Questionnaires in Second Language Research

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. The popularity of questionnaires in data-collection and second language research is due to their easy construction, versatility, and quick processing by either quantitative or qualitative methods. However, there is insufficient awareness in the second language research 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. One reason for the poor awareness of questionnaire theory is the absence of relevant summaries and training materials in second language literature. This volume fills the gap. 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 TESOL, second-language programs and applied linguistics 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.