Introduction
This section discusses the research design that will be applied to the study regarding the development of critical thinking skills among students taking English at Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) concerning general debating activities. A qualitative research paradigm will be employed to capture rich, descriptive accounts and understand experiences, perceptions, and dimensions related to developing critical thinking in speaking.
Research Design and Approach
Qualitative Research Approach
A qualitative approach will be used in this project. The project is set to be designed to elaborate on the experiences, perceptions, discourses, and nuances surrounding the development of critical thinking skills among English significant students at HUST. Qualitative research was applied to this study because it offered a broad investigation of complex human behaviors. This, therefore, calls for a complete understanding of how certain factors will influence the development of critical thinking through methods such as interventions conducted through interviews, observation, and the factors involved in document analysis.
Rationale for Qualitative Research
The design and qualitative research approach are appropriate for several reasons: firstly, it converges with the purpose of the study through gaining a better understanding of the experiences and perceptions described by the participants; secondly, it would be of specific value towards qualitative investigations looking at a situation in its natural setting where permissions can be given to capturing data rich in its context. Thirdly, qualitative research is flexible in its approach. It allows the development of some emerging methods and themes during the study. Ways that research can be done or methodologies can thus be developed or changed during the study.
Participants
The target population is focused on the students from the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology. That is due to pragmatic limitations, with a reduced proportion of the target population affected by the research. The selection of the six volunteer students to account for the student’s perception and experiences of debating activities toward critical thinking development is the parameter in participating in the research study.
Data Collection
Data will be collected through interviews with focus groups, observation, and document analysis. Data for this study will mainly be drawn from the semi-structured focus group interviews of student volunteers sampled for the research. One will seek to determine the participants’ understanding of the effectiveness of the debating activities for critical thinking skills. Personal questions and the development of critical thought by people’s personal experiences in a debating environment will be set in place. Through this, diversified answers on the impact that debate activities may receive regarding critical thinking can be yielded.
Besides, there shall be observations that accompany the views from the interviews when the activities are on. The observations shall provide a setting that makes it easy to understand the nature in which the students interact with debate tasks and subsequently with critical thinking skills as a whole. In effect, the dynamics of student engagement with the elements of critical thinking come into the fore.
Further, document analysis supports the qualitative data that will be recorded through interviews and observations (Staller, 2022). For the exact cause, most pertinent documents will be reviewed, like course materials and syllabi and prior research focused on the same. This is to give more light on interpreting collected data and backup information. The theoretical underpinning and pedagogical approaches to critical thinking development could comprise the continuation of the existing literature and some pedagogical artifacts.
Data Analysis
Very systematic multi-staged processes will be used: In the process, especially the data collected from interviews, observations, and documents will be analyzed qualitatively. Without exception, all interviews have to be transcribed verbatim from the tape recordings first so that the information presented will be in the way it was said. There will be detailed and systematic data coding to identify recurring themes, patterns, and categories relevant to critical thinking and debating activities (Snyder, 2024). The thematic content analysis will then be utilized to find the best organization and interpretation of the coded data, as described by Dehalwar and Sharma (2024). Upon testing, it will describe the overall themes and narratives that come to illuminate from the content tested. In addition, to ensure the validity of the findings in the study and give the participants a chance to play a role, members’ checking will be carried out by involving them in validating interpretations of the analysis for their congruency with experiences. This will help in getting comprehensive ideas regarding the relationship between debating activities and critical thinking skills among English majors at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.
Ethical Considerations
The research programs will adhere to a protocol that will protect an individual’s risk and rights. Participants of the research shall be informed of the purpose, the e procedure to be undertaken, and the aim of the research and be assured that they have a right to withdraw from the study at any time with no penalty. This ensures that the identity is kept confidential, and any information concerning a person’s identity will always remain anonymous when reporting or disseminating the findings (Pascale et al., 2022). Again, it enhances the openness and support of the participants when interacting with the facilitators in a manner that gives respect and dignity to foster sharing experiences. The following ethical principles shall apply to the integrity and validity of research that considers consent, harm, and rights for all actors at any university or educational institute in the country.
Conclusion
In other words, the above-prepared methodology for this study will direct, in a systematic step-by-step manner, to collect, analyze, and interpret data about the development of critical thinking in the debating activities of English-major students at Hanoi University of Science and Technology. It is a research paper purposed to give an incisive outlook into the efficiency of speaking activities in enhancing critical thinking through English learning.
References
Dehalwar, K., & Sharma, S. N. (2024). Exploring the Distinctions between Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. Think India Journal, 27(1), 7-15. https://www.thinkindiaquarterly.org/index.php/think-india/article/view/20451
Morgan, H. (2022). Conducting a qualitative document analysis. The Qualitative Report, 27(1), 64-77. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5044
Pascale, J., Lineback, J. F., Bates, N., & Beatty, P. (2022). Protecting the identity of participants in qualitative research. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, 10(3), 549-567. https://doi.org/10.1093/jssam/smab048
Snyder, M. (2024). Your Qualitative Research” Guide on the Side”: A Review of Marilyn Lichtman’s Qualitative Research in Education: A User’s Guide . Qualitative Report, 29(2). DOI 10.46743/2160-3715/2024.7081
Staller, K. M. (2022). Confusing questions in qualitative inquiry: Research, interview, and analysis. Qualitative Social Work, 21(2), 227-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250221080533
Tomaszewski, L. E., Zarestky, J., & Gonzalez, E. (2020). Planning qualitative research: Design and decision making for new researchers. International journal of qualitative methods, 19, 1609406920967174. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920967174
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