3.4 Research Designs
3.4.1 Instruments
The purpose of conducting a case study was ‘to portray, analyse and interpret the
uniqueness of real individuals and situations through accessible accounts’ and ‘to
catch the complexity and situatedness of behaviour’ (Cohenet. al.,2007, p. 85).
This study considered each learner’s FLA experience as a unique dynamic
system. The open nature of phenomenographic approach also adjusted to the
requirement of the reconsideration of traditional FLA concepts through the lens
of DST. The cross case comparison aimed to identify the possible structure from
several self-reported experiences of the same phenomenon. I aimed to identify
how the fluid emotions interacted with the learners’ self-reported performances
from time to time. In order to answer the research questions, four instruments
were employed for data collection, namely, Diary, Qualitative Survey, Semi-
structured Interviews, and Class Observations. The diverse selection of
instruments would assist with the triangulation of data.
3.4.1.1 Timescale
Because the aim of the study was to indentify the dynamic interactions between
the learners’ self-perceived affective experiences and their self-reported
performances over a period of time, six months with an interval of two was
designed to be the research length. This period covered two academic terms and
one summer vacation. Altogether 18 academic weeks from 12th April, 2014 to
20th June, 2014 and from 1st September, 2014 to 31st October, 2014 were
exams (twice a month), 2 big exams (one final and one mid-term exam) and one
English Oral Competition. In general, the exams together evaluated the learner’s
six aspects of English, namely, vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, writing
and speaking. This study aimed to explore the learners’ self-reported
performances over time; therefore, exams that constantly evaluated the six
aspects of English were necessary. Second, because I defined an emotion as ‘an
emergent, dynamic process based on an individual’s subjective appraisal of
significant events' (Scherer 2009c, p. 1307), which concept was compatible with
the research aim of exploring the learners’ simultaneous emotion blends and with
the research questions. Exams on a regular basis over a period of time acted as
significant events that contributed to the learners’ reflections on their emotions,
the process and the progress of English learning.
3.4.1.2 Diary
The diaries employed in my study referred to ‘researcher-directed diaries’ which
were ‘produced for the purpose of research’ and required ‘regular entries over a
period of time’ (Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 147). Diary was usually employed to
explore ‘experiences, understandings and perceptions’ and to ‘access the details
of mundane, everyday, routine, taken-for-granted phenomena that other methods
cannot reach’ (Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 147-148). Data gathered from diary
entries were used to answer the first subsidiary research question, ‘What
affective experiences do the learners report as they engage in learning?’, the
second subsidiary research question, ‘How do these self-perceived affective
subsidiary research question, ‘How do these self-perceived affective experiences
differ in various contexts?’ Participants were asked to write a diary once a week.
Clear and comprehensive instructions were given to the participants.
The First Instruction.As Breakwell and Wood (1995) concerned, there could
possibly be a high drop-out rate if data was collected over several months via
diary entries. Three strategies were employed to maintain the participants’
interest. First, I arranged an initial meeting with the participants to explain the
task of keeping diary entries and asked for their preference of the formats (either
hard copy or email). If diaries were preferred to be kept in hard copies, the A4
notebooks would be provided by the researcher. I encouraged them to keep in
hard copies for the following reason.
Second, the participants were asked to submit their diary entries at the end of
every week together with their translation homework. As I was aware that the
participants had been asked to translate and to submit certain articles provided by
their translating teacher at the end of every week; to collect the diary entries at
the same time aimed to motivate the participants to engage with this study.
Furthermore, such a collecting method provided more convenience to the
participants as the translation homework and the diary entries were collected by
the study monitor at the same time.
Third, I added all of the participants’ Wechat accounts (a communication tool
regularly contacted them and posted relevant information so that the participants
would feel refreshed, updated and being actively engaged in this study.
The Second Instruction.I clearly instructed the participants on what kind of
information they should record. The instruction was particularly on the structure
of the diary. Because data gathered from diary entries were used to answer the
first, the second and the third subsidiary research questions; the information
focused on but not restrict to their self-perceived affective experiences.
The comprehensive English module was selected for exploration as it included
six aspects of English activities including vocabulary, grammar, listening,
reading, writing and speaking. The participants were asked to reflect on their
class activities and their emotional changes. The participants were asked to
followthe Context –Emotion –Result –Evaluationtemplate (Appendix 1.1 & 1.2)
to record their diary entries. To be specific,Contextrefers to the question of
‘What was the situation or task?’ The participants were asked to describe the
situation they feel like to record.Emotionrefers to the question of ‘What kind of
emotions did you feel and why?’ The participants were asked to describe their
affective experiences, the duration of these experiences, and the explicit reasons
on why they thought that they felt in this way.Resultrefers to the question of
‘What happened?’ andEvaluationrefers to the question of ‘What did you learn
from it?’
Furthermore, the participants were asked to record their experiences ‘as close as
possible to when they happen’ (Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 150); and in this
their comprehensive English lesson. Also, a sample completed entry written by
myself was given to the participants as a reference. As Holliday (1999) pointed
out, a sample entry may be effective to guide the participants to find out what is
important to them; however, it might inhibit their reflection or thinking. On the
other hand, Braun and Clarke (2006, 2013) suggested that a sample completed
entry could be useful to structured diaries in that it can motivate the participants
to write on what the researchers want to obtain and maintain the participants’
interest. This study required the participants to engage in the investigation for six
months, to maintain their interest was considered as a very important issue.
Therefore, I followed Braun’s and Clarke’s (2013) suggestion to provide a
sample completed entry.
3.4.1.3 Qualitative Survey
Qualitative surveys consisted of ‘a series of open-ended questions about a
topic … would basically be an interview’ (Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 135).
Moreover, they also suggested that qualitative surveys ‘are particularly well
suited to experience, understandings and perceptions, and practice type questions’
(Braun & Clarke, 2013, p. 137). Data gathered from qualitative surveys were
used to answer the fourth subsidiary research question, ‘How do self-perceived
affective experiences relate to the learners’ self-evaluated performances?’ with a
particular emphasis on the learners’ self-evaluated performances. The qualitative
surveys were distributed twice per month.
Open-ended Questions.There were five open-ended questions per survey
(Appendix 2.1 & 2.2). The questions were designed with an emphasis on their
cognitive, emotional, and motivational reflections. For example, the first
question, ‘What is your perception of your current English proficiency (the
aspect(s) of English, such as speaking, will be specified according to their
exams)?’ This question was design to obtain their cognitive reflection on their
self-evaluated English proficiency (not the proficiency revealed by the real exam
scores). The diary entries and qualitative surveys might garner similar
information from participants. This study would benefit from such information,
because it would allow me to compare the participants’ changing from different
timescales. In particular, the diary entries were utilised to generate short-term
reflections and the qualitative surveys were utilised to generate medium-term
responses.
Instruction.Qualitative surveys were sent out at the beginning of the week when
an exam was arranged. The participants were asked to submit their qualitative
surveys via email at the end of the same week as they finished their exams. For
example, if they were going to have an exam on Wednesday (they normally do)
in week 2, the qualitative survey would be sent out on Monday in week 2. They
were asked to return their qualitative surveys on Friday in week 2. This was
because the participants would have their regular exams twice a month. After
they finished the exam, they normally would receive their exam scores on
Thursday afternoon. They needed to use their student number and password to
log in their online portals to check the results. The online qualitative surveys
almost at the same time when they received their scores online. The participants
could provide their reflections immediately when they received the scores.
Moreover, reminders were sent to motivate their participation.
3.4.1.4 Semi-structured Interviews
Braun and Clarke (2013) suggested the researcher who conducted semi-
structured interviews ‘has a list of questions but there is scope for the participants
to raise issues that the researcher has not anticipated; this is the commonest type
of interview in qualitative research’ (p. 78). This instrument in this study was
also a phenomenographic interview. Interview was considered as the most
common instrument to gather data in phenomenography (Reed, 2006). The
questions were designed, according to Marton’s suggestion, ‘as open-ended as
possible in order to let the subject chose the dimensions of the question they want
to answer’ (Marton, 1986, p. 42). In addition, the aim of this phenomenographic
interview was ‘exploring at greater and greater depths of thinking without
leading’ (Trigwell, 2000, p. 68).
There were some more particular characteristics for the phenomenographic
interviews in this study than other types of qualitative research interviews.
Because the point of this phenomenographic interview was to explore the
variation in how the participants experienced the phenomenon. That is, my
emphasis was on the relationship between the participants and the theme of the
interview, rather than either discrete component. The data was gathered at an
the collective awareness of how they experienced the same phenomenon in
different ways.
Data gathered from semi-structured interviews were used to answer the main
research question ‘From a dynamic perspective, what is the relationship between
the self-perceived affective experiences of a group of learners and their self-
evaluated performances in a foreign language classroom?’ and all of the four
subsidiary research questions. The interviews were audio-recorded and took
place twice per month after I received their diary entries and qualitative surveys
and finished constant comparisons. For example, if they had an exam on
Wednesday (they normally did) in week 2, and finished returning their diary
entries and qualitative surveys by Friday in week 2, the interview would take
place on Monday or Tuesday in week 3, according to their convenience. I asked
for their most convenient time during the weekend via Wechat. In the meantime,
I finished the constant comparison of their diary entries and qualitative surveys. I
also identified the unique issues from their reports and designed questions
accordingly beyond the general question list.
Open-ended Questions.The interview would last between ten to fifteen minutes
per person. Because I wanted to explore their different ways of experiencing the
same phenomenon at a collective level, each time the question focused on the
description of the specific event. As the participants may or may not mention that
event in their diary entries or qualitative surveys, I described the event instead of
reminding them what they said in the past. This strategy was used for constant
comparison across short, medium and long timescales. Moreover, the questions
potential attractor states which was defined as ‘a critical value, pattern, solution
or outcome towards which a system settles down or approaches over time’
(Newman, 2009; cited in Hiver, 2014, p. 21).
3.4.1.5 Class Observations
Traditionally, observation was used to ‘gather “live” data from naturally
occurring social situations’ in order to assist the researcher to obtain ‘immediate
awareness or direct cognition’ (Cohenet. al.,2007, p. 396). However, in this
study, the unstructured observation in the classroom was only used to establish a
shared or ‘joint’ definition of the phenomenon under discussion (Bowden, 1996,
p. 58). As Marton (1994) suggested that the themes from the interview should
better be ‘jointly constituted by the interviewer and the interviewee’ (p. 4427).
The unstructured observation in the classroom would ‘be far less clear on what it
is looking for and will therefore have to go into a situation and observe what is
taking place before deciding on its significance for the research’ (Cohenet. al.,
2007, p. 397). Therefore, the class observation was only used to establish a
shared or ‘joint’ definition of the theme. No intervention was made. I sat in the
last row at the back of the classroom each time. My presence was informed to the
teacher and all of the students in the classroom. I also submitted and asked them
to return the written consent forms. Further issues will be discussed in the section
of ethical considerations. I observed their comprehensive English lesson once a