3.1 research questions and research design
The major purpose of this thesis is to investigate teacher’s perspectives and their practices regarding TBLT in New Zealand and China as well as the contextual factors leading to the differences among their implementation of TBLT. Teachers’ principles and practices are compared to promote our understanding about TBLT, specifically the influence of the contextual factors on its implementation in China and New Zealand. This chapter describes the research design, a qualitative case study approach, research contexts and participants, data collection procedures and data analysis in order to address the questions that guide the study.
1. What do the four case study teachers believe about TBLT in the …show more content…
27). Stake (1995) says that “case study is the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, coming to understand its activity within important circumstances”(p.xi). Yin (2003) maintains that “a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p.13).
Characteristics of a case study can be summarized based on the above definition: a case study focuses on a single instance or case; it is a comprehensive and holistic study where things are studied in detail; it is conducted under natural settings rather than artificial situations; it highlights the relationship between the case and the contexts; it is interested in the process. Merriam (1998,) describes that qualitative case studies can be characterized as being particularistic, descriptive, and …show more content…
He (1998) identifies the internal validity and external validity: “internal validity deals with the question of how research findings match reality (p. 201); “external validity is concerned with the extent to which the findings of one study can be applied to other situations” (p.207). Several strategies are put forward by him to promote the validity of qualitative case study. Four strategies including triangulation, member checks, peer examination and researcher’s biases are used in my research to improve the internal validity of the case
The major purpose of this thesis is to investigate teacher’s perspectives and their practices regarding TBLT in New Zealand and China as well as the contextual factors leading to the differences among their implementation of TBLT. Teachers’ principles and practices are compared to promote our understanding about TBLT, specifically the influence of the contextual factors on its implementation in China and New Zealand. This chapter describes the research design, a qualitative case study approach, research contexts and participants, data collection procedures and data analysis in order to address the questions that guide the study.
1. What do the four case study teachers believe about TBLT in the …show more content…
27). Stake (1995) says that “case study is the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, coming to understand its activity within important circumstances”(p.xi). Yin (2003) maintains that “a case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p.13).
Characteristics of a case study can be summarized based on the above definition: a case study focuses on a single instance or case; it is a comprehensive and holistic study where things are studied in detail; it is conducted under natural settings rather than artificial situations; it highlights the relationship between the case and the contexts; it is interested in the process. Merriam (1998,) describes that qualitative case studies can be characterized as being particularistic, descriptive, and …show more content…
He (1998) identifies the internal validity and external validity: “internal validity deals with the question of how research findings match reality (p. 201); “external validity is concerned with the extent to which the findings of one study can be applied to other situations” (p.207). Several strategies are put forward by him to promote the validity of qualitative case study. Four strategies including triangulation, member checks, peer examination and researcher’s biases are used in my research to improve the internal validity of the case