Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-f97m6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-21T14:37:25.184Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

INTRODUCING THE SSLA METHODS FORUM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2020

Susan Gass  and
Luke Plonsky
Susan Gass*
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Luke Plonsky*
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be directed to Susan Gass, 7492 Dublin Road, Delaware, OH 43015. E-mail:gass@msu.edu.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content. As you have access to this content, full HTML content is provided on this page. A PDF of this content is also available in through the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Information

Type
Editorial
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , September 2020 , pp. 667 - 669
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

SLA has always been and remains a dynamic discipline that employs an increasingly wide range of methodological techniques. Over the years there has been a steady interest in research methodology/design (cf. Dörnyei, Reference Dörnyei2007; Hatch & Farhady, Reference Hatch and Farhady1982; Hatch & Lazaraton, Reference Hatch and Lazaraton1991; Mackey & Gass, Reference Mackey and Gass2012, Reference Mackey and Gass2016; Mackey & Marsden, Reference Mackey and Marsden2016; McKinley & Rose, Reference McKinley and Rose2020; Phakiti et al., Reference Phakiti, Costa, Plonsky and Starfield2018). Not only have there been numerous textbooks dealing with design and methodology, entire series have been devoted to the topic of research methods (Second Language Acquisition Research, begun in 1997 and currently published by Routledge, and Guides to Research Methods in Language and Linguistics, begun in 2011 and published by Wiley-Blackwell (https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Guides+to+Research+Methods+in+Language+and+Linguistics-c-2899). More recently, however, large numbers of scholars in the field began to take on research methodology as an explicit and even empirical focus of their work (see overview by Gass et al., Reference Gass, Loewen and Plonsky2020).

Signs of this “methodological turn” (Byrnes, Reference Byrnes2013, p. 825) can be seen in the number and variety of texts devoted to specific methods (e.g., Bowles, Reference Bowles2010; Conklin et al., Reference Conklin, Pellicer-Sanchez and Carrol2018; Dörnyei & Taguchi, Reference Dörnyei and Taguchi2009; Gass & Mackey, Reference Gass and Mackey2017; Godfroid, Reference Godfroid2020; Jegerski & VanPatten, Reference Jegerski and VanPatten2014; Jiang, Reference Jiang2012; McDonough & Trofimovich, Reference McDonough and Trofimovich2009; Spinner & Gass, Reference Spinner and Gass2019), texts devoted to data elicitation (Gass & Mackey, Reference Gass and Mackey2007; Rose et al., Reference Rose, McKinley and Baffoe-Djan2020), and texts devoted to statistics (Larson-Hall, Reference Larson-Hall2016; Plonsky, Reference Plonsky2015). We have also seen in recent years an increase in the frequency and popularity of methods workshops, initiatives promoting open science and replication (e.g., Marsden & Plonsky, Reference Marsden, Plonsky, Gudmestad and Edmonds2018; Porte & McManus, Reference Porte and McManus2019), methodological syntheses (e.g., Lindstromberg, Reference Lindstromberg2016; Marsden et al., Reference Marsden, Plonsky, Gudmestad and Edmonds2018; Plonsky & Gass, Reference Plonsky and Gass2011), and studies exploring statistical literacy among L2 researchers (e.g., Loewen et al., Reference Loewen, Lavolette, Spino, Papi, Schmidtke, Sterling and Wolff2014, Reference Loewen, Gönülal, Isbell, Ballard, Crowther, Lim, Maloney and Tigchelaar2020). Analytically speaking, a number of new statistical techniques have been introduced such as mixed-effects modeling and Bayesian data analysis (e.g., Norouzian et al., Reference Norouzian, De Miranda and Plonsky2018) as well as systematic reexaminations of familiar statistical techniques such as null hypothesis significance testing (e.g., Norris, Reference Norris2015) and multiple regression (Plonsky & Oswald, Reference Plonsky and Oswald2017). We view the scrutiny of and attention to methods embodied by these works as signs of the field’s health and maturity.

SSLA and other journals have both welcomed and played an important part of this movement (cf. Crossley et al., Reference Crossley, Marsden, Ellis, Kormos, Morgan-Short and Thierry2020). This journal, for example, has enacted updated and increasingly more rigorous publication guidelines and has sought to uphold those guidelines through its peer and editorial review process. We have also published articles that not only shed light on L2 development but also those that seek to advance methodological understanding, training, and practices in the field (e.g., Hamrick & Sachs, Reference Hamrick and Sachs2018; Keating & Jegerski, Reference Keating and Jegerski2015; Norouzian, Reference Norouzian2020; Plonsky, Reference Plonsky2013).

SSLA is now taking another step to further the field’s methodological literacy by inviting authors to submit manuscripts to the Methods Forum. Articles of this type can take a number of different forms as long as the focus is on research methods as applied to SLA. Manuscripts submitted to the Methods Forum can be conceptual, presenting an argument in favor of or against a particular technique or practice. Submissions might also present empirical data whether (a) collected specifically for the methods piece, (b) simulated, or (c) based on a reanalysis of one or more existing datasets. Articles in the Methods Forum can also introduce and make a case for a novel technique or a novel combination of techniques. However, all articles in the Methods Forum will provide implications for research design, instrumentation, analysis, reporting/dissemination, interpretation, and/or methodological training in L2 research. Papers discussing methodological issues from all research paradigms, epistemologies, ontologies, and theoretical frameworks relevant to the field are welcome.

On a practical note, we encourage authors to submit to the Methods Forum with a length of up to 11,000 words.

We hope that this new venue will contribute to the ongoing methodological progress of the field and thereby also increase our individual and collective capacity to advance our understanding of L2 development. We look forward to your submissions.

References

Bowles, M. (2010). The think-aloud controversy in second language research. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrnes, H. (2013). Notes from the editor. Modern Language Journal, 97, 825–827. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12051.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conklin, K., Pellicer-Sanchez, A., & Carrol, G. (2018). Eye-tracking: A guide for applied linguistics research. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crossley, S., Marsden, E., Ellis, N., Kormos, J., Morgan-Short, K., & Thierry, G. (2020). Introduction of Methods Showcase Articles in Language Learning. Language Learning, 70, 5–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12389.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dörnyei, Z., & Taguchi, T. (2009). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing (2nd ed.). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L. (2020). Coming of age: The past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research. Language Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444819000430CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., & Mackey, A. (2007). Data elicitation for second and foreign language research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., & Mackey, A. (2017). Stimulated recall methodology in applied linguistics and L2 research. Routledge.Google Scholar
Godfroid, A. (2020). Eye tracking in second language acquisition and bilingualism: A research synthesis and methodological guide. Routledge.Google Scholar
Hamrick, P., & Sachs, R. (2018). Establishing evidence of learning in experiments employing artificial linguistic systems. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40, 153–169. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263116000474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatch, E., & Farhady, F. (1982). Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Newbury House.Google Scholar
Hatch, E., & Lazaraton, A. (1991). The research manual: Design and statistics for applied linguists. Heinle & Heinle.Google Scholar
Jegerski, J., & VanPatten, B. (Eds.). (2014). Research methods in second language psycholinguistics. Routledge.Google Scholar
Jiang, N. (2012). Conducting reaction time research in second language studies. Routledge.Google Scholar
Keating, G. D., & Jegerski, J. (2015). Experimental designs in sentence processing research: A methodological review and user’s guide. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263114000187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson-Hall, J. (2016). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS and R. Routledge.Google Scholar
Lindstromberg, S. (2016). Inferential statistics in language teaching research: A review and ways forward. Language Teaching Research, 20, 741–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816649979.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., Gönülal, T., Isbell, D. R., Ballard, L., Crowther, D., Lim, J., Maloney, J., & Tigchelaar, M. (2020). How knowledgeable are applied linguistics and SLA researchers about basic statistics? Data from North America and Europe. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000548.Google Scholar
Loewen, S., Lavolette, E., Spino, S., Papi, M., Schmidtke, J., Sterling, S., & Wolff, D. (2014). Statistical literacy among applied linguists and second language acquisition researchers. TESOL Quarterly, 48, 360–388. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. (2012). Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide. Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. (2016). Second language research: Methodology and design (2nd ed.). Routledge.Google Scholar
Mackey, A., & Marsden, E. (2016). Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages. Routledge.Google Scholar
Marsden, E., & Plonsky, L. (2018). Data, open science, and methodological reform in second language acquisition research. In Gudmestad, A. & Edmonds, A. (Eds.), Critical reflections on data in second language acquisition (pp. 219–228). John Benjamin.Google Scholar
McDonough, K., & Trofimovich, P. (2009). Using priming methods in second language research. Routledge.Google Scholar
McKinley, J., & Rose, H. (Eds.). (2020). The Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics. Routledge.Google Scholar
Norouzian, R. (2020). Sample size planning in quantitative L2 research: A pragmatic approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263120000017CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norouzian, R., De Miranda, M., & Plonsky, L. (2018). The Bayesian revolution in second language research: An applied approach. Language Learning, 68, 1032–1075. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12310.Google Scholar
Norris, J. M. (2015). Statistical significance testing in second language research: Basic problems and suggestions for reform. Language Learning, 65 (Supp. 1), 97–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12114CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phakiti, A., De Costa, P., Plonsky, L., & Starfield, S. (Eds.) (2018). The Palgrave handbook of applied linguistic research methodology. Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L. (2013). Study quality in SLA: An assessment of designs, analyses, and reporting practices in quantitative L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35, 655–687. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263113000399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L. (2015). Advancing quantitative methods in second language research. Routledge.Google Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Gass, S. (2011). Quantitative research methods, study quality, and outcomes: The case of interaction research. Language Learning, 61, 325–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00640.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2017). Multiple regression as a flexible alternative to ANOVA in L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 579–592. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263116000231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porte, G., & McManus, K. (2019). Doing replication research in applied linguistics. Routledge.Google Scholar
Rose, H., McKinley, J., & Baffoe-Djan, J. B. (2020). Data collection research methods in applied linguistics. Bloomsbury Academic.Google Scholar
Spinner, P., & Gass, S. (2019). Using judgments in second language acquisition research. Routledge.Google Scholar