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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 415 703 FL 025 011 AUTHOR Griffee, Dale T. TITLE Teachers and Research: An Annotated Bibliography. PUB DATE 1997-00-00 NOTE 11p.; In: Classroom Teachers and Classroom Research; see FL 024 999. PUB TYPE Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Annotated Bibliographies; Book Reviews; *Classroom Research; Classroom Techniques; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *Information Sources; *Research Methodology; Second Language Instruction; Second Languages; Statistical Analysis; *Teacher Researchers; Teacher Role; *Writing for Publication ABSTRACT The annotated bibliography consists of reviews, of three to seven paragraphs each, of nine books focusing on classroom research and the teacher's role in conducting and publishing it. Eight of the books relate specifically to research on English-as-a-Second-Language teaching and learning. Each review provides basic bibliographic information, followed by four kinds of information about the text: the primary audience and purpose; its organization; features that are unusual or might be overlooked; and a brief summary. (MSE) *********k********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) tAi.c4ns document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization 1°--(\ originating it. Chapter 12 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." official OERI position or policy. Teachers and Research: O An Annotated Bibliography Dale T. Griffee Seigakuin University It is typical of an annotated bibliography to review a rather large number of books in an area and give one or two sentences describing each book. This article will review a rather small number of books because fewer books on research method- ology are published than books in a content area but will review each book in more detail than is usual for most annotated bibliographies. The purpose of each review is to give the reader a brief introduction to the book. Each review, therefore, can be considered only a snapshot of the book. While it is not possible to do justice to the complexity of any of these books anymore than it is possible to adequately evaluate a human being on the basis of a snapshot, it is hoped that an idea of the scope of each book plus some sense of the uniqueness of each book will assist the reader in making an in- formed choice when considering actual purchase. Toward that end, each re- view will strive toward description rather than prescription. The books are re- viewed alphabetically by author. A total of nine texts are reviewed. A book icon indicates the beginning of a review. The book title is given followed by the author or authors followed by the publisher and the year of publication then by the number of pages. The structure of each review is to list the citation of each book, then divide the review into four parts: the primary audience and the purpose of the book, the organization of the book, extra goodies, namely, features that are unusual or which might be overlooked, and the bottom line or a short summary. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 150 Dale T Griffee This annotated bibliography consists entirely of books describing research meth- odology for teaching English as a second or foreign language. All the books are relatively easy to order and to purchase in Japan. All the books are TESL oriented, and no attempt was made to review books on research methodology from the mainstream content educational field of English speaking countries. All of these books are helpful. For example they can help you understand research articles in the 7ESOL Quarterly and the JALT Journal. A classroom teacher who decides to engage in classroom research needs the experience of engaging in the research process, but in addition also needs the assistance of a guide or consultant. Without the experience of doing hands-on research, the new researcher has no grounding and the explanations in these bookstend to sound abstract. Without the help of a guide, however, one tends to get lost. To put it another way, none of these books is a substitute for the experience of working with an experienced researcher. One of .the most helpful experiences you can have is taking a course with the author of one of these books at a university or a TESOL summer institute. Furthermore, none of these books reads like a novel (i.e. most are not meant to be read from cover to cover). It is a good idea to approach these books with an actual problem or at least a question. It is also a good idea to read the relevant sections in more than one book as differ- ent authors explain their solutions in different ways. Finally, keep in mind that there is no perfect book on research methodology. Each book reviewed here is a reflection of the author's context, purpose, and understanding of what research is and what new researchers need to know. All of these books are helpful either in whole or in part and there is no book reviewed here that would not be helpful to have in a teacher's personal library. Focus on the Language Classroom:An Introduction to Classroom Research for Language Teachers. D.Allwright and K. Bailey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 250 pp. Primal)/ audience. This book was written in non-technical language for lan- guage teachers with little or no research background. The purpose of the book is to introduce classroom research to inexperienced teachers as well as experi- enced teachers who are not yet researchers so they can use research techniques to begin to think like researchers in the exploration of their own teaching. This is not, however, a "how-to book." Although including both, it stresses quantita- tive research over qualitative research, and provides a rather thorough review of research issues. Organization. The book is divided into five main sections with two chapters for each section. Part one discusses the history of classroom research, part two 3 Teachers and Research 151 discusses what to take into account when starting research, part three discusses oral error, part four is about classroom discourse, and part five discusses student openness and what promotes or inhibits students' openness to learning. Extra goodies. One of the surprises of this book, to me at least, is that it has two chapters devoted to error analysis. The authors seem to sense, probably rightly, that classroom language teachers are very interested in oral speech errors and how to research them. The background and the issues involved are thoughtfully discussed. The other goodie is the suggestions for further readings which follow each chapter. Each suggestion is a gem and reading them is like having an experienced teacher give you personal, cogent advice on what to read and where to look for it. These suggestions should not be overlooked by teachers new to classroom research. The bottom line. This book is hefty, but readable. It is especially helpful for teachers in the process of deciding to take a research perspective in their classroom. Understanding Research in Second Language Learning. J.D. Brown. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. 219 pp. The primary audience for this text is classroom practitioners, especially those who are terrified by numbers, charts, tables, and statistics. The aim of the book is to explain basic statistical terms; how charts, tables, and graphs work; and the appropriate use of research design. It is a book for the consumer rather than the producer of statistical studies. Organization. There are 13 chapters which I, not the author, divide into four sections. The first section, chapter one, sets the tone for the book which is that while statistical studies are not the only kind of research or even the best kind; they are one type and they are useful. The second section, chapters two to four discusses variables and scales (nominal, etc.) which are used to talk about how research is basically designed. Knowledge of these scales will be useful later in the book because they are key to deciding what kind of statistics to use. The third section, chapters five to eight, gives a short background course in statis- tics. If you have had a good testing course, you can either skip these chapters or use them for review. The fourth section, chapters nine to thirteen, are the heart of the book. Chapter nine, "Statistical Logic," explains the logic of statistical design. The next three chapters discuss the three major types of statistics: correlation, com- paring means, and comparing frequencies. Each chapter has a section on choosing the correct statistic and a chart which uses variables and scales as a way of locating the statistic you might want to use. For example, if your dependent variable is a single interval scale and your independent scale is also a single BEST COPY AVAILABLE 152 Dale T Griffee interval scale, where those intersect on the chart you find "simple regression" and "Pearson r," which are two statistical procedures you can use. All these terms and procedures are explained in the chapters in some detail. Extra goodies. The special goodie for the new researcher is tucked away in chapter five which has the title "Critiquing Statistical Studies" because that is, in fart, the content of the chapter. What that title does not tell you is that there is a complete layout and description of the research article format.

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