them. The researcher only clearly stated the instructions instead of manipulating
or directing the participants.- Procedures: the familiarization test and the main test were conducted within 1 h
and a half with a short break in between. In the pilot study, the participants were
told to come to the office twice for the familiarization test and the main test
respectively, but they suggested that since the test itself lasted less than half an
hour, the two tests could be conducted on the same day. We could fully
understand their request, for junior and senior undergraduates were normally
busy with a variety of qualification tests and job-hunting. Hence, in the main
study, the familiarization test and main test were carried out within the same
period of time instead of on two separate days. There was a short break in
between so that they can refresh themselves a bit and carry on the main study
with full charge of energy. - Probing: in order to eliminate the researcher’sinfluence upon participants, in the
pilot study, the two participants was encouraged to think aloud by themselves
without the researcher’s probing, but later the participant would pause for a long
time and cling to one blank without proceeding to the next one. Therefore, in the
main study, carefully designed probing procedure was implemented according
to individual situations. - Interview: interview questions were modified after the pilot study. In the main
study, the follow-up semi-structured interview focused on the participants’
perception about the test. In order to avoid fatigue effect, brief and clear
questions were delivered in Chinese to ensure participants’full comprehension
in a short time and participants could choose either Chinese or English to answer
those questions.
of the Research........................................ 6.4 Data Collection Procedure of the Qualitative Part
of the Research
It is stated before that 17 students participated in the qualitative part of the study
and 16 data sets were valid. After participants arrived in the office, they werefirst
given a background questionnaire (refer to Appendix 3) tofill in their personal
information, i.e., their age, time of English learning, gender, name of college and
also their perception of the test on the whole. Thereafter, they were given the
instruction (refer to Appendix 3) on what they should do next while tackling the
TEM 8 mini-lecture, which helped them to get cognitively prepared for the TAP
data collection.
Second, they were given the trial version of the TEM 8 mini-lecture task and
practiced their verbalization skills; during the trial process, participants might keep
silent for a time occasionally, and then the researcher would give explanations to
help them better understand what thinking aloud really meant and what they were
required to do.
6.3 Qualitative Data Collection 77