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Study quality as an intellectual and ethical imperative: A proposed framework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2024

Luke Plonsky
Luke Plonsky*
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University, USA
*
Email: lukeplonsky@gmail.com
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Abstract

What is quality in the context of applied linguistic research? Addressing this question is both an intellectual and ethical imperative for the field. Toward that end, I propose a four-part framework for understanding and evaluating study quality: Quality research is (a) methodologically rigorous, (b) transparent, (c) ethical, and (d) of value to society. The bulk of the paper is devoted to describing each of these four elements, first conceptually and then as observed in the field. I also articulate some of the many connections among the four elements within the framework. In addition, I suggest next steps for further addressing the notion of quality in terms of the framework itself as well as the ways it might be used to advance our field’s research, training, and legitimacy as an academic discipline that is still in some ways coming of age.

Keywords

study qualitymethodological rigorethics

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Type
Research Article
Information
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics , Volume 44 , March 2024 , pp. 4 - 18
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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