This chapter offers a comprehensive guide to conducting an effective literature review and developing research questions—both essential components of the research process. We begin by defining a literature review and discussing its importance in shaping effective research. The chapter outlines the steps for conducting a thorough review, including identifying relevant sources, evaluating study quality, and synthesizing findings. We explore various types of literature reviews, their characteristics, and specific purposes, providing a clear understanding of what constitutes a good literature review. Additionally, the chapter guides you through developing research questions, emphasizing their significance and key characteristics. It also discusses various sources for formulating research questions and demonstrates how to create clear, concise, and effective questions for both qualitative and quantitative research. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to create effective literature reviews and research questions, which provide a solid foundation for your research projects.

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of reliability and validity in qualitative research. While in quantitative studies, reliability refers to the consistency of measurements, such as obtaining the same test results when administered repeatedly to the same group, qualitative research interprets these concepts differently. In qualitative research, reliability refers to consistency in the researcher’s observations and interpretations, while validity addresses the trustworthiness of the data collected. This chapter will emphasize the critical role of these concepts in ensuring robust qualitative studies. It explores key aspects like credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability, which serve as foundational measures of reliability and validity in qualitative studies. Practical strategies for ensuring reliability and validity, such as member checking, prolonged engagement, and triangulation, are also discussed in depth. By the end of the chapter, you will be prepared to apply these concepts and strategies to enhance the reliability and validity of your qualitative research, leading to more credible and trustworthy findings.

This chapter turns to memetic experimentation. Meme blends, meta-memes, or cases of ‘memeception’ (or recursivity in memes) all manipulate aspects of form to create new meaning effects. Antimemes, on the other hand, do not alter the form, but change the viewpoint structure and so, the meaning. Some memes, finally, appear to enjoy memetic form for form’s sake, and border on art forms; the so-called Loss meme is our main example here.

This chapter considers the use of pronouns, and how they relate to such roles as Meme Maker, Meme Character (depicted in a meme’s image), and Meme Viewer (i.e. the ‘reader’ of a given meme). One illustration of how odd pronouns actually behave in memes is to consider the use of I, which does not refer to the Meme Maker, but is used to represent embedded discourses attributed to a depicted Meme Character. Just as curious is the use of me, in patterns such as Me Verb-ing, or Me/Also Me, which apparently instruct us to look for Meme Maker in the meme’s image, which in fact shows an unrelated Meme Character (possibly non-human, like an animal), such that the depicted character represents the experience of the Meme Maker. Such examples show that deixis is used in unusual ways in memetic discourse, to support the expression of viewpoint and stance targeted in the meme, rather than to identify specific referents.

This chapter focuses on the role of quantitative research design in applied linguistics. It enables you to systematically gather and analyze data, providing a foundation for measuring variables, testing hypotheses, and making predictions. The chapter explores various types of quantitative research designs commonly used in the field, including experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, and survey research designs. It also discusses the characteristics of each design, highlighting their unique subtypes, advantages, and limitations. By the end of this chapter, you will be equipped to distinguish between different quantitative research designs, critically evaluate their application in applied linguistics research, and effectively apply these methods in your own research projects.

This chapter considers more platform-specific forms, exploiting possibilities such as the ready integration of emoji on X/Twitter or the integration with audio and video on TikTok. We focus on the expression of emotional meanings and stance, and also pay attention to the co-construction of memetic discourse by multiple discourse participants in online exchanges. Overall, we suggest that the easy transfer across platforms and modes reveals a kind of memetic mindset in which discourse takes shape online, even where this does not necessarily involve fully formed or identifiable memes in a strict sense.

This chapter examines the essential role of research in the field of applied linguistics, outlining its nature, scope, and significance in addressing real-world language-related challenges. It begins by defining applied linguistics, providing a foundation for understanding its multifaceted applications in areas such as language teaching, learning, communication, and language use. The chapter also traces the historical development of applied linguistics as an independent research discipline, emphasizing the theoretical and practical relevance of research in advancing the field. You will explore key domains of applied linguistics research, identifying their importance and interconnections, as well as the central research questions that drive inquiry. By examining the benefits and values of applied linguistics research, you will gain an understanding of how research informs and enhances practices within the field. By the end of this chapter, you will comprehend the nature and scope of applied linguistics as a discipline and recognize the contributions of research to your understanding of language-related issues.

This chapter explores the issue of validity in quantitative research. It covers various types of validity, such as face, content, construct, criterion, and predictive validity, and explains how each can be measured. The chapter also discusses internal and external validity, emphasizing their importance and potential threats, including selection bias, maturation, and history effects. You will learn effective strategies for mitigating these threats to ensure the robustness of your research. Key techniques such as careful sampling, appropriate recruitment procedures, and the use of statistical methods are explored to help you establish and maintain study validity. By the end, you will be equipped to design and conduct rigorous and valid research in applied linguistics.

This chapter sets the foundation for understanding key issues and concepts in research, emphasizing why research is essential, the different ways of knowing, and the principles that underpin scientific inquiry. By exploring these topics, you will gain a deeper appreciation of how research informs our understanding of the world and drives progress in various fields, including applied linguistics. A key focus of the chapter is on the principles of the scientific method and research design, which form the backbone of sound research. In addition, it outlines the essential components of research, the qualities that define high-quality studies, and the factors that contribute to their reliability, validity, and overall impact. By the end of this chapter, you will have a solid foundation in these critical aspects, preparing you to further develop your research skills and approach your research projects with confidence and clarity.