics (8.05%) were other areas which received
much attention. These areas reflect the well-established fields of inquiry which contain
an abundance of subareas for research. Regarding the five sections suggested by Simpson
(2011), the Language Learning and Language Education section was by far the dominant
area of investigation, and the Language, Culture, and Identity section was the least
frequent area of study. It was also found that Translation and Interpreting, Institutional
Discourse, Clinical Linguistics, Language and Ageing, and Forensic Linguistics from the
Applied Linguistics in Action section; Ethnicity and Sign Languages from the Language,
Culture, and Identity section; Neurolinguistics, Sociocultural and Cultural-Historical
Theories of Language Development, and Linguistic Ethnography from the Perspectives on
Language in Use section; and finally, The Emergence of Language as a Complex Adaptive
System from the Descriptions of Language for Applied linguistics section were not
frequent in the content areas covered in the journals. Considering the space given to the
content areas indicates that the focal attention in the field is on the Language Learning and
Language Education section and SLA content area as one of its subdivisions. For instance,
in the latest issue of System, 33 out of 82 RAs were specific to the SLA topics like context of
learning, corrective feedback, willingness to communicate, collaborative work, negotiation
of meaning, strategy-based instruction, study abroad, and form-focused instruction.

4.3 Research Methods Used in the RAs

Research methods used in the papers published during the 40 years of publications are
labeled as qualitative, quantitative, and non-empirical. The trend in using these kinds of
methods in each decade of publication is given in Table 4.
As Table 4 depicts, in the first decade of publication (1976-1985), non-empirical
method (63.32%) was the dominant method in the RAs. Quantitative and qualitative
studies accounted for 19.21% and 17.47% of the published RAs. The dominance of non-
empirical methods was continued in the second decade (about 55.24% of the 286 RAs
published between 1986 and 1995). The increasing appearance of qualitative studies
(24.47%) was significant in this decade. This trend was observable in the third decade of
publications. Of the 358 RAs published in this decade, 28.21% used non-empirical and
35.75% employed qualitative methods. The use of quantitative method also increased in
this decade. The increasing use of qualitative and quantitative methods in this decade

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is interpreted as methodological awareness among researchers (Gao et al., 2001). In the

fourth decade (1996-2005), the decline in using non-empirical methods was salient.
Just 7.50% of the papers published in this decade used non-empirical methods. The
quantitative method (46.65%) and qualitative method (45.84%) accounted for other
92.50% of the papers. The highest range of using quantitative methods was observed in
this decade.

Table 4. Research methods used in 40 years of publications of applied linguistic journals

(N= 1,366)
Research
Years of publication
Methods
1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015 Total
Non-empirical 145(63.32%) 158(55.24%) 101(28.21%) 37(7.50%) 441(32.28)
Quantitative 44(19.21%) 58(20.28%) 129(36.03%) 230(46.65%) 461(33.75)
Qualitative 40(17.47%) 70(24.47%) 128(35.75%) 226(45.84%) 464(33.97)
Total 229(100%) 286(100%) 358(100%) 493(100%) 1366(100)

4.4 Statistical Techniques Used in the RAs

Table 5 shows the frequencies and percentages of the statistical techniques used in the
journals. Our analysis of the 1,366 RAs revealed that 539 (39.45%) articles contained
statistical techniques. We also found that about 41 statistical procedures with the total
occurrences of 1,196 have been used in the articles. Among the total occurrences of
statistical procedures, descriptive statistics with 497 (41.55%) occurrences were by far
the most frequently used statistical technique in RAs. About 127 (10.62%) RAs used only
descriptive statistics to present their data and 370 (30.93%) RAs used descriptive statistics
in addition to other statistical procedures. Pearson correlation coefficient (160 [13.38%]),
ANOVA (142 [11.87%]), and t-test (117 [9.78%]) were the other most frequently used
statistical procedures in the journals. These four techniques accounted for 76.58% of the
overall occurrences of the statistical procedures in the RAs of applied linguistics. In other
words, a reader with a basic knowledge of these four techniques can understand 76.58% of
the statistical procedures encountered in the papers.
To further address the frequency of 41 statistical techniques used in the journals,
and following Goodwin and Goodwin (1985), the techniques presented in Table 5
were grouped in three categories: (1) ANOVA-related techniques which include t-tests,
ANOVAs, ANCOVAs, MANOVAs, MANCOVAs, and post-hoc multiple comparison
techniques; (2) Parametric correlational-based techniques which consist of Pearson
correlation, part and partial correlation, regression analysis, path analysis, canonical
correlation, and factor analysis; (3) nonparametric techniques which include chi-square
and other nonparametric procedures. Computing percentages revealed that 30.78% of
the techniques were ANOVA-related, 21.51% were correlation-based, and 6.22% were
nonparametric techniques. It is clear that after descriptive statistics, the most commonly
used statistical procedures over these 40 years of research in applied linguistics were

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ANOVA-based. The same findings were reported by Goodwin and Goodwin (1985).
They found that usage percentages for the three categories in the Journal of Educational
Psychology were 51.8% for ANOVA-related, 33.7% for correlation-based and 4.6% for
nonparametric techniques.
One significant point observable in the data presented in Table 5 is an increasing
trend in the number of statistical techniques over the years of publication (5 procedures
in the first decade of publication compared to 41 statistical techniques in 2006-2015).
From 1976 to 1995, statistical procedures such as descriptive statistics, correlation
coefficient, ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square were dominant in the RAs. The main reason
for such a limited number of statistical procedures could be related to the dominance
of non-empirical methods in the published papers. In 1996-2005, some more statistical
procedures such as regression analysis, MANOVA, and ANCOVA were more apparent in
the papers. In 2006 to 2015, there was an increase in the variety of statistical techniques
employed for analyzing data. Results indicated that non-parametric statistics like the
Wilcoxon Signed-ranked test, the Mann-Whitney test, the KrusKal-Wallis, and Friedman
tests, and post hoc tests such as the Tukey, Scheffe, Bonferroni, Tukey’s HSD, Games
Howell, and Gabriel tests, except one case in 1996-2005, appeared to be used in RAs after
2006. The increase in the appearance of various statistical procedures in the published
articles might indicate that the studies involve examining multiple variables with a large
sample size. Moreover, it shows that efforts were made to provide reliability and validity
estimates for the instruments or procedures of data elicitation. Another reason for the
increase in statistical use, as Juzych, Shin, Seyedsadr, Siegner, and Juzych (1992) noted,
could be attributed to the emergence of new statistical software packages which made the
complex computations easier.
SEM, as a complex but useful method for the quantification and measurement of
substantive theories and latent variables in most disciplines (Raykov & Marcoulides,
2006) appeared to be used in the RAs published between 2006 and 2015. As Henning
(1986) contends, path analysis methods help researchers test the competing theories and
introduce new models to the field. However, results showed that just 17 (1.42%) of the
articles used path analysis in their analyses. It is expected that researchers along with
the complexities of language learning will choose to use more of such complex statistical
methods.

Table 5. Statistical analyses used in RAs of applied linguistics

Years of publication
Statistical Analyses
1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015 Total (%)
Descriptive statistics +a 13 20 81 256 370(30.93)
Pearson correlation 6 11 31 112 160(13.38)
ANOVAb 1 5 30 106 142(11.87)
Descriptive statistics 20 32 54 21 127(10.62)
t-test 5 8 28 86 117(9.78)
Regression Analysis - 1 2 27 30(2.51)
Chi-square 2 1 7 20 30(2.51)

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 Reza KHANY & KHALIL TAZIK

Ⴤ՗
Years of publication
Statistical Analyses
1976-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015 Total (%)
Chronbach alpha - - 4 26 30(2.51)
MANOVAc - 1 3 18 24(2.00)
SEMd - - 2 15 17(1.42)
Mann-Whitney U test - - 2 14 16(1.34)
Cohen’s d - - 1 12 13(1.09)
ANCOVAe - 1 3 7 11(0.92)
Wilcoxon Signed-rank test - - 2 9 11(0.92)
Tukey test - - 2 9 11(0.92)
Factor analysis - - 1 9 10(0.83)
Spearman correlation - - 1 7 8(0.67)
Scheffe post hoc - - 1 6 7(0.58)
Cohen’s Kappa - - - 5 5(0.42)
Kruskal-Wallis analysis - - - 5 5(0.42)
Bonferroni - - - 4 4(0.33)
Levene’s test - - - 4 4(0.33)
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin - - - 4 4(0.33)
MANCOVAf - - - 3 3(0.25)
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test - - - 3 3(0.25)
Tukey’s HSDg - - - 3 3(0.25)
Partial eta - - - 2 2(0.17)
Bartlett test - - - 2 2(0.17)
Friedman analysis - - - 2 2(0.17)
Mauchly’s test - - - 2 2(0.17)
Welch F - - - 2 2(0.17)
Fisher LSDh - - - 1 1(0.08)
Z-test - - - 1 1(0.08)
Standardized coefficient - - - 1 1(0.08)
Wilks’s Lambda - - - 1 1(0.08)
F-ratio - - - 1 1(0.08)
Spearman-Brown prophecy - - - 1 1(0.08)
Phi-coefficient - - - 1 1(0.08)
Games Howell - - - 1 1(0.08)
Gabriel test - - - 1 1(0.08)
Cramer’s V - - - 1 1(0.08)
Shapiro-wilk test - - - 1 1(0.08)
Total 47 82 255 812 1196(100)
Note: +a descriptive statistics in addition to other statistical techniques; b includes both one-way and factorial ANOVA;
c
includes both one-way and factorial MANOVA; d Structural Equation Modeling; e includes both one-way and factorial
ANCOVA; f includes both one-way and factorial MANCOVA; g Honest Significance Difference; h Least Significant
Difference.

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5. Conclusions
As was presented, this study’s intention has been to identify the frequency of content areas
of applied linguistics, research methods, and statistical techniques apparent in the applied
linguistic journals. Though space limitations did not permit an in-depth exploration
of each of these variables, an attempt has been made to describe the state of the art of
the field. Overall, results showed that the field of applied linguistics has experienced
considerable changes in the mentioned variables. It was observed that various content
areas of applied linguistics have been investigated in the journals. This variability confirms
the interdisciplinary nature of the field as well as the wide scope of the journals. But it is
worth noting that, this review has shown that a considerable number of RAs are related
to the Language Learning and Language Education section of applied linguistics. SLA as
a subsection of this heading has been the most researched topic in the journals. The field
also has evidenced the variability of the content areas of investigation, and consequently,
the variability of research methods, and statistical techniques.
Findings of the study indicated that the field is moving over different branches from
which the final destination, i.e., language learning, is going to be attained. However, the
overabundance of research themes and trends is probably showing that the extension of
areas of research has complicated the issue in a way that the final destination is blurred. In
such anomalous conditions it is suggested that an observatory center clearly defines the
research requirements and meticulously reflects on the homogenous and heterogeneous
findings.
According to the frequencies of research methodologies in applied linguistics, the
RAs have moved from non-empirical methods to more qualitative research methods.
However, no decisive and clear trend can be defined for the use of research methodologies
in the field. The dominance of quantitative studies in the field is not so strong as to imply
that the field possesses quantitative orientations. Maybe, the only significant finding
is located in the second decade in which the number of quantitative research studies
exceeded the number of qualitative ones.
Regarding the statistical techniques used in the journals, it was illustrated that
descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and t-test were the most commonly
used procedures in the journals. It was also found that, after descriptive statistics,
ANOVA-related techniques were the most commonly used techniques in the journals.
These finding are in line with Lazaraton (2005), who reported that ANOVA was present in
more than 40% of the quantitative articles between 1991 and 2001. For Lazaraton (2005),
this is not good news for the validity of the findings since this procedure is hard to run
and interpret. She also claimed that some researchers did not observe the basic principles
and assumptions of this procedure, though no specific case was given. These findings
suggest that readers need to be equipped with adequate knowledge in statistics if they
want to recognize and fully understand the statistical techniques in the applied linguistic
journals. Goodwin and Goodwin (1985) point out that a researcher with basic knowledge
in statistics might be able to recognize the most frequently used techniques in the RAs;
however, he/she cannot adequately understand all the statistical techniques used in the

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papers published in recent years. Therefore, researchers should be updated on recent

statistical knowledge if they wish to statistically comprehend RAs published in the journal.
All in all, the study is regarded as an introductory investigation reflecting the state of
the art of the field. Applied Linguists, researchers and readers of the journals can use the
results of this study to find out about the trends of publishing in these journals. Editorial
boards of the journals can also benefit from the results of our analysis. They will be
supplied with valuable data representing an overview of the history of the field. Now they
know where the field stands and what should be done to compensate the underrepresented
points of research.

Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to their colleagues for their kind help and support. They are
also grateful to the editor of the journal and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful
comments on this review.

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About the authors

Reza Khany is an Associate Professor of English (applied linguistics) at University of
Ilam, in Iran. His research efforts have focused on corpus linguistics, Pragmatics, and
Psycholinguistics. Email: khani.reza2016@gmail.com

Khalil Tazik is a PhD student of English (applied linguistics) at University of Ilam, in Iran.
His research efforts have focused on Discourse Analysis and Psycholinguistics. Email:
khaliltazik@gmail.com

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