An invited SLA lecture
Dr. Luke Plonsky
Professor, Applied Linguistics
Northern Arizona University
Thursday, November 6, 3:00-4:00 pm
1418 Van Hise Hall
Please note: Dr. Plonsky will give a brownbag earlier in the day on November 6 at 11:30am in 1418 Van Hise Hall on AI and Questionable Research Practices: Ethical Considerations for Authors, Journal Editors, and Reviewers.
About the lecture
It wasn’t until fairly recently that we as a field began to reflect on and systematically examine the quality of our research (Gass et al., 2021). This work has led to real progress on fronts ranging from sampling and design to data analysis, researcher training, open science, and replication (e.g., McManus, 2024; Plonsky, 2024; Sudina, 2023). Another focus of this meta-science movement has involved an expanded view of research ethics (De Costa, 2016; Yaw et al., 2023). In this talk, I first propose a framework for defining the notion of ‘study quality’ that includes a broad understanding of the many micro-ethical considerations found throughout the research process (i.e., Kubanyiova, 2008). I will focus in particular on the notion of ‘questionable research practices’ (QRPs) both conceptually and as found in recent studies in applied linguistics and beyond (Fanelli, 2009; Larsson et al., 2023). QRPs are decisions that may be considered more or less ethical depending on contextual factors (e.g., researcher intent, resources available). This ambiguity presents a challenge for those who train novice researchers, highlighting the need for conversations about how we approach decision-making in our research process and how we navigate the ethical dimensions of these decisions. In addition to presenting results on the frequency and perceived severity of QRPs in applied linguistics, I will suggest a number of ways that we can improve the quality of our efforts and thereby also accelerate knowledge generation in the language sciences.
About the speaker
Luke Plonsky (PhD, Michigan State) is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Northern Arizona University. His scholarly work, addressing substantive and methodological topics ranging from the effects of language learning apps and individual differences to sampling, ethics, open science, measurement, and meta-analytic methods, has appeared in over 100 articles, book chapters, and books. Luke serves as Editor of Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Managing Editor of Foreign Language Annals, and Founding Editor of Applied Linguistics Press. In addition to an Honorary Professorship at University of St. Andrews (Scotland), Luke has held faculty appointments at Georgetown University and University College London, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain in 2021.
Sponsors: Second Language Acquisition PhD Program, with the Language Institute; Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+ (and additionally the German Program); Department of English; Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Lectures Committee.
Contact: Jana Martin
The UW-Madison Language Institute is committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Language Institute associate director Jana Martin three business days in advance.