Chapter 8. Investigating complexity in L2 writing with mixed methods approaches

This chapter examines L2 writing from a complex systems perspective, viewing text construction as a process operating over multiple, interconnected timescales and levels. Any attempt to capture the full complexity of the system needs to be able to identify the different components in play, the timescales and levels of social organization at which they operate, the relationships between the components, and how the components and their relationships change over time. We argue, similarly to Dörnyei (2009), that mixed methods research “suits the multi-level analysis of complex issues, because it allows investigators to obtain data about both the individual and the broader societal context” (p. 109) and discuss some of the affordances and challenges of this approach with respect to L2 writing.