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Chapter 1. A taxonomy of questionable research practices in quantitative humanities

  • Luke Plonsky , Tove Larsson , Scott Sterling , Merja Kytö , Kate Yaw and Margaret Wood
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Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship
This chapter is in the book Ethical Issues in Applied Linguistics Scholarship

Abstract

A growing body of research has begun to address ethical issues in the context of Applied Linguistics (e.g., De Costa, 2016; Isbell et al., 2022). One of the messages inherent in this line of inquiry is that ethical concerns are embedded throughout the research cycle from study conceptualization to realization, dissemination, application, and beyond (see Bernstein et al., this volume). With this concern in mind, the present study sought to catalog and develop a taxonomy of what are often referred to as ‘questionable research practices’ (QRPs; Steneck, 2006) and related decisions that come into play in the conduct of quantitative Applied Linguistics research. These include practices such as selective reporting and obscuring of methodological details to limit criticism. Using existing taxonomies developed in neighboring disciplines as a starting point (e.g., Tauginienė et al., 2019), we employed the Delphi method to elicit responses on potential QRPs in an iterative fashion from an expert panel as well as from peer scholars. The analyses of these data resulted in a domain-specific taxonomy that laid the groundwork for a large-scale survey that assessed the prevalence and perceived severity of ethical issues and QRPs found specifically in quantitative Applied Linguistics research (Larsson et al., 2023). The results are also used to inform materials for methodological training in research ethics in Applied Linguistics and related disciplines (see De Costa et al., 2021; Wood et al., 2024, in press).

Abstract

A growing body of research has begun to address ethical issues in the context of Applied Linguistics (e.g., De Costa, 2016; Isbell et al., 2022). One of the messages inherent in this line of inquiry is that ethical concerns are embedded throughout the research cycle from study conceptualization to realization, dissemination, application, and beyond (see Bernstein et al., this volume). With this concern in mind, the present study sought to catalog and develop a taxonomy of what are often referred to as ‘questionable research practices’ (QRPs; Steneck, 2006) and related decisions that come into play in the conduct of quantitative Applied Linguistics research. These include practices such as selective reporting and obscuring of methodological details to limit criticism. Using existing taxonomies developed in neighboring disciplines as a starting point (e.g., Tauginienė et al., 2019), we employed the Delphi method to elicit responses on potential QRPs in an iterative fashion from an expert panel as well as from peer scholars. The analyses of these data resulted in a domain-specific taxonomy that laid the groundwork for a large-scale survey that assessed the prevalence and perceived severity of ethical issues and QRPs found specifically in quantitative Applied Linguistics research (Larsson et al., 2023). The results are also used to inform materials for methodological training in research ethics in Applied Linguistics and related disciplines (see De Costa et al., 2021; Wood et al., 2024, in press).

Chapters in this book

  1. 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Section I. Methodological approaches
  6. Chapter 1. A taxonomy of questionable research practices in quantitative humanities 10
  7. Chapter 2. Corpus linguistics and ethics 28
  8. Chapter 3. Ethical issues in educational action research 45
  9. Chapter 4. Doing research in culturally and linguistically diverse K-12 classrooms 59
  10. Chapter 5. Ethical considerations for research involving computer-assisted language learning, social media, and online environments 72
  11. Chapter 6. Transcription as ethics 87
  12. Commentary on Section I 110
  13. Section II. Specific populations and research contexts
  14. Chapter 7. The zero-sum game of beneficence 122
  15. Chapter 8. Ethical research with adult migrant language learners 136
  16. Chapter 9. Ethics in heritage language education 155
  17. Chapter 10. The ethics of indigenous language revitalization 172
  18. Chapter 11. “Where you from, who’s your Mob?” 192
  19. Commentary on Section II 210
  20. Section III. Pedagogy and policy
  21. Chapter 12. Ethical research considerations in classroom and online spaces with bilingual students and their teachers 218
  22. Chapter 13. Ethical issues in language testing 235
  23. Chapter 14. Navigating ethical challenges in L2 writing in transnational higher education 249
  24. Chapter 15. Challenges of justice and equity for ethical English as an additional language in school education 266
  25. Commentary on Section III 285
  26. Section IV. Personal and interactive aspects of research and scholarship
  27. Chapter 16. Managing publication expectations and collaborations 296
  28. Chapter 17. Ethical dilemmas of graduate students negotiating new roles and responsibilities 310
  29. Chapter 18. Research ethics and decisions 328
  30. Chapter 19. The ethical gray area 341
  31. Commentary on Section IV 355
  32. Afterword 364
  33. 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 371
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.7.01plo

Chapters in this book

  1. 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword ix
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Section I. Methodological approaches
  6. Chapter 1. A taxonomy of questionable research practices in quantitative humanities 10
  7. Chapter 2. Corpus linguistics and ethics 28
  8. Chapter 3. Ethical issues in educational action research 45
  9. Chapter 4. Doing research in culturally and linguistically diverse K-12 classrooms 59
  10. Chapter 5. Ethical considerations for research involving computer-assisted language learning, social media, and online environments 72
  11. Chapter 6. Transcription as ethics 87
  12. Commentary on Section I 110
  13. Section II. Specific populations and research contexts
  14. Chapter 7. The zero-sum game of beneficence 122
  15. Chapter 8. Ethical research with adult migrant language learners 136
  16. Chapter 9. Ethics in heritage language education 155
  17. Chapter 10. The ethics of indigenous language revitalization 172
  18. Chapter 11. “Where you from, who’s your Mob?” 192
  19. Commentary on Section II 210
  20. Section III. Pedagogy and policy
  21. Chapter 12. Ethical research considerations in classroom and online spaces with bilingual students and their teachers 218
  22. Chapter 13. Ethical issues in language testing 235
  23. Chapter 14. Navigating ethical challenges in L2 writing in transnational higher education 249
  24. Chapter 15. Challenges of justice and equity for ethical English as an additional language in school education 266
  25. Commentary on Section III 285
  26. Section IV. Personal and interactive aspects of research and scholarship
  27. Chapter 16. Managing publication expectations and collaborations 296
  28. Chapter 17. Ethical dilemmas of graduate students negotiating new roles and responsibilities 310
  29. Chapter 18. Research ethics and decisions 328
  30. Chapter 19. The ethical gray area 341
  31. Commentary on Section IV 355
  32. Afterword 364
  33. 日本言語政策学会 / Japan Association for Language Policy. 言語政策 / Language Policy 10. 2014 371
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