03-Research Seminar

Sorina Postolea
Introduction to Research Seminar (3)
RESEARCH DESIGNS
The most crucial step in developing a methodological design that will move you from
questions to answers is making sure that your study starts from a well-defined question (or
questions). Articulating a good research question/hypothesis is a key element in any design: not
knowing where you want to go makes it hard, if not impossible, to get there.
The next step is finding a path to arrive from your question to an answer (or answers), i.e.
constructing a research plan or design. There may be several ways to arrive at an answer, but the
trick is to choose a methodology that is appropriate for the question, the researcher, and the context.
Moreover, each methodological design has the potential to draw out answers from a somewhat
different perspective. In your quest for an answer you may choose to follow the beaten path and use
well-established methods and conventions, or stray off this path to find your own methodology and
establish your own rules. The following table presents the pros and cons of both approaches:
(O'Leary, 2004, p. 88)
A successful design addresses the question – it does not deviate from the chosen topic and focuses
on finding an answer to the initial problem/hypothesis –, is within the researcher’s interests and
capabilities – the researcher must be realistic about their own capacity to handle the issue at hand,
and is doable – it takes into account the availability of resources and the time needed to carry out
the research.
Task 1: Brainstorm some very general designs for the following research topics:
- Theatre-of-the-Absurd elements in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Technical constraints of subtitling
- The role of Leon Trotsky in revolutionary Russia
- Rhyme in poetry translation
- Cultural elements in the English translation of Dan Lungu’s Sunt o babă comunistă
Sorina Postolea
Qualitative vs. quantitative methods
Traditionally, research has been carried out using quantitative and qualitative methods or a
combination of the two.
Quantitative research Qualitative research
 involves data collection procedures that result  involves data collection procedures that result
primarily in numerical data which is then analysed mainly in open-ended, non-numerical data which is
primarily by statistical methods. Typical example: then analysed primarily by non-statistical methods.
survey research using a questionnaire, analysed Typical example: interview research, with
by statistical software such as SPSS. transcribed recordings.
 originates in the scientific method and  first introduced into the field of sociology in the
positivism 1910s
 focuses on numbers  uses a wide variety of data (interviews, texts etc.)
 uses a priori categorization, the categories and and description
values used are established before the study  flexible and emergent methodologies
 focuses on variables, not cases; less interested  its main objective is to describe various social
in individual cases, more interested in the phenomena
features of groups  concerned with individual subjective opinions
 uses statistics and its language and feelings
 uses standardized procedures to assess  small sample sizes
objective reality  fundamentally interpretive, the outcome is the
 searches for generalizations and universal laws outcome of the researcher’s interpretation
Mixed methods
In recent years, many studies, including in the fields of linguistics and translation, have used mixed
methodologies, which combine the QUAL-QUAN methods.
Mixed research
 involves different combinations of qualitative and quantitative research either at the data collection or at
the analysis levels. Typical example: consecutive and interrelated questionnaire and interview studies.
 originates in the 1950s in the field of social  combining qualitative and quantitative methods
sciences may bring out the best of both paradigms
 also known as multitrait-multimethod analysis  produces multi-level analyses, providing data on
 in mixed approaches, qualitative and both the nature (qualitative) and frequency
quantitative methods may be mixed either (quantitative) of particular phenomena
sequentially (e.g. a quantitative research phase  mixed research produces highly reliable
followed by a qualitative one) or in the outcomes, since data is analysed from various
interpretation of data, which may be ‘quantified’ viewpoints
or ‘qualitized’
It is the task of the researcher to choose the methods and approaches that would best suit the topic
under analysis.
Task 2: Have another look at the topics in Task 1. What would be the best methods (qualitative,
quantitative, mixed) to be used in each case? What kind of data would you expect to use in
each case?
Works Cited / Further Reading

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methodologies. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
O'Leary, Z. (2004). The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: SAGE Publications.
Sorina Postolea
10 AREAS OF RESEARCH IN TRANSLATION STUDIES
Task 1: Let’s say you have to write an essay in translation studies. Think of some possible areas
and research questions that you could approach. What’s the first thing that comes to your
mind?
1. Text Analysis and Translation

- source text analysis (aspects that could be sources of difficulty in translation); comparison of
translations and their source texts; comparison of translations and non-translated texts;
translation with commentary (the researcher translates the source text)
2. Translation Quality Assessment

- source text oriented (e.g. fidelity vs. originality); target text oriented (degree of naturalness and
integration into the target culture); translation effects (on readers, clients, critics etc.)
3. Genre Translation
- strategies used in translating various literary (drama/poetry/prose etc.) or non-literary
(technical, legal, tourism, medical, etc.) genres
4. Multimedia Translation
- re-voicing/ dubbing (constraints, case studies, role played by translator etc.)
- sur-/subtitling (analysis of subtitles, constraints etc.)
5. Translation and Technology

- evaluation of translation software; localization; website translation
- place of technology in translator training
6. Translation History
- monographs of important Romanian translators; texts translated at particular times (e.g. what
authors were translated during the communist years in Romania?)
7. Terminologies, Specialised Languages

- features of terms and specialised languages in a particular field; terms and their
translations/equivalents in the target language
8. Interpreting
- behaviours, language used, rules followed, case studies
9. The translation Process

- workspace organisation, protocols followed by professionals, agencies
10. Translator Training and the Profession

- curricula and activities used in the training of translators; status of translation professionals

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Sorina Postolea

Introduction to Research Seminar (3)

(O'Leary, 2004, p. 88)

Qualitative vs. quantitative methods

Works Cited / Further Reading

10 AREAS OF RESEARCH IN TRANSLATION STUDIES

1. Text Analysis and Translation

2. Translation Quality Assessment

5. Translation and Technology

7. Terminologies, Specialised Languages

9. The translation Process

10. Translator Training and the Profession

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