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Part of
Research Methods in the Study of L2 Writing Processes
Edited by Rosa M. Manchón and Julio Roca de Larios
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 5] 2023
► pp. 315–336

Chapter 15
Methodological considerations in the analysis of synchronous and asynchronous written corrective feedback

The affordances of online technologies

| Kansai University
| The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Providing written corrective feedback in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments has increasingly attracted the interest of both researchers and practitioners. In this chapter we reflect on our study, Shintani & Aubrey (2016), which examined the comparative effects of synchronous and asynchronous written corrective feedback on the accurate production of target grammatical features in a guided writing task. The methodological challenges we experienced related to (a) operationalizing synchronous and asynchronous written corrective feedback; (b) designing treatment materials and procedures; (c) testing; and (d) analyzing the data. In each decision, we tried to find a balance between experimental control and ecological validity. This chapter not only provides a window into how we overcame these challenges but also gives suggestions for research methodologies that can be used in future studies to explore the provision of written corrective feedback through online technologies.

Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Overview of the research in focus: Rationale, aims and methods
  • Methodological decisions, challenges, and solutions
    • Operationalization of SCF and ACF
    • Eliciting the target grammatical feature
    • Designing the treatment procedures
    • Random assignment
    • Dealing with on-site problems during data collection
    • Assessing learners’ grammatical knowledge
    • Analyzing writing outcomes
    • Analyzing writing processes
  • Methodological conclusions and implications for future studies
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 23 October 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.5.15shi
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