TY - JOUR
T1 - The development of statistical literacy in applied linguistics graduate students
AU - Gonulal, Talip
AU - Loewen, Shawn
AU - Plonsky, Luke
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© John Benjamins Publishing Company.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - L2 research
KW - Quantitative research methods
KW - Statistical literacy
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U2 - 10.1075/itl.168.1.01gon
DO - 10.1075/itl.168.1.01gon
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85058064456
SN - 0019-0829
VL - 168
SP - 4
EP - 32
JO - ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Belgium)
JF - ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Belgium)
IS - 1
ER -