Research Trends In English Language Teaching: A Twenty-Year Review Of Master Theses And Doctoral Dissertations

Year 2023, , 14 - 26, 04.04.2023

Çağla Atmaca Gonca Ekşi

https://doi.org/10.5152/AUJKKEF.2023.1035961

Abstract

This research article reviews the master theses and doctoral dissertations on English Language Teaching published between 2001 and 2020 in Turkey. The theses and dissertations were analyzed in terms of emerging themes, research design, participants, and data collection tools. At the end of the summative content analysis conducted on 96 doctoral dissertations and 295 master theses, it was found that the theses and dissertations showed some similarities and differences. To illustrate, teaching methodology was the most studied theme, while language testing and assessment was the least studied theme in both groups. In addition, the quantitative research design was the most preferred one in the MA theses, whereas it was mixed-methods research design for the PhD dissertations. Moreover, most of the participants in both groups included tertiary-level students and instructors. Finally, documents were the most employed data collection tools, but the observation was the least preferred tool in both groups. Further professional implications are discussed in terms of master theses and doctoral dissertations in the English Language Teaching field to guide future researchers and offer a new research agenda.

Keywords

Doctoral dissertation, English language teaching, higher education, master thesis, research trends