Making a Case for New Directions in English Language Research at University of Cape Coast (UCC)
A Meta-Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53696/27753719.4192Keywords:
research synthesis, research topics/domains, research paradigms, theoretical framework, MPhil thesesAbstract
Drawing insights from existing studies on research synthesize (e.g. Farsani & Babaii, 2018/2020; Plonsky & Oswald, 2015), this study engages in a meta-analysis of MPhil theses from the Department of English, University of Cape Coast (UCC), in order to make a case for new directions for language research in the department. A critical content analytical approach was adopted to analyse eighteen (18) theses purposively sampled from the University of Cape Coast Institutional Theses Repository. The analysis focused on the research topics/domains, theoretical frameworks adopted, and research methods used. The study revealed following: (a) most of the studies were conducted in the domain of the media; (b) while most of the studies employed the qualitative research paradigm, very few adopted the mixed method approach and no study employed the quantitative approach; and (c) most of the studies were underpinned by the Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) theory while few employed the Theory of Nativization and Genre Theory. The study contends that there should be a shift in the focus of MPhil thesis to make it possible for the adoption of the mixed method and quantitative approaches as well as theories such as pragmatics, language variation, generative linguistics and corpus stylistics.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Harry Ato Insaidoo, Joseph Benjamin Archibald Afful, Lucy Amoah Abedu
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