E-Book Overview
In this original volume, eighteen researchers from different parts of the world reflect on their own research projects, providing insights into key methodological issues in research on second language writing. By offering a glimpse into the process of constructing and negotiating knowledge in the field--the messy space of situated practices of inquiry--it helps to demystify the research process, which can appear in published studies and in introductory methodology guides to be neater and more orderly than it actually is.Taking a broad conception of research as inquiry that emphasizes the situated and constructed nature of knowledge in the field, Second Language Writing Research: Perspectives on the Process of Knowledge Construction encourages multiple forms of inquiry, including philosophical, narrative, and historical modes. Empirical inquiry as presented in this book encompasses both quantitative and qualitative approaches as well as those that strategically combine them. A helpful discussion of the "nuts and bolts" of developing sustainable research programs is also provided. The volume as a whole facilitates a situated, issue-driven research practice. Its unique focus on second language writing research makes it an invaluable resource for both novice and experienced researchers in the field.
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Second Language Writing Research Perspectives on the Process of Knowledge Construction Edited by Paul Kei Matsuda University of New Hampshire Tony Silva Purdue University 2005 LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS Mahwah, New Jersey London Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 www.erlbaum.com Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Cover concept by Paul Kei Matsuda Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Matsuda, Paul Kei. Second language writing research : perspectives on the process of knowledge construction / edited by Paul Kei Matsuda, Tony Silva. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-5045-7 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-8058-5046-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Language and languages—Study and teaching—Research. 2. Rhetoric—Study and teaching—Research. 3. Second language acquisition—Research. I. Silva, Tony. II. Title. P53-27.M38 2005 418'.0071—dc22 2004053337 CIP Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Kana Sophia Contents Preface I. xi RESEARCH AS SITUATED KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION 1 On the Philosophical Bases of Inquiry in Second Language Writing: Metaphysics, Inquiry Paradigms, and the Intellectual Zeitgeist Tony Silva 3 2 Uses of Narrative in L2 Writing Research Christine Pearson Casanave 17 3 Historical Inquiry in Second Language Writing Paul Kei Matsuda 33 II. CONCEPTUALIZING L2 WRITING RESEARCH 4 Situated Qualitative Research and Second Language Writing Dwight Atkinson 49 vii VJll 5 6 7 8 9 CONTENTS A Multimethod Approach to Research Into Processes of Scholarly Writing for Publication John Flowerdew 65 Hypothesis Generation and Hypothesis Testing: Two Complementary Studies of EFL Writing Processes Miyuki Sasaki 79 Talking About Writing: Cross-Modalit