LING 720: Research Methods in Linguistics (#22548)

Department of Linguistics
University of Kansas
LING 720: Research Methods in Linguistics (#22548)
Fall 2014
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Annie Tremblay
BL 415
atrembla@ku.edu
Schedule:
TR 1:00–2:15 pm
Room:
BL-206
Office Hours: TR 11:00-11:50 am or by appt.
Course Description
This course examines the basics of quantitative/experimental research in linguistics. By considering
research designs and methodologies for conducting quantitative/experimental research, and by discussing
how to organize and interpret research data, this course will provide you with a foundation for designing
and conducting your own linguistic research, and it will assist you in critically reading research literature.
Topics will include data collection, participant selection, ethical considerations, experimental methods,
research designs, and inferential statistics. This course will serve those of you who are interested in learning
the basics of quantitative research design and data analysis, as well as those of you who want to refine their
current research projects.
Required Materials
1. Required textbook
Larson-Hall, J. (2010). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS. New York:
Routledge.
2. Required readings
Abbuhl, R., Gass, S. M., & Mackay, A. (2013). Experimental research design. In R. J. Podesva & D.
Sharma (Eds.), Research methods in linguistics (pp. 116-134). Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Buchstaller, I., & Khattab, G. (2013). Population samples. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.),
Research methods in linguistics (pp. 74-95). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eckert, P. (2013). Ethics in linguistic research. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.), Research methods
in linguistics (pp. 11-26). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, D. E. (2013). Descriptive statistics. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.), Research methods
in linguistics (pp. 288-315). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kaiser, E. (2013). Experimental paradigms in psycholinguistics. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.),
Research methods in linguistics (pp. 135-168). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mackay, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design (chapters 2-4).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Rasinger, S. M. (2008). Quantitative research in linguistics: An introduction (chapters 2-4). New York:
Continuum.
Schilling, N. (2013). Surveys and interviews. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.), Research methods
in linguistics (pp. 96-115). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schütze, C. T., & Sprouse, J. (2013). Judgment data. In R. J. Podesva & D. Sharma (Eds.), Research
methods in linguistics (pp. 27-50). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sprouse, J. (2011). A validation of Amazon Mechanical Turk for the collection of acceptability
judgments in linguistic theory. Behavior Research Methods, 43, 155-167.
3. Daily access to the Internet and to the course website: http://courseware.ku.edu.
LING 415/715 – Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
Syllabus, Fall 2014
p. 2 of 4
Course Requirements
Homework Assignments (25%)
You will be asked to complete five homework assignments (5% each) in which you will apply the concepts
and methods learned in class to specific experimental designs, datasets, and/or studies. You will receive
instructions for each homework assignment exactly one week before the assignment is due. All homework
assignments will be collected electronically.
Late assignment policy:  Homework assignments should be submitted to the instructor before 1:00 PM
on the day that they are due (see calendar). Homework assignments will lose 20% of their grade (i.e., 1
of 5%) for EACH DAY that they are late. Homework assignments that are more than 4 days late will NOT
be accepted.
Examinations (40%)
There will be two take-home exams (20% each). These exams will test your understanding of the concepts
and methods taught in class. The first exam will focus on the topics covered between Week 1 and Week 6
(inclusively). The second exam will focus on the topics covered between Week 7 and Week 14 (inclusively).
You will receive instructions for your take home exams exactly one week before the exams are due. All
take-home exams will be collected electronically.
Late assignment policy:  Take-home exams should be submitted to the instructor before 1:00
PM on the day that they are due (see calendar). Take-home exams that are late will NOT be
accepted.
Final Project (35%)
Your goal in this course will be to come up with a research proposal for a quantitative/experimental study
on a topic of your choice in linguistics, psycholinguistics, or language learning. If you are currently working
on a research project, you will be encouraged to refine that project. You must receive approval from the
instructor prior to selecting a project for this class. Your topic submission (half a page describing the
project) is due before 1:00 PM on Tuesday, October 28th.
You will present your final project as part of an oral presentation (10%) in which you will receive feedback
from both the instructors and your peers, and you will write a research proposal paper (25%). Both your
presentation and your paper should include all components of quantitative research: a brief literature review,
research question(s) and hypotheses, methodological approach and experimental design, procedures,
statistical methods to be used for the data analysis, and predictions.
I will be happy to look at drafts of PPT slides during office hours if you have questions. Do not leave
writing assignments until the last minute before the deadline.
Late assignment policy:  The oral presentations will take place during the last two weeks of classes. PPT
slides should be submitted to the instructor before 1:00 PM on the day of the presentation. Oral
presentations will lose 20% of the presentation grade (i.e., 2 of 10%) grade for EACH DAY that the PPT
slides are late, even if the presentation was made in class. PPT slides that are more than 4 days late will
NOT be accepted.  Final papers are due before 11:59 PM on Friday, December 19th. Papers will lose
20% of their grade (i.e., 5 of 25%) for EACH DAY that they are late, and papers that are more than 4 days
late will NOT be accepted.
LING 415/715 – Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
Syllabus, Fall 2014
p. 3 of 4
Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Strict procedures for reporting plagiarism in written
assignments or cheating during an in-class exam will be enforced. If either is discovered, you will receive
a zero for that portion of your final grade and the incident will be reported to University authorities. If such
academic misconduct occurs a second time you will receive an F in the course and the incident will again
be reported to University authorities. Note that a second incidence of plagiarism on record at the university
may in some cases result in a transcript citation.
Grading
A+ 100–96.67
A
96.66–93.33
A– 93.32–90
F
B+ 89.99–86.67
B 86.66–83.33
B– 83.32–80
C+ 79.99–76.67
C 76.66–73.33
C– 73.32–70
D+
D
D–
69.99–66.67
66.66–63.33
63.32–60
<60
Resources Available for University of Kansas Students
The Academic Achievement & Access Center (AAAC) coordinates accommodations and services for all
KU students who are eligible. If you have a disability for which you wish to request accommodations and
have not contacted the AAAC, please do so as soon as possible. Their office is located in 22 Strong Hall;
their phone number is 785-864-4064 (V/TTY).
Information about their services can be found at http://disability.ku.edu. Please contact me privately in
regard to your needs in this course.
Other resources:
KU Writing Center: http://www.writing.ku.edu
KU Career Center: http://www.kucareerhawk.com
KU Counseling and Psychological Services: http://www.caps.ku.edu/
Calendar (subject to change)
Date
Week 1
Aug. 25 (T)
Aug. 27 (R)
Topic
Reading
Assignments
(to be done before class)
(due at the beginning of class)
Introduction
Research ethics
Rasinger (2008), Chp. 2, pp. 9-18
Mackay & Gass (2005), Chp. 2
Eckert (2013)
Rasinger (2008), Chp. 3, pp. 45-52
Buchstaller & Khattab (2013)
Mackay & Gass (2005), Chp. 4, pp. 100-105
Larsen-Hall (2010), Chp. 2, pp. 31-41
Human Subject Training
DUE
Sept. 4 (R)
Sampling and
measurement
Variables in research
Week 3
Sept. 9 (T)
Reliability and validity
Homework 1 DUE
Sept. 11 (R)
Research design
Mackay & Gass (2005), Chp. 4, pp. 106-136
Rasinger (2008), Chp. 3, pp. 28-31
Rasinger (2008), Chp. 3, pp. 35-45
Abbuhl, Gass, & Mackay (2013)
Week 2
Sept. 2 (T)
Week 4
Sept. 16 (T)
Sept. 18 (R)
Questionnaires and
surveys
Acceptability judgments
Rasinger (2008), Chp. 4
Schilling (2013), pp. 96-107
Schütze & Sprouse (2013)
LING 415/715 – Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition
Syllabus, Fall 2014
p. 4 of 4
Sprouse (2011)
Week 5
Sept. 23
Sept. 25
Week 6
Sept. 30
Oct. 2
(T)
(R)
Processing methods
Interactive methods
(T)
(R)
Experiment Building
Workshop (we meet in
DCHD Room 4068)
Week 7
Oct. 7 (T)
Oct. 9 (R)
Week 8
Oct. 14 (T)
Oct. 16 (R)
Week 9
Oct. 21 (T)
Oct. 23 (R)
Week 10
Oct. 28 (T)
Oct. 30 (R)
Week 11
Nov. 4 (T)
Nov. 6 (R)
Week 12
Nov. 11 (T)
Nov. 13 (R)
Week 13
Nov. 18 (T)
Nov. 20 (R)
Week 14
Nov. 25 (T)
Nov. 27 (R)
Week 15
Dec. 2 (T)
Dec. 4 (R)
Dec. 11 (T)
Dec. 13 (R)
Getting started with
SPSS, data organization
Basics of statistical
testing
Kaiser (2013)
Mackay & Gass (2005), Chp. 3, pp. 66-75
Homework 2 DUE
Larsen-Hall (2010), Chp. 1
Take Home Exam 1 DUE
Larsen-Hall (2010), Chp. 2, pp. 41-61
Fall Break (no class)
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 3, pp. 62-74
Johnson (2013)
Descriptive statistics
Assumptions for
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 3, pp. 74-95
inferential statistics
Hypothesis testing,
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 4, pp. 96-104
choosing a statistical test Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 5
Homework 3 DUE
Correlation analyses
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 6
Topic for final project
DUE
Regression analyses
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 7
Regression analyses
T-tests
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 7
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 9
Homework 4 DUE
ANOVAs with between- Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 10
subject variables
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 11
ANOVAs with withinsubject variables and
mixed ANOVAs
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 12
Non-parametric tests
Larson-Hall (2010), Chp. 14
Thanksgiving Break (no class)
Homework 5 DUE
Class Presentations
Class Presentations
Review and Course Evaluation
Take Home Exam 2 DUE
Final Papers due on Friday, December 19th, 2014, by 11:59 PM