LLT Guidelines for Articles Reporting on Research

General guidelines for conducting CALL research are available here:
LLT editors’ Research Workshop slides

Quantitative Research

The Editors of LLT recommend that authors of manuscripts based on quantitative research consider the general guidelines outlined in Chapter 1 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition. 2009. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, pp. 9-20).

In particular, a quantitative research report should generally include the following sections:

An Introduction that 

• states the problem to be investigated
• contextualizes the research by describing the underlying theoretical framework and reviewing previous studies
• defines the variables and research hypotheses

A Method Section that describes 

• the participants (e.g., demographics, selection criteria, and group assignment)
• the materials (e.g., task[s], equipment, instruments, including a discussion of their validity and reliability, if appropriate)
• the procedures employed in the study such as treatment(s)

A Results Section that includes

• graphs and tables that help to present and explain the results
• descriptive and inferential statistics used to analyze the data, including the following:
  • name of the statistic used and in the case of an uncommon statistical procedure, a reference to a discussion of the procedure
  • statistical significance of the results obtained
  • measures of effect sizes
  • how all necessary assumptions were met

A Discussion Section that includes

• an interpretation of the results
• an explanation of the results, including alternative explanations when appropriate
• a statement relating the results obtained in the study to original hypotheses
• theoretical implications
• limitations of the study

A Conclusion that includes

• general implications of the study
• limitations of the study
• suggestions for further research

References

Appendices

Qualitative Research

The editors of LLT recommend that authors of manuscripts reporting on qualitative research generally include the following sections in their articles:

• An introduction that states the problem to be investigated
• Statement of the research questions examined in the study
• Description of the theoretical framework(s) underlying the research question
• Description of the methodological traditions in which the study was conducted
• Relationship between the study and previous work in the area under investigation
• Detailed description of the participants and research site
• Detailed description of data collection and analysis procedures
• Report of findings
• Limitations of the study
• Implication(s) of the study
• Suggestions for further research
• References
• Appendices