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