Reviewed by Ferit Kılıçkaya, Middle East Technical University

For many graduate students, reading and conducting research can be a painstaking process without an understanding of how a research paper is written, from the abstract to the conclusion. With this book, the author aims to provide teachers, students, and novice researchers of applied linguistics and second language acquisition with an efficient method to analyze and evaluate research written by others as well as themselves.

In Ch. 1, the author discusses how an abstract is written, highlighting specific points. In Ch. 2, what a problem statement includes and how it is constructed is discussed. Ch. 3 deals with the relevance and importance of a literature review, with a focus on relating the review to the problem statement. Ch. 4 presents how to devise research questions and hypotheses and how to identify variables and their relationship with research questions and hypotheses, and more specifically with the findings.

Chs. 5–7 discuss the methods section of a research paper, which is largely considered to be the heart of any research. In Ch. 5, the author helps readers to know what constitutes the methods section, such as participants and materials, and then moves forward to validity and reliability issues. In Ch. 6, procedures and research design are discussed in relation to instruments and ethics, with a detailed discussion of classifications of research design and their basic but vital features. Ch. 7 discusses which procedures are applied for data analysis and how data analysis responds to the objectives of the proposed study.  Ch. 8 reports on how results can be presented and touches upon fundamental statistical knowledge, such as descriptive and inferential statistics, providing examples for each. The final chapter handles the discussion and conclusion sections of a research paper, presenting how conclusions can be drawn from the findings gained through data analysis, with a focus on the research questions and/or hypotheses. This chapter also elaborates on limitations, future research, and practical implications, which should be addressed in a research paper.

Overall, the author has succeeded in providing anyone working in the field of applied linguistics and/or second language acquisition with tools for reading and understanding the elements of a research paper. What makes the book especially appealing is that in the discussion of each of the elements are clear examples and questions to help readers engage with the material. The exercises and tasks in the workbook, the key terms in the glossary section, and the charts in the appendices, such as a flowchart to be used before choosing the appropriate measurement test, further enrich the book.