Methodology and Data Collection

The Case Study Design

Adelman, Jenkins, and Kemmis (1980) stated the case study design as “user-friendly”

and popular among teachers as the data are “strong in reality”. These data from questionnaires

observations and conferences provide a generalized valuable view to the beliefs, values, and

attitudes of the participants. The researcher will have the opportunity to observe and analyze how

the participants act, speak, and engage with each other naturally, as well as with other people in

the community centre.

Research methods are often divided into two main types: qualitative and quantitative

methods. Qualitative research method is used to gain insights of participants’ understandings and

opinions towards the topic questions. It also helps to develop some hypotheses for quantitative

research. Some common tools include group discussions, individual interviews, and

observations.

Quantitative Research is used to quantify the problem by numerical data or data that can

be transformed into visual statistics. It uses measurable data to quantify attitudes, opinions and

other factors, and reveal patterns in chart or table. Quantitative data collection methods include

surveys, online polls and systematic observations.

The selection of methods in my research design combines both qualitative and

quantitative methods. Shorten and Smith (2017) presented that applying mixed methods can gain

a better understanding of connections or contradictions between qualitative and quantitative data,

which providing an opportunity for participants to share their thoughts and experience.

Individual interview/conference (see Appendix A) will be conducted to analyze participants’

diverse attitudes and opinions about using e-dictionary while learning vocabulary. A survey (see
Appendix B) is to collect participants’ opinions in a numerical way

Methods

Setting. This study was conducted in a language academy attached to a University in the greater

San Diego area. One of the classes taken in this institute is an advanced reading class, a class for

students who wants to develop academic reading skills in English through a variety of in-class

and homework assignments focusing on reading preparation for college. Countries of origin of

these students include Saudi Arabia, China, and Mexico. This class takes every Monday,

Wednesday, and Friday, from 10:45am to 12:15pm. Using mobile phones in class is allowed by

the instructor for academic use or entertainment. However, based on my observations, most

students use their mobile phones to look up vocabulary words.

Participants. The participants of this study are international students.4 males and 2 females

whose reading level is at advanced level were selected to participate in this study. Three of these

participants are able to have conference a meeting.

Methodology. In this study, quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to understand

how students use electronic dictionaries in the process of vocabulary learning through feedback

forms and conferencing with students.

Ethical Considerations. As a researcher, it was important for me to follow the policies and

instructions of the institution, to ensure that instructors and students’ rights are respected. In

addition, maintaining privacy of the participants and accuracy of the data collected through

member check was important. Lastly, I worked with the students to ensure that their personal

interests, personal issues, and any other related aspect of their personal needs was respected,

such as the purpose of learning English and their preference to use e-dictionary.

Data Collection Tools

 Two pieces of data were collected for analysis of this research. These included the

following:

a) Feedback Forms

b) One-on-one Conferencing

Feedback Forms. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain general background

information from the participants, which included the participants’ preference of using

electronic dictionaries (e-dictionary) in the process of vocabulary learning, participants’

attitudes towards using e-dictionaries when doing their homework, and participants’

satisfaction of using e-dictionary in the process of reading comprehension.

Conferencing. Multiple conferencing opportunities with the students provided more insight

into the students’ experiences. The conferencing sessions were designed to provide deeper

insights from participant feedback forms, create richer interactions with the students and

more personalized responses. All conferencing sessions were audio-recorded then transcribed

for analysis.