Pre-Conference Workshop

This talk critically revisits the concept of reliability in second language (L2) research, a foundational yet often misunderstood construct in the field. Reliability is typically viewed as a technical concern focused on consistency and replicability, though some scholars have even expanded its scope to include broader considerations of research credibility and interpretive rigor beyond statistical procedures in validation research. The discussion unpacks various dimensions of reliability, including internal reliability—commonly associated with internal consistency measures—and external reliability, which encompasses replicability, rater reliability and agreement. The talk also addresses persistent confusion around these categories and the tendency to conflate reliability with related concepts, particularly validity. Drawing on contemporary methodological critiques, I highlight the need for a more theoretically grounded understanding of reliability, one that considers epistemological assumptions, methodological choices, and the target language use domains in which L2 is used. I also discuss a relatively recent meta-analytical approach known as “reliability generalization,” which my co-authors and I have applied in our synthetic research in recent years. Participants will be encouraged to reconsider how reliability is conceptualized and reported in their own work, and to reflect on its implications for research design, data interpretation, and knowledge construction in L2 research.

The viva examination is a crucial component of the academic assessment process, where students defend their research and demonstrate their understanding of their field of study. This talk aims to discuss the key goals of a viva, highlight examiner expectations, and provide insights into effective preparation. One primary goal of the viva is to assess the student’s ability to articulate their research clearly, critically engage with their work, and justify their methodologies, findings, and conclusions. Examiners expect students to have a comprehensive understanding of their research area, including relevant concepts, theories, and methodologies. Common mistakes made by students during vivas often include inadequate responses to critical questions, a lack of clarity in explaining key concepts, and an inability to defend methodological choices effectively. To prepare, students should thoroughly review their thesis, focus on areas that may be questioned, and practice explaining their research concisely. Common questions asked by examiners typically involve justifications for research design, interpretations of findings, and discussions of theoretical and methodological approaches. By understanding these expectations and preparing accordingly, students can increase their chances of success in the viva. This talk aims to equip students with the necessary tools to approach their viva confidently, ensuring they can defend their research effectively and demonstrate a strong understanding of their academic field.

A well-defined research problem must be grounded in a comprehensive and critical review of existing literature. Despite the availability of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Jenni, many novice researchers continue to struggle with effectively and critically engaging with both seminal and recent literature. Research and supervisory experience highlight the challenges students face in synthesizing and connecting ideas from the literature, particularly when they are non-native English speakers. This session introduces participants to a three-step reading strategy that has successfully helped undergraduate and postgraduate students in linguistics and education read academic literature more effectively and critically. When applied consistently and correctly, this strategy can support students and novice researchers in producing high-quality scientific publications. By attending this session, participants will gain a practical and adaptable approach to overcoming the challenges of reading for research.

This preconference workshop introduces the ​PRISMA 2020 paradigm​ for conducting systematic literature review (SLR), emphasizing its role in advancing evidence-based research through transparency, adaptability, and rigorous methodology. Attendees will follow a structured presentation that outlines the full SLR lifecycle, from formulating research questions and designing multi-database search strategies to applying structured screening protocols and synthesizing data using PRISMA 2020’s updated guidelines. The workshop highlights PRISMA 2020’s key enhancements, such as expanded support for scoping reviews, dynamic evidence synthesis, and standardized reporting for complex analyses. Throughout the presentation, the presenter’s experience of adopting the paradigm will be shared to illustrate strategies for addressing common challenges such as the problem of lack of transparency, incomplete or selective reporting. Specifically, PRISMA 2020 framework not only provides a standardized framework that clearly outlines each step but also addresses issues related to, ensuring comprehensive and consistent reporting of the review from question formulation to result presentation. Participants will be directed to the official PRISMA 2020 website for access to checklists, templates, and additional resources to support their SLR implementation. By the end of the workshop, attendees will possess foundational knowledge of the PRISMA 2020 paradigm and actionable insights to conduct high-quality, transparent SLR that inform evidence-informed decision making and advance scholarly inquiry.

This workshop will focus on a hands-on application of how to use Antconc, a concordance tool, for a corpus-based study in linguistic analysis. The demonstration will be based on a PhD study conducted by the speaker. A brief overview of the research procedures would be provided to explain the steps to conduct the analysis of the data. The speaker would also share relevant resources that are deemed pertinent to the corpus-based study, with a specific focus on linguistic analysis in academic writing.