Also available in electronic format.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-138) and indexes.

Preface to the Second Edition

Introduction

1. Questionnaires in Second Language Research -- 1.1 What are ‘Questionnaires’ and What Do They Measure? -- 1.1.1 What a Questionnaire Is Not -- 1.1.2 What Do Questionnaires Measure? -- 1.2 Why Use Questionnaires and Why Not? -- 1.2.1 Advantages -- 1.2.2 Disadvantages -- 1.3 Questionnaires in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

2. Constructing the Questionnaire -- 2.1 General Features -- 2.1.1 Length -- 2.1.2 Layout -- 2.1.3 Sensitive Topics and Anonymity -- 2.2 The Main Parts of a Questionnaire -- 2.2.1 Title -- 2.2.2 Instructions -- 2.2.3 Questionnaire Items -- 2.2.4 Additional Information -- 2.2.5 Final “Thank You” -- 2.3 Appropriate Sampling of the Questionnaire Content and the Significance of ‘Multi-Item Scales’ -- 2.3.1 Appropriate Sampling of the Content -- 2.3.2 Using Multi-Item Scales -- 2.4 ‘Closed-Ended’ Questionnaire Items -- 2.4.1 Rating Scales -- 2.4.2 Multiple-Choice Items -- 2.4.3 Rank Order Items -- 2.4.4 Numeric Items -- 2.4.5 Checklists -- 2.5 Open-Ended questions -- 2.5.1 Specific Open Questions -- 2.5.2 Clarification Questions -- 2.5.3 Sentence Completion Items -- 2.5.4 Short-Answer Questions -- 2.6 How to Write Good Items -- 2.6.1 Drawing Up an “Item Pool” -- 2.6.2 Rules About Writing Items -- 2.6.3 Writing Sensitive Items -- 2.7 Grouping and Sequencing Items -- 2.7.1 Clear and Orderly Structure -- 2.7.2 Opening Questions -- 2.7.3 Factual (or “Personal” or “Classification”) Questions at the End -- 2.7.4 Open-Ended Questions at the End -- 2.8 Translating the Questionnaire -- 2.8.1 Translation as a Team-Based Approach -- 2.8.2 Translation with Limited Resources -- 2.9 Computer Programs for Constructing Questionnaires -- 2.10 Piloting the Questionnaire and Conducting Item Analysis -- 2.10.1 Initial Piloting of the Item Pool -- 2.10.2 Final Piloting (“Dress Rehearsal”) -- 2.10.3 Item Analysis

3. Administering the Questionnaire -- 3.1 Selecting the Sample -- 3.1.1 Sampling Procedures -- 3.1.2 How Large Should the Sample Be? -- 3.1.3 The Problem of Respondent Self-Selection -- 3.2 Main Types of Questionnaire Administration -- 3.2.1 Administration by Mail -- 3.2.2 One-to-One Administration -- 3.2.3 Group Administration -- 3.2.4 Online Administration -- 3.3 Strategies to Increase the Quality and Quantity of Participant Response -- 3.3.1 Advance Notice -- 3.3.2 Attitudes Conveyed by Teachers, Parents, and Other Authority Figures -- 3.3.3 Respectable Sponsorship -- 3.3.4 The Presence of a Survey Administrator -- 3.3.5 The Behavior of the Survey Administrator -- 3.3.6 Communicating the Purpose and Significance of the Survey -- 3.3.7 Emphasizing Confidentiality -- 3.3.8 Reading Out the Questionnaire Instructions -- 3.3.9 The Style and Layout of the Questionnaire -- 3.3.10 Promising Feedback on the Results -- 3.4 Questionnaire Administration, Confidentiality, and Other Ethical Issues -- 3.4.1 Basic Ethical Principles of Data Collection -- 3.4.2 Obtaining Consent for Children -- 3.4.3 Strategies for Getting Around Anonymity

4. Processing Questionnaire Data -- 4.1 Coding Questionnaire Data -- 4.1.1 First Things First: Assigning Identification Codes -- 4.1.2 Coding Quantitative Data -- 4.2 Inputting the Data -- 4.2.1 Creating and Naming the Data File -- 4.2.2 Keying in the Data -- 4.3 Processing Closed Questions -- 4.3.1 Data Cleaning -- 4.3.2 Data Manipulation -- 4.3.3 Reducing the Number of Variables in the Questionnaire -- 4.3.4 Main Types of Questionnaire Data -- 4.3.5 Examining the Reliability and Validity of the Data -- 4.3.6 Statistical Procedures to Analyze Data -- 4.4 Content Analysis of Open-Ended Questions -- 4.5 Computer Programs for Processing Questionnaire Data -- 4.6 Summarizing and Reporting Questionnaire Data -- 4.6.1 General Guidelines -- 4.6.2 Technical Information to Accompany Survey Results -- 4.6.3 Reader-Friendly Data Presentation Methods -- 4.7 Complementing Questionnaire Data with Other Information -- 4.7.1 Questionnaire Survey with Follow-up Interview or Retrospection -- 4.7.2 Questionnaire Survey Facilitated by Preceding Interview

5. Illustration: Developing a Motivation Questionnaire -- 5.1 Construction of the Initial Questionnaire -- 5.1.1 Deciding the Content Areas to be Covered in the Questionnaire -- 5.1.2 Designing Items for the Item Pool -- 5.1.3 Designing Rating Scales -- 5.1.4 Designing the Personal Information Section -- 5.1.5 Designing Instructions -- 5.1.6 Designing the Questionnaire Format -- 5.1.7 Grouping and Organizing Items and Questions -- 5.2 Translating and Initial Piloting -- 5.3 Final Piloting and Item Analysis -- 5.3.1 Missing Values and the Range of Responses -- 5.3.2 The Internal Consistency Reliability of the Initial Scales -- 5.3.3 Modification of the Personal Information Items -- 5.4 The Final Version of the Japanese Questionnaire and Post Hoc Item Analysis -- 5.5 Adapting the Questionnaire for Use in China and Iran

Conclusion and Checklist

References

Appendix A: Combined List of the Items Included in the Questionnaires Discussed in Chapter 5

Appendix B: The Final Version of the Questionnaires Used in Japan, China and Iran

Appendix C: Selected List of Published L2 Questionnaires

"Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration, and Processing is the first guide in the second language field devoted to the question of how to produce and use questionnaires as reliable and valid research instruments. Even though questionnaires are widely used in second language research, there is insufficient awareness in the field of the theory of questionnaire design and processing. It is all too common to see studies involving exciting research questions become spoiled by the application of poorly designed questionnaires, or by unreliable results due to faulty processing. This volume aims to help researchers avoid those pitfalls. It offers a thorough overview of the theory of questionnaire design, administration, and processing, made accessible by concrete, real-life second language research applications. This Second Edition features a new chapter on how an actual scientific instrument was developed using the theoretical guidelines in the book, and new sections on translating questionnaires and collecting survey data on the Internet. Researchers and students in second language studies, applied linguistics, and TESOL programs will find this book invaluable, and it can also be used as a textbook for courses in quantitative research methodology and survey research in linguistics, psychology, and education departments." (Book Cover)

"Researchers and students in second language studies, applied linguistics, and TESOL programs will find this book invaluable, and it can also be used as a textbook for courses in quantitative research methodology and survey research in linguistics, psychology, and education departments." (Publisher's Website)