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Complex Dynamic Systems Theory and L2 Writing Development
Edited by Gary G. Fogal and Marjolijn H. Verspoor
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 54] 2020
► pp. 183–206

Chapter 8
Investigating complexity in L2 writing with mixed methods approaches

| University of Tokyo
| University of Essex

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.

Keywords: complex dynamic systems, L2 writing, mixed methods, triangulation, interdisciplinarity
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • A complex systems perspective on L2 writing
  • Mixed methods research and the study of complex dynamic systems
    • A brief history of mixed methods research
    • Mixed methods and their relationship to complex dynamic systems
    • The challenges associated with mixed methods research
  • Applying a mixed methods approach to the investigation of L2 writing processes
  • Methodological affordances: Investigating different levels of the complex system
    • The macro-level
    • The meso-level
    • The micro-level
    • Example 1
    • Example 2
  • Methodological challenges
    • The preparation stage
    • The implementation stage
    • The analytical stage
    • The dissemination stage
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 4 June 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.54.08gil
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