Nilgün YÜCEL, Kia DECOU

What Makes a Good Research Paper? Examining Differences and Similarities in Turkish and American Expectations

Araştırma makalelerindeki başarı bilgi toplamak ve fikirlerini ve yorumlarını sunmak kadar eğitimcinin iyi bir araştırmadan ne anladığıyla ve iyi bir araştırma makalesinin nasıl olması gerektiğiyle ilgili görüşlerini anlamakla da ilgilidir. Her eğitimcinin iyi bir araştırma makalesinin odağında ne olması gerektiğine ve bilgi, bağımsız düşünme, yapısı ve dilin kullanıma dair farklı görüşleri vardır. Üniversitelerin öğrenci ve eğitimci profillerini çeşitlendirme çabalarıyla birlikte bu farklılıklar daha da artmıştır. Bu çalışma da Türk ve Amerikan eğitimcilerin kültürel ve öğrenim geçmişlerinin, onların iyi bir araştırma makalesinden ne anladıklarını nasıl etkilediği araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Araştırma verileri hem Türk hem Amerikan eğitimcilerle görüşme tekniği kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Görüşmeler, farklı eğiticilerin araştırma makalelerine dair görüşlerinin ve onları değerlendirme şekillerinin çok farklı olduğunu ortaya koymuştur.

İyi Bir Araştırma Makalesi Nasıl Olur? Türk ve Amerikan Beklenti Arasındaki Benzerlikler ve Farklar

Success in a research paper is not only about gathering information and presenting your own thoughts and interpretations; equally as important understands the instructor's understanding of what the purpose of research is and what constitutes a good research paper . Individual instructors often have very different ideas about what the focus of the paper should be and what they are looking for in terms of information, independent thinking, structure, and accuracy of language. These differences become even more marked as universities seek to diversify their student bodies and teaching staff. This study aimed to explore Turkish and American instructors perceptions regarding the possible influence of their cultural and educational backgrounds on their understanding of a good research paper. The data was obtained from interviews of both Turkish and American instructors to examine the similarities and differences in expectations for research assignments. These interviews revealed some differences in how different instructors view research assignments and how they grade them.

PDF

___

Bell, J. (1993). Doing your research project. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Bruffee, K. (1986). Social Construction, language, and the authority of knowledge: A Bibliographical essay. College English, 48(8), 773-789.

Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the intercultural dimension inlanguage teaching: A practical introduction for teachers. The Council of Europe. Retrieved April 29, 2009 from http://lrc.cornell.edu/director/intercultural.pdf

Collier, P., & Weininger, D. (2008) “Is that paper really due today?”: Differences in first-generation and traditional college students’ understandings of faculty expectations. Retrieved April 29, 2009 from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10734-007-9065-5

Crozet , C., Liddicoat , A.J., & Lo Bianco, J. (1999). Intercultural competence: From language policy to language education. In J. Lo Bianco, A. Liddicoat & C. Crozet (Eds), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education. Melbourne: Language Australia.

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fontana, A., & Frey, J. H. (2000). The interview: From structured questions to negotiated text. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 645–672). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Lui, S. (2010). Teaching English in China: Conflicts and expectations. The International Journal - Language Society and Culture, 31, 90-97.

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

Mills, J., Bonner, A., & Francis, K. (2006). The development of constructivist grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 1-10.

Parrish, P., & Linder-VanBerschot , J.A. (2010). Cultural Dimensions of Learning: Addressing the Challenges of Multicultural Instruction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning,11(2): 1-19.

QS World University Rankings (2012). Increase in Number of International Students. Retrieved 12 September, 2012 from http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/worlduniversity- rankings/increase-number-international-students.

Schmitt, D. (2012, November 13). UK universities failing to bridge culture gap for foreign students. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/nov/13/international-student-testing-culturegap

Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Taylor, George R. (2000). Integrating quantitative and qualitative methods in research. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.

Wang, J., Lin, E., Spalding, E., Odell, S.J., & Klecka, C.L. (2011). Understanding teacher education in an era of globalization. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(2), 115–120.