Chapter 3 Research Methodology
III. In-depth interviews:
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3-2 Research methods
The research methods of this study include literature analysis, case study, and in-depth interviews. They are as follows:
I. Literature analysis:
In order to have a background literature review on the theory of internationalization of higher education, the development of internationalization of Chinese higher education, and the policies of English teaching in Chinese higher education, the researcher collected the references from different libraries in National Chengchi University in Taiwan, bookstores in Taipei and Beijing, and the Internet. The source of the references includes books, journals, theses, reports and the information collected from different databases on the Internet.
The websites used in this research include:
Peking University: http://www.pku.edu.cn/
Ministry of Education of the People’s of Republic China: http://www.moe.edu.cn/
College English Test Band 4 and Band 6: http://www.cet.edu.cn/
Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com.tw/schhp?hl=zh-TW National Chengchi University: http://www.nccu.edu.tw/
II. Case study:
PKU is used for the case study in this research because it is the first comprehensive university in China founded in 1898 and has been a leading institution in Chinese higher education since it was set up, it has been listed on the “211 Project” and “985 Project”, and its internationalization has been significantly implemented. The implementation of English teaching in PKU and what functions that English teaching has performed in internationalization of PKU will be the main points of this research.
Administrative support, international programs, faculty members, and international
and domestic students of PKU will be the main targets in this study.
III. In-depth interviews:
In order to have a clear idea on the implementation of English teaching in PKU and what functions that English teaching has performed in internationalization of PKU, the researcher needs to conduct interviews with staff members, faculty members, and international and domestic students of PKU.
1. Interview with staff members
The reason for interviewing administrative staff is to know about the policies and development of English teaching in internationalization of PKU. The researcher has
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interviewed five people in this group. Interviewee A is one of the leaders in the Office of International Relations (OIR). Interviewee B is an administrative staff in the Office of Graduate School. Interviewee C is one of the leaders in the English Teaching Research Office. Interviewee D is an administrative staff of Peking University Library.
Interviewee E is an administrative staff of College English Research Office. Please see table 3-1 for the information of the interviews.
Table 3-1 Interviews with staff members Interviewee A Administrative staff Face to face 2012/5/14 Office of
International Relations B Administrative staff Face to face 2012/5/14 Office of
Graduate School C Administrative staff Face to face 2012/5/14 Office of
Graduate School D Administrative staff Face to face 2012/5/15 Peking
University Library E Administrative staff Telephone 2012/5/16
2. Interview with faculty members
The reason for interviewing faculty members is to know about the implementation of English teaching in internationalization of PKU. Since Guanghua School of Management (GSM) is the most internationalized school in PKU, the researcher then interviewed two faculty members of GSM. Interviewee A is an assistant professor of the Department of Applied Economics and Interviewee B is an assistant professor of the Department of Finance. Both of the interviewees’ highest degrees were granted at abroad. Please see table 3-2 for the information of the interviews.
Table 3-2 Interviews with faculty members Interviewee A Assistant Economics Face to face 2012/5/15 Guanghua
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Finance Face to face 2012/5/15 Guanghua School of Management
3. Interview with students
The reason for interviewing students is also to know about the implementation of English teaching in internationalization of PKU. Since most international programs are included in graduate schools, the researcher then interviewed three graduate students. Interviewee A is an international student, and Interviewee B & C are both Chinese students. All interviewees are from the International Master of Business Administration (IMBA) program of GSM. Please see table 3-3 for the information of the interviews.
Table 3-3 Interviews with university students Interviewee assistance and arrangement of OIR of PKU, the researcher was able to interview staff members, faculty members, and students. The researcher went to PKU to conduct the interviews and campus observation during 2012/5/14-18. The graduate students sent back their replies by email during 2012/5/24-30. Please refer to appendix 2 for the interview records. All the data collected from the methods was analyzed in order to gain findings.
3-3 Research procedure
Regarding the research procedure, first of all, the researcher discussed and decided the title of thesis with his advisor. Then the researcher collected references from libraries, bookstores, the Internet, and different resources. Next, the researcher discussed and worked out the outline of thesis with his advisor. Then the researcher wrote a thesis proposal. After the researcher wrote a thesis proposal, he started to schedule a trip to Peking University for fieldwork. Then the researcher conducted interviews with staff
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members, faculty members, and students of PKU. Next, the researcher analyzed the data gained from literature review, case study, and in-depth interviews and drafted the thesis. Finally, the researcher completed the thesis and provided recommendations.
Please see the following figure for research procedure.
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Research Procedure
Discuss and decide the title of thesis with advisor. (2008.6)
Collect references from libraries, the Internet, and different resources. (2008.7-2012.4) (Note: The researcher dropped out during September 2009 to August 2010 and February 2011 to January 2012 because of personal reasons.
Discuss and work out the outline of thesis with advisor. (2008.7-2009.3)
Write a thesis proposal. (2012.2-2012.4)
Prepare the questions for the interviews and schedule the trip to China. (2012.4- 2012.5)
Conduct in-depth interviews and class/campus observations in PKU. (2012.5)
Analyze the collected references and data.
Then draft the thesis. (2012.5-2012.6)
Complete the thesis and provide recommendations. (2012.7)
Figure 3-3 Research Procedure