Quantitative Research Methods in Linguistics provides HDR students with expert skills for undertaking quantitative analysis for their PhD thesis in linguistics and research beyond the degree. Students will acquire substantial knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to linguistics, including applied linguistics. Issues covered will include quantitative study design; collection, description, and visualisation of data; interpretation of results; and reporting of research findings. When discussing quantitative approaches, emphasis will be on the conceptual aspects of such procedures rather than on mechanical arithmetic aspects. Students will be given practical experience in descriptive and inferential statistical analysis and in computer tools to carry it out. They will undertake a systematic investigation applying their quantitative research skills in a final research project, which will evaluate the methods used in existing literature, present an innovative study design, and analyse the data using appropriate statistical techniques. Students are encouraged to work with their thesis data for the assessment items. Material submitted for assessment in this course may be incorporated into a student's thesis.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- identify and critically evaluate studies which use quantitative methods in linguistics and/or applied linguistics;
- apply quantitative research methods appropriately to original and worthwhile research questions;
- reflect on theory and practice to generate original knowledge;
- carry out descriptive and inferential analyses of large data sets, applying statistical methods; and
- design, carry out, and present cogently (in both a written and oral format) a complex investigation which demonstrates intellectual independence and deep understanding of quantitative methods.
Indicative Assessment
- Quantitative analysis exercises (500 words) (20) [LO 4]
- Research proposal (2500 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3]
- Final research project (5000 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,5]
- Research project presentation (10 min) (10) [LO 5]
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Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of practical laboratories
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
TBA on Wattle.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6360 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8344 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | N/A |