فهرست مطالب محمد امینی فارسانی

Beyond the mono-method quantitative and qualitative research syntheses (e.g. meta-analysis and meta-ethnography, respectively) and with a pragmatic perspective on conducting mixed methods research (MMR), recently a very few research synthesists have adopted a Mixed Methods Research Synthesis (MMRS) approach to answer complex review questions. Therefore, to better understand the issue of quality, this study takes the initiative in aligning the mixed methods research quality with the Plonskyian views with specific reference to study quality proposed in methodological synthesis literature. The main purpose of the methodological synthesis here was to provide empirically-based evidence for describing and evaluating mixed methods studies in an Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context. We synthesized mixed methods theses in an Iranian EFL context by describing and evaluating three interrelated components of study quality through focusing on transparency and reporting practices related to: (a) MMR formulation stage (or MMR problem specification stage), (b) MMR design-related features, and (c) MMR interpretation and integration (or MMR implementation stage). The cumulative findings highlighted a set of deficiencies and strengths across MMR studies in the respective EFL setting. Of notable results were unsatisfactory attention to the issue of integration and transparency at the levels of design, method, and interpretation. The study has implications for designing and implementing sound MMR studies. Furthermore, it includes suggestions for doing solid MMR research as well as writing and preparing well-founded mixed methods articles.

The past decade has witnessed a renewed conceptual interest in higher education research, including applied linguistics discipline, which has led to the crafting of research as one of the most effective forms of professional development. This sequential explanatory mixed research study examines the conception of research the applied linguists’ faculty members have in a major site of EFL( English as a Foreign Language) context by obtaining quantitative results from surveying a representative sample of 140 faculty members and then following-up with interviewing twelve purposefully selected respondents to explore those understanding of research in more depth. The quantitative results reveal that inquiry including experimental designs and mixed-methods research was more likely to be conceived of as research by the respondents. The respondents’ views also represent conceptions of research wherein there exist rigorous characteristics which are related to three important paradigms of research. The qualitative findings shed additional lights on the quantitative ones by providing a further understanding of how EFL faculty members think about research.

In recent years، language learning research has been paying more attention to the factors that may affect the choice by language learners of language learning strategies in general and writing strategies in particular to enhance their own learning. Given the socio-cognitive nature of the act of writing، as de Larios et al (2002) note، both writer -internal and external factors have been reported to influence the deployment of writing strategies. Personality type، as one of the influential internal factors among others، is the focus of the present study، which intended to investigate English language learners’ writing strategies with reference to their personality types at different universities in Iran. To this end، a writing strategy questionnaire was employed to tap into the memory، cognitive، compensation، metacognitive، social، and affective strategies of 210 participants. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire was utilized to identify the self-reported personality types of Iranian EFL learners. The analysis of the participants’ perceptions demonstrated a significant relationship between writing strategies and personality types. Furthermore، it was found that metacognitive and cognitive strategies were the most frequently used strategies and memory strategies the least frequently used ones as reported by the participants.

This study was conducted to probe the effect of the observer ring technique on the participants’ writing achievement. In so doing, the researchers utilized a quasi-experimental design with 20 participants in the control group and 18 in the experimental group. Instrumentation included a writing handout, an Oxford Placement Test (standard proficiency test), and a rating scale of writing. As a treatment, the participants in the experimental group were asked to write at home and bring their papers to the class to be corrected by their classmates and the teacher was the supervisor. In the control group, the papers were corrected by the teacher. The results of the pre-test indicated that the participants of the two groups were homogeneous with regard to proficiency level as well as their writing ability. The results of the post-test revealed that the writing ability of the participants in the experimental group had improved during the study. Moreover, the observer ring technique had a positive and significant effect on the participants' writing ability. The findings may promise implications for incorporating this new interactive feedback model into EFL writing classes.