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Analysis of research in CALL (1980–2000) with a reflection on CALL as an academic discipline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2004

ROBERT DEBSKI
Affiliation:
Horwood Language Centre, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, [email protected]

Abstract

Though we often speak of the development of CALL as an academic discipline and its growth as a field of inquiry, little evidence has to date been gathered to prove it. This descriptive study investigates the current state of and changes in CALL research output and its characteristics such as theoretical foundation, method of evidence gathering, and reporting standards. It is based on a numerical analysis of 91 research articles published in 1980–2000 in seven English language journals. CALL emerges from this study as a fast developing area of research, which draws on an increasingly diverse body of theory and methods from a number of cognate disciplines. CALL researchers are increasingly more confident about their research, as reflected in the high level of generalization present in the examined sample. This is not however matched by proper attention given in their reports to research credibility issues.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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