Research Issues

How to choose the most relevant parameters to be controlled in an empirical study   Daniel Gile 12 August 2006 In a previous text (Sampling 2: Generalizing from case studies), it was explained that in order to make findings of studies as generalizable as possible, researchers, who cannot attend to all relevant aspects of the phenomenon […]

Sampling 2: generalizing from case studies   Daniel Gile 18 July, 2006   In a previous text (Sampling-based studies as case studies), it was pointed out that generally, one or more dimensions of a phenomenon are controlled in a study but other relevant dimensions are not, and in that respect, even studies with relatively large

Sampling 1: Sampling-based studies as case studies   Daniel Gile 12 July 2006 The concept of sampling implies the idea that what is sampled is representative of a larger entity with similar characteristics. Thus, the most fundamental property sought in a sample is its representativeness with respect to the larger entity. In statistics, samples are subsets of populations (of people, light

Where to get the questions from? The importance of preliminary qualitative research. Delia Chiaro, University of Bologna at Forlì In questionnaire based survey research wording is all important because the way in which a question is couched affects respondents’ understanding of what is being asked of them (see “Reasons for piloting questionnaires”). However, not only is careful wording essential, but the type of

Reasons for piloting questionnaires   Daniel Gile March 30, 2006 In a previous text (Do respondents to surveys tell the truth?) explanations were given as to why bias from respondents in surveys might distort the image of reality generated by collected data. Such bias is only one obstacle in the way of researchers who carry

Publishers and Academics: Partnerships or Power relationships? February 19, 2006   Daniel Gile Université Lyon 2, France daniel.gile@laposte.net Elsevier has just published its 14-volume Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Just before publication, authors received a circular mail informing them that according to “company policy”, they would receive no off-prints or pdf files of their own contributions. No further explanation was