Appraising Research in Second Language Learning: A Practical Approach to Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research (review)

Porte’s volume teaches graduate students and novice researchers how to develop critical reading skills through ‘awareness-raising’ techniques (xii) that help them become better consumers of second language (L2) quantitative research. These techniques prepare young researchers to evaluate current research critically and to present their own research results effectively.

The book is a combination textbook-workbook-reference guide. The textbook takes readers through a close reading of an article. Chapters on the introduction, method and procedures, results, and discussion and conclusions sections are presented. The workbook follows the textbook closely. A glossary, appendices, suggestions for further reading, and a thorough index finish out the volume.

Not satisfied with an analysis of an article that leaves critical examination until the end, P advocates the use of recursive appraisal throughout the reading of the text. He draws readers through a series of detailed questions that prompt them to stop and critically reflect as they read. The questions go beyond the printed text to develop an understanding of the research process: the types of decisions the researcher made in the process of selecting a topic for analysis, developing a plan for the study, collecting and analyzing the data, and so forth. P often encourages the reader to stop reading to consider if information is lacking, if the decisions made up to that point are justified, and if the goals of the study are concurrent with the methodology chosen.

Of particular interest are two techniques to help readers understand research designs and data collection procedures. P suggests that readers render the design of the study pictorially in a ‘box’, that is, to group the subjects and procedures together in a simplified manner that is quickly visually accessible (65–71). His second technique, useful for representing data collection procedures, is a notation system that readers use to clarify how many participant groups were involved and which treatments each was subjected to and in what order (71–83).

P also provides information on how to present research findings. He describes five commonly used statistical analyses: correlation, regression, t-tests, ANOVA, and chi-square. He explains when each test should be used and how to interpret the results. For each statistical procedure, sample charts are presented and analyzed.

The workbook enables users to analyze an article using P’s recursive methods. Each section of a paper is presented separately in two forms: the worked sample appraisal and the guided appraisal. The worked sample appraisal contains P’s own analysis of the article section, using the questions from the text as a guide. The guided appraisal presents a second section similar to the first, for which he provides a series of questions that raise critical awareness as readers work through them.

This book is an excellent guide for graduate students and novice consumers of research. It is well organized and clearly written, and it contains sufficient examples to aid in the application of difficult concepts. His explanations of difficult concepts—especially of statistical procedures—are accessible to those not well versed in statistics. The glossary is detailed, with graphs and other visual aids provided when needed. This book would be an excellent addition to any introductory graduate research seminar and could be used on its own or in conjunction with other texts. Students who use this book will come away with a heightened sense of how to read and write up research.