RESEARCH
Evidence for Scholarly Research Ability
This section contains two papers that illustrate my growing proficiency as a researcher and the breadth of my research skills. The first paper is the master’s thesis I wrote in summer 2006 after I got accepted to the doctoral program. It was published in the "Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education" in January 2007 (please refer to my CV). The second piece is a research paper I wrote for ETAP 777, Qualitative Research Methods. I presented this study in the 39th annual conference of Northeastern Educational Research Association in October 2008. The first paper illustrates my ability to design a study which utilized mixed-methods; collect and analyze survey and interview data; interpret these results, and finally report them in a scholarly fashion. The second paper reveals my ability to construct research questions for a qualitative study, build a theoretical framework and methodology, develop interview questions, and conduct an in-depth, online interview in addition to my ability in transcribing, analyzing and writing up my findings.
1)
ETAP 699
MASTER’S THESIS in ETAP
Spring 2005-Fall 2006
Dr. Istvan Kecskes
Although it was optional and very rarely preferred by the students in the TESOL MS Program, I decided to write a master’s thesis under the supervision of my previous advisor Dr. Istvan Kecskes, instead of taking the required research class. I believed that writing a thesis would provide me with hands-on research experience. In spring 2005 semester, which was my first year in the master’s, I talked to Dr. Kecskes about my plan. Among several research ideas that he offered was looking into the distance English language teacher training program (DELTTP) in Anadolu University, Turkey. My further inquiries about this first and only program that trains EFL teachers through distance education in the country revealed that it had not been evaluated previously since it was newly implemented. Thus, I decided to study this program in my thesis. Through self-directed learning, I read numerous books on how to conduct educational research, how to evaluate programs, and how to develop questionnaires as well as how to carry out interviews. I investigated the program features of DELTTP in addition to the status of distance education in Turkey. By the end of spring 2005 semester, my proposal was ready. After getting it approved by Dr. Kecskes, I arranged meetings with the dean of School of Distance Education and some faculty members in DELTTP. I flew to Eskisehir and spent a productive week in this city where Anadolu University is located. During this time, I conducted formal and informal interviews and had the opportunity to meet the president of the university in person. Within a few months, through my second year in the master’s program, I prepared a questionnaire in collaboration with Prof. Murat Barkan in Anadolu University, obtained reliability results of this questionnaire, and collected data for six months via online communication. In summer 2006, I wrote my thesis and defended it in front of my committee which included Dr. Kecskes, Dr. Robert Yagelski and Dr. Joan Newman. By writing this thesis, I introduced myself to the multi-dimensionality of educational research and became highly motivated to learn more about it. I discovered my strengths (e.g., determination) and weaknesses (e.g., lack of a broader perspective in methodology) as a researcher. As a final remark, this experience provided me with the “courage to follow insight” (Bargar & Duncan, 1982, p.13). I never regretted my decision to write a thesis instead of taking the required research class. I would like to present this thesis as evidence of my scholarly research ability since it exemplifies my abilities with regards to the steps needed for designing and carrying out a study.
References
Bargar, R. R., and Duncan, J.K. (1892). Cultivating creative endeavor in doctoral research. Journal of Higher Education, 53 (1), 1-31.
2)
ETAP 777
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Fall 2006
Dr. Jane Agee
This is a research paper that I wrote in my first semester as a doctoral student. Among the three options available for the project (reviewing the literature on the specific methods we are potentially interested in using for a study, conducting an in-depth interview with one person and then transcribing, analyzing and writing up our findings, and writing a critical analysis of the theoretical frameworks used in three qualitative articles which deal with a similar topic), I chose to conduct an in-depth interview. I had just finished writing my master’s thesis in summer 2006 and had burning questions about the student teaching component of the Distance English Language Teacher Training Program (DELTTP) I evaluated. This was a perfect opportunity for me to seek answers to some of these questions. By means of this project, I went through the arduous process of doing qualitative research: constructed the research questions, built the theoretical framework and methodology, proposed a framework for data analysis, developed the interview questions, and conducted the online interview in addition to transcribing, analyzing and writing up my findings. I also obtained Institutional Review Board’s approval for my study. Within two years, I conducted nine more interviews and presented the findings in the 39th annual conference of Northeastern Educational Research Association (NERA) in October 2008. I offer this piece as evidence of my scholarly research ability because it encompasses every single step required for a research study.
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