The Path in Behind and the Challenges in Front: A Methodological Synthesis of Iranian L۲ Papers

The present study is a methodological synthesis aiming to evaluate the adherence of Iranian L۲ papers to the study quality standards. Ten Iranian journals were selected based on the latest ranking of Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology (MSRT), and all experimental papers (N = ۳۶۷)  published from their beginnings were explored for study quality with regards to sampling, design, statistical tests, reporting practices and data sharing, and visual presentation. In the evaluation of the papers, the protocols proposed by Gass and Plonsky (۲۰۱۱) and Pagout and Plonsky (۲۰۱۷)  were moderated and some recent issues proposed by APA’s (۲۰۱۸) Journal Article Reporting Standards and some scholars (e.g., Hu & Plonsky, ۲۰۱۹; Khany & Tazik, ۲۰۱۹; Larson-Hall, ۲۰۱۷) were added. The results showed that while there were issues, like acceptable sample size, use of pre-testing, reporting descriptive and inferential statistics, and ensuring the reliability of instruments, that were acceptably adhered to quality standards, problematic areas existed in all five facets of quality, and the majority of them stayed constant or changed slightly over time. The shortcomings caused by such lack of adherence are discussed to identify the challenges in the way of improving the papers’ quality. Although the results are obtained from a specific context, the implications may be generalizable to other contexts where English is taught and researched as a foreign language.     

Keywords:

experimental studies , Iranian journals , methodological synthesis , study quality , experimental studies , Iranian journals , methodological synthesis , study quality