An Investigation of the Predictors of Statistical Literacy in Second Language Acquisition
An Investigation of the Predictors of Statistical Literacy in Second Language Acquisition
The use of statistics in second language acquisition (SLA) research has increased over the past 30-40years and continues to increase in both complexity and sophistication (Gass, 2009; Loewen & Gass,2009). The increased use of statistical procedures has drawn attention to the current state of statisticalliteracy among second language (L2) researchers. Statistical literacy is a critical skill to acquire on theparts of both the producers and consumers of L2 research. However, it is a relatively new research topicin the field. So, little is known regarding what factors play key roles in the development of statisticalliteracy. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate the predictors of statistical literacy in SLA. Onehundred and twenty SLA doctoral students took a statistical background questionnaire and a disciplinespecific statistics survey. A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted on the statistics surveydata. The results indicated that number of statistics courses taken, quantitative research orientation,and self-training in statistics were the significant predictors of statistical literacy. In light of the findingsof this study, several suggestions directed toward improving statistical literacy in the field of SLA weremade.© 2018 EJAL & the Authors. Published by Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics (EJAL). This is an open-accessarticle distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY-NC-ND)(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
___
- Aiken, L. S., West, S. G., & Millsap, R. E. (2008). Doctoral training in statistics, measurement,
and methodology in psychology: Replication and extension of Aiken, West, Sechrest, and
Reno's (1990) survey of PhD programs in North America. American Psychologist, 63(1), 32-50.
- Allison, P. D. (1999). Multiple regression: A primer. Pine Forge Press.
- Capraro, R. M., & Thompson, B. (2008). The educational researcher defined: What will future
researchers be trained to do? The Journal of Educational Research, 101(4), 247-253.
- Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research.
Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
- Dauzat, S. V., & Dauzat, J. (1977). Literacy: In quest of a definition. Convergence, 10(1), 37-41.
- Estrada, A., Batanero, C., & Lancaster, S. (2011). Teachers’ attitudes towards statistics. In C.
Batanero, G. Burrill, C. Reading & A. Rossman (Eds.), Teaching statistics in school
mathematics - Challenges for teaching and teacher education (pp. 163-174). The
Netherlands: Springer.
- Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. London: SAGE.
- Gal, I. (2002). Adults’ statistical literacy: Meanings, components, responsibilities.
International Statistical Review, 70(1), 1-25.
- Gass, S. (2009). A survey of SLA research. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of
second language acquisition (pp. 3–28). Bingley, UK: Emerald.
- Golinski, C., & Cribbie, R. A. (2009). The expanding role of quantitative methodologists in
advancing psychology. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 50(2), 83-90.
- Gonulal, T. (under review). Investigating the statistical knowledge and training of doctoral
students in second language acquisition. The Modern Language Journal.
- Gonulal, T., Loewen, S.., & Plonsky, L. (2017). The development of statistical literacy in
applied linguistics graduate students. ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics,
168(1), 4-32.
- Henson, R. K., Hull, D. M., & Williams, C. S. (2010). Methodology in our education research
culture toward a stronger collective quantitative proficiency. Educational Researcher, 39(3),
229-240.
- Jeon, E. H. (2015). Multiple regression. In L. Plonsky (Ed), Advancing quantitative methods in
second language research. New York: Routledge.
- Kirsch, I., Jungeblut, A., Jenkins, L., & Kolstad, A. (1993). Adult literacy in America: A first
look at the results of the National Adult Literacy Survey. Washington, DC: National Center
for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
- Kline, P. (1999). The handbook of psychological testing. London: Routledge.
- Larson-Hall, J. (2015). A guide to doing statistics in second language research using SPSS and
R (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
- Lazaraton, A., Riggenbach, H., & Ediger, A. (1987). Forming a discipline: Applied linguists’
literacy in research methodology and statistics. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 263–277.
- Loewen, S., Ballard, L., Crowther, D., Gonulal, T., Isbell, D. R., Lim, J., Maloney, J., &
Tigchelaar, M. (under review). How statistically literate are SLA and applied linguistics
researchers? Data from North America and Europe. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition.
- Loewen, S., & Gass, S. (2009). Research timeline: The use of statistics in L2 acquisition
research. Language Teaching, 42(2), 181-196.
- Loewen, S., & Gonulal, T. (2015). Exploratory factor analysis and principal components
analysis. In Plonsky, L. (Ed), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research.
New York: Routledge.
- Loewen, S., Lavolette, E., Spino, L. A., Papi, M., Schmidtke, J., Sterling, S., & Wolff, D. (2014).
Statistical literacy among applied linguists and second language acquisition
researchers. TESOL Quarterly, 48(2), 360-388.
- Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design. New
York: Routledge.
- Norris, J. M., Ross, S. J., & Schoonen, R. (2015). Improving second language quantitative
research. Language Learning, 65(S1), 1-8.
- Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2003). Modeling statistics achievement among graduate
students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63(6), 1020-1038.
- Plonsky, L. (2013). Study quality in SLA: An assessment of designs, analyses, and reporting
practices in quantitative L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35, 655–687.
- Plonsky, L. (2014). Study quality in quantitative L2 research (1990–2010): A methodological
synthesis and call for reform. The Modern Language Journal, 98(1), 450-470.
- Plonsky, L. (Ed.) (2015). Advancing quantitative methods in second language research. New
York: Routledge.
- Plonsky, L., & Gonulal, T. (2015). Methodological synthesis in quantitative L2 research: A
review of reviews and a case study of exploratory factor analysis. Language Learning, 65,
(S1), 9-36.
- Rossen, E., & Oakland, T. (2008). Graduate preparation in research methods: The current
status of APA-accredited professional programs in psychology. Training and Education in
Professional Psychology, 2(1), 42.
- Roever, C., & Phakiti, A. (2018). Quantitative methods for second language research: A
problem-solving approach. London: Routledge.
- Schield, M. (1999). Statistical literacy: Thinking critically about statistics. Of
Significance, 1(1), 15-20.
- Schield, M. (2004). Statistical literacy and liberal education at Augsburg College. Peer Review,
6, 16-18. Retrieved from www.StatLit.org/pdf/2004SchieldAACU.pdf.
- Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson
Education.
- Thomas, M. (2013). The doctorate in second language acquisition: An institutional
history. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 3(4), 509-531.
- Thompson, A., Li, S., White, B., Loewen, S., & Gass, S. (2012). Preparing the future
professoriate in second language acquisition. Working Theories for Teaching Assistant
Development, 137-167.
- Wallman, K. K. (1993). Enhancing statistical literacy: Enriching our society. Journal of the
American Statistical Association, 88(421), 1-8.
- Watson, J. (1997). Assessing statistical thinking using the media. In I. Gal & J. Garfield
(Eds.), The assessment challenge in statistics education. Amsterdam: IOS Press.
- Winke, P. (2014). Testing hypotheses about language learning using structural equation
modeling. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 34, 102-122.