Cover not available
Article published In:
ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 168:1 (2017) ► pp.4–32

The development of statistical literacy in applied linguistics graduate students

 | Erzincan University
 | Michigan State University
 | Georgetown University
Statistics play an important role in analyzing data in applied linguistics research. Given the increase over time in the field’s reliance on quantitative analysis (Brown, 2004; Gass, 2009), statistical literacy is critical for both producers and consumers of L2 research. Although there has been some investigation into statistical literacy among applied linguists, no research to date has examined how such literacy is obtained by masters and doctoral students in the field. The present study investigated the development of statistical literacy in a sample of such students taking semester-long discipline-specific quantitative research methods courses. Participants completed a pre-course and post-course survey. The results indicate that participants increased their knowledge of basic descriptive statistics and common inferential statistics to a great extent. Furthermore, participants reported that they felt more confident interpreting and using statistics. Based on these findings, recommendations for improving methodological practices and graduate training in our field are provided.
Keywords: quantitative research methods, statistical literacy, L2 research
Article outline
  • The development of statistical literacy in Applied Linguistics graduate students
  • The state of the art
  • Methodological quality in applied linguistics
  • Statistical literacy in applied linguistics
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Statistics courses
    • Instrument
    • Procedure
    • Analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion and conclusions
  • Note
  • References


This article is currently available as a sample article.

Published online: 5 October 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.168.1.01gon
References (45)
References
Bangert, A. W., & Baumberger, J. P. (2005). Research and statistical techniques used in the Journal of Counseling & Development. Journal of Counseling & Development, 831, 480–487. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. D. (2004). Resources on quantitative/statistical research for applied linguists. Second Language Research, 20(4), 372–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015). Why bother learning advanced quantitative methods in L2 research. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research (pp. 9–20). New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chaudron, C. (2001). Progress in language classroom research: Evidence from The Modern Language Journal, 1916–2000. Modern Language Journal, 851, 57–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cunnings, I. (2012). An overview of mixed-effects statistical models for second language researchers. Second Language Research, 28(3), 369–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Bot, K. (2015). A history of applied linguistics: From 1980 to the present. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Finney, S., & Schraw, G. (2003). Self-efficacy beliefs in college statistics courses. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 281, 161–186. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Gal, I. (2002). Adults’ statistical literacy: Meanings, components, responsibilities. International Statistical Review, 70(1), 1–25. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Gass, S. (2009). A survey of SLA research. In W. Ritchie, & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 3–28). Bingley: Emerald.Google Scholar
Gass, S., Fleck, C., Leder, N., & Svetics, I. (1998). Ahistoricity revisited. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20(03), 407–421.. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Godfroid, A., & Spino, L. A. (2015). Reconceptualizing reactivity of think-alouds and eye tracking: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Language Learning, 65(4). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gonulal, T. (2016). Statistical literacy among second language acquisition graduate students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.Google Scholar
Henson, R. K., Hull, D. M., & Williams, C. S. (2010). Methodology in our education research culture toward a stronger collective quantitative proficiency. Educational Researcher, 39(3), 229–240. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larson-Hall, J. (2010). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Larson-Hall, J., & Herrington, R. (2010). Improving data analysis in second language acquisition by utilizing modern developments in applied statistics. Applied Linguistics, 31(3), 368–390. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Larson-Hall, J., & Plonsky, L. (2015). Reporting and interpreting quantitative research findings: What gets reported and recommendations for the field. Language Learning, 65(S1), 127–159. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lazaraton, A. (2000). Current trends in research methodology and statistics in applied linguistics. TESOL Quarterly, 341, 175–181. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2005). Quantitative research methods. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 109–224). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Lazaraton, A., Riggenbach, H., & Ediger, A. (1987). Forming a discipline: Applied linguists’ literacy in research methodology and statistics. TESOL Quarterly, 21(2), 263–277. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lindstromberg, S. (2016). Inferential statistics in Language Teaching Research: A review and ways forward. Language Teaching Research, 20(6), 741–768. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., & Gass, S. (2009). Research timeline: The use of statistics in L2 acquisition research. Language Teaching, 42(2), 181–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., & Gonulal, T. (2015). Exploratory factor analysis and principal components analysis. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research (pp. 182–212). New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., Lavolette, E., Spino, L. A., Papi, M., Schmidtke, J., Sterling, S., & Wolff, D. (2014). Statistical literacy among applied linguists and second language acquisition researchers. TESOL Quarterly, 48(2), 360–388. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L. (2015). An A-Z of applied linguistics research methods. New York, NY: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Lowie, W., & Seton, B. (2012). Essential statistics for applied linguistics. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Mahboob, A., Paltridge, B., Phakiti, A., Wagner, E., Starfield, S., Burns, A., Jones, R. H., & De Costa, P. I. (2016). TESOL Quarterly research guidelines. TESOL Quarterly, 501, 42–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. M. (2015). Statistical significance testing in second language research: Basic problems and suggestions for reform. Language Learning, 65(S1), 97–126. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. M., Ross, S. J., & Schoonen, R. (2015). Improving second language quantitative research. Language Learning, 65(S1), 1–8. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Norris, J. M., Plonsky, L., Ross, S. J., & Schoonen, R. (2015). Guidelines for reporting quantitative methods and results in primary research. Language Learning, 65(2), 470–476. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paquot, M., & Plonsky, L. (2017). Quantitative research methods and study quality in learner corpus research. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 3(1), 61–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L. (2011). Study quality in SLA: A cumulative and developmental assessment of designs, analyses, reporting practices, and outcomes in quantitative L2 research (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.Google Scholar
(2013). Study quality in SLA: An assessment of designs, analyses, and reporting practices in quantitative L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 351, 655–687. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(Ed.) (2015a). Advancing quantitative methods in second language research. New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015b). Quantitative considerations for improving replicability in CALL and applied linguistics. CALICO Journal, 32(2), 232–244. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015c). Statistical power, p values, descriptive statistics, and effect sizes: A “back-to-basics” approach to advancing quantitative methods in L2 research. In L. Plonsky (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research (pp. 23–45). New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Derrick, D. J. (2016). A meta-analysis of reliability coefficients in second language research. Modern Language Journal, 1001, 538–553. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., Egbert, J., & LaFlair, G. T. (2014). Bootstrapping in applied linguistics: Assessing its potential using shared data. Applied Linguistics, 1–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Gass, S. (2011). Quantitative research methods, study quality, and outcomes: The case of interaction research. Language Learning, 61(2), 325–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Gonulal, T. (2015). Methodological synthesis in quantitative L2 research: A review of reviews and a case study of exploratory factor analysis. Language Learning, 65(S1), 9–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2016). Multiple regression as a flexible alternative to ANOVA in L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Teleni, V., & Baldauf, R. B. (1989). Statistical techniques used in three applied linguistics journals: Language Learning, Applied Linguistics, and TESOL Quarterly, 1980–1986: Implications for readers and researchers. Unpublished research report. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED312905).Google Scholar
Wallman, K. K. (1993). Enhancing statistical literacy: Enriching our society. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 88(421), 1–8.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, L. (1999). Statistical methods in psychology journals: Guidelines and explanations. American psychologist, 54(8), 594–604. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Winke, P. (2014). Testing hypotheses about language learning using structural equation modeling. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 341, 102–122. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (18)

Cited by 18 other publications

Farangi, Mohamad Reza & Hassan Nejadghanbar
2024. Investigating questionable research practices among Iranian applied linguists: Prevalence, severity, and the role of artificial intelligence tools. System 125 ► pp. 103427 ff. DOI logo
Plonsky, Luke, Dan Brown, Meishan Chen, Romy Ghanem, Maria Nelly Gutiérrez Arvizu, Daniel R. Isbell & Meixiu Zhang
2024. “Significance sells”: Applied linguists’ views on questionable research practices. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 3:1 ► pp. 100099 ff. DOI logo
Yamashita, Taichi & Reza Neiriz
2024. Why replicate? Systematic review of calls for replication in Language Teaching. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 3:1 ► pp. 100091 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Peixin & Chao Han
2024. Examining statistical literacy, attitudes toward statistics, and statistics self‐efficacy among applied linguistics research students in China. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 34:2 ► pp. 433 ff. DOI logo
Marques, Felipe Tumenas & Francisco Louzada Neto
2023. Formação estatística nos programas de pós-graduação brasileiros: análise das disciplinas oferecidas. Educação e Pesquisa 49 DOI logo
Yulindra, Devi, Annisa Swastika, H. R. P. Negara, Rini Setyaningsih & Adi Nurcahyo
2023. 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INNOVATIVE DESIGN, ANALYSIS & DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES IN AEROSPACE & AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING: I-DAD’22 [5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INNOVATIVE DESIGN, ANALYSIS & DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES IN AEROSPACE & AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING: I-DAD’22, 2766], ► pp. 020075 ff. DOI logo
ISBELL, DANIEL R., DAN BROWN, MEISHAN CHEN, DEIRDRE J. DERRICK, ROMY GHANEM, MARÍA NELLY GUTIÉRREZ ARVIZU, ERIN SCHNUR, MEIXIU ZHANG & LUKE PLONSKY
2022. Misconduct and Questionable Research Practices: The Ethics of Quantitative Data Handling and Reporting in Applied Linguistics. The Modern Language Journal 106:1 ► pp. 172 ff. DOI logo
Razavipour, Kioumars & Behnaz Raji
2022. Reliability of measuring constructs in applied linguistics research: a comparative study of domestic and international graduate theses. Language Testing in Asia 12:1 DOI logo
Zhang, Yifan & Vahid Aryadoust
2022. A Systematic Review of the Validity of Questionnaires in Second Language Research. Education Sciences 12:10 ► pp. 723 ff. DOI logo
AMİRİAN, Seyed Mohammad Reza & Saeed ABBASİ-SOSFADİ
2021. Fear of Statistics among TEFL Postgraduate Students. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics ► pp. 202 ff. DOI logo
Gass, Susan, Shawn Loewen & Luke Plonsky
2021. Coming of age: the past, present, and future of quantitative SLA research. Language Teaching 54:2 ► pp. 245 ff. DOI logo
Plonsky, Luke
2021. Quantitative Research Methods and the Reform Movement in Applied Linguistics. In Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics [Springer Texts in Education, ], ► pp. 749 ff. DOI logo
Plonsky, Luke
2024. Study quality as an intellectual and ethical imperative: A proposed framework. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Gonulal, Talip
2020. Statistical knowledge and training in second language acquisition. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 171:1 ► pp. 62 ff. DOI logo
Gönülal, Talip
2018. An Investigation of the Predictors of Statistical Literacy in Second Language Acquisition. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics 4:1 ► pp. 49 ff. DOI logo
Loewen, Shawn, Talip Gönülal, Daniel R. Isbell, Laura Ballard, Dustin Crowther, Jungmin Lim, Jeffrey Maloney & Magda Tigchelaar
2020. HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE ARE APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND SLA RESEARCHERS ABOUT BASIC STATISTICS?. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 42:4 ► pp. 871 ff. DOI logo
De Costa, Peter I., Wendy Li & Hima Rawal
2019. Qualitative Classroom Methods. In The Cambridge Handbook of Language Learning, ► pp. 111 ff. DOI logo
Marsden, Emma & Luke Plonsky
2018. Conclusion. In Critical Reflections on Data in Second Language Acquisition [Language Learning & Language Teaching, 51], ► pp. 219 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 november 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.