Resources on quantitative/statistical research for applied linguists

Abstract

The purpose of this review article is to survey and evaluate existing books on quantitative/statistical research in applied linguistics. The article begins by explaining the types of texts that will not be reviewed, then it briefly describes nine books that address how to do quantitative/statistical applied linguistics research. The review then compares (in prose and tables) the general characteristics of these nine books, and their coverage of conceptual and statistical topics. Examining all nine books together provides answers to three questions: What is the range of conceptual/statistical topics in applied linguistics? What are the most important conceptual/statistical topics in applied linguistics? And, how has the coverage of topics changed over the years? This review article should help readers sort through current books on how to do quantitative/statistical research so that they can locate one or more texts that will best meet their needs.