A Brief Analyzing Research into the Experiences of International Students

胡晓　王榛

Abstract：Studying abroad is not without its challenges， and problems international students encounter such as social isolation， culture shock and psychological distress etc. can impact on their study and overall experience. Therefore， doing some research about understanding the challenges faced by international students and then obtaining recommendations for improvement is of great necessity.

Key words：International Students； social isolation； Qualitative Approach

1. Introduction

In doing some researches， two research articles have been selected for this analysis； both are studies into the experiences of international students and the related coping strategies. International Students： A Vulnerable Student Population （Chui， Thomas， & Sherry， 2010） examines the experiences of international students at The University of Toledo highlighting problems such as adapting to a new culture. The article suggests that recommendations involve raising the profile of international students on campus， enhancing cross-cultural understanding， and creating opportunities for international students can improve their adjustment. Understanding the Coping Strategies of International Students： A Qualitative Approach （Khawaja & Stallman， 2011） reviews challenges identified by international students included adjustment， English language skills， academic difficulties etc. by using qualitative methodology. Additionally， the coping strategies as well as recommendations to future international students for a successful adaptation are also discussed. Both articles not only find out the counseling strategies of international students， but also provide information for enhancing students wellbeing.

Under the research questions mentioned above， the purpose of this paper is to analyze those two articles in relation to their research approaches， methodology， methods and ethics. To make the paper easy to browse， from now on， the former will be referred as ‘Article A while the ‘Article B stands for the latter.

2. Research Approach

When embarking on research it is essential to understand that research begins with a need to know， which might be put into a question and then investigated methodically （OToole & Beckett， 2010）. This systematic way of investigation does study into materials and sources， in order to “understand， describe， predict or control an educational or psychological phenomenon or to empower individuals in such contexts” （Dolby & Rahman， 2008， p.691）. Research paradigms are considered to be research frameworks that are shaped by theory， epistemology and ontology， which provide the researchers with the basis for what methodology might strengthen the research approach， and subsequently what methods might be applied throughout the research process （Grix， 2002）. In addition， the research paradigms can be categorized into various terms based on difference authors.

According to Mackenzie and Knipes categorization （2006）， Article A is based on a positivistic paradigm in which a belief that social behaviors can be studied through observation， tangible， and measurable outcomes （OToole & Beckett， 2010）. In the beginning， the research starts with a questionnaire-based study by asking question “What can international students tell us about their social， cultural and academic experiences which might enable improved support for them？” Because the study tends to examine the experiences of international students at The University of Toledo， so as to understand the challenges students encounter and then identify areas for further improvement. As positivism assumes that the social world can be studied and interpreted in the same way as the natural world， this positivist paradigm is associated with rationalistic empiricism and is connected with establishing causal relationships （Mackenzie & Knipe， 2006）. In addition， quantitative methods such as experiments， tests and scales rather than qualitative methods are used to collect and analyze data in Article A.

In contrast， the research in Article B seems to be based on an interpretive/constructive perspective， because the researchers intend to understand “the world of human experience” （Boden， Epstein， & Kenway， 2005， p.36） and indicate that the reality is more likely socially constructed （Grix， 2002）. To be more specific， as the challenges identified by international students， the researchers review three main social， academic and cultural elements， that is， the reported experiencing social isolation and loneliness， the unbalanced development of four English language skills， and cultural shock experienced by some of participants due to different types of beliefs and value systems.

In addition， by using qualitative methodology， the Article B explores international student personal stories to understand the difficulties they encounter when they study overseas， how they are influenced by their surrounding society， how they adjust their social roles and then redefine their identities within a foreign country and/or society. For example， one subject of this research is Stacy， a female Vietnamese who has courteous and passive style of the Asian international students. She reports that in her experience the social interactions between the domestic and international students seem superficial， and the communication between the international students and their host country is often stilted due to the cultural and social barriers. As to one of the educational difficulties， Stacy as an international student emphasizes that spoken –listening language problems are far more than read—written language problems. Based on the subjects narratives， and the researchers hermeneutics， it seems that the persons reality is socially constructed as a result of his experience and how it is affected by culture and social interactions. Therefore， Article B can be considered to be in an interpretive perspective.

3. Methodology and Methods

Methodology is the collection of methods or approaches used when research is undertaken； the frame of reference for the research is influenced by the paradigm in which theoretical perspective is developed （Boden et al.， 2005）. Methods are the series of processes and techniques applied to collect and analyze data， they are affected by the paradigm and research question （Mackenzie & Knipe， 2006）.

As mentioned in the previous section， Article A is based on a positivist paradigm which lends itself to quantitative methods where data is collected and analyzed by using statistics. At first， an online survey is sent via email to more than 1，100 international students that taking up approximately two-thirds of the Universitys international student population. The recruitment of participants is done with the assistance of the Office of International Students at The University of Toledo， and those participants are completely anonymous. As internet-based research has been recommended as a useful methodology for studying international students， this research is conducted via an internet survey instrument called Survey Monkey， so as to elicit quite detailed responses from international students about many of their own experiences. The fields explored in the survey are derived from a broader literature review on the experience of international study. Both open-ended and closed questions are used in this survey， in order to obtain a closer appreciation of international students experiences. For example， respondents are asked questions such as “Can you tell me if youve encountered any difficulties here at the campus and what they might be？”， “Have you experienced any problems due to language barriers here？ If so， can you describe them？ ” Some closed questions are also listed， such as “Think about your experience here， have you felt included in the University community？” with the option of answering “Yes”， “No”， “Somewhat” or “I Dont Know”.

Trice and Yoo （2007） discuss that the quantitative data used in study is generated by questionnaire and it is then analyzed through the use of statistics. Carter （2007） adds that the analysis of statistical significance might be used to establish the reliability and validity of the study as is appropriate for rigorous positivistic researches. In the Article A， researchers tend to use questionnaire， because the interview responses are a mixture of quantitative and qualitative through the applying of both open and closed questions. Closed question responses， for instance， questions that elicit sample “Yes” or “No” may lend themselves qualification and statistical analysis. However， when investigating Article A， it seems that researchers do not make it clear that they are doing their research by applying valid and reliable methods. The participants of this research are randomly selected subjects， ranging from various countries （more than 30 countries）， genders （both male and female students）， age groups （from 18 to 44）， beliefs （Muslim， Buddhism etc.）， and cultural background. With this random selection， Creswell （2009） argues that the represented samples can provide the ability to generalize the focused population. However， the survey has a low response rate， only answered by 121 international students （a little over 10% response rate）； therefore， the conclusion based on a small sample is questionable.

Besides， unbalanced gender groups and the marital status of participants can make the validity and reliability of the results doubtfully. According to the research， 85 male （70.2%） and 36 female （29.8%） have taken part in the survey， while 41 （33.9%） of the participants are married and 79 （66.1%） are single. In terms of the marital status of participants， no participants indicate they are divorced. It seems apparent that when discussing the experiences of international students， gender and marital status might be considered. However， different genders share different opinions with the opposed group. In term of marital status which including parent-child relationship， working history and income level is more likely to influence peoples attitudes. As Carter （2007） discusses that in quantitative data validity might be improved through sampling carefully. Thus， under the conditions of the number difference of genders and the marital status， the result seems to be manipulated and can lead to doubt about its validity and reliability.

In general， the validity and reliability of the research by Chui et al. （2010） can be questioned as the small sample size and there is no indication of how the data is collected， stored and analyzed. The researchers also do not mention what process they use for transcribing data and what kind of tools are used to analyze the data.

On the other hand， the researchers in Article B conduct their research in an interpretive /constructive perspective， which predominately operates using qualitative methods where observations and interviews provide subjective data on social phenomena. Khawaja and Stallman （2011） claim that using qualitative methodology， the study is more likely to seek complement findings from previous studies regarding understanding both the challenges international students experience， but also the specific practical strategies they found successful in overcoming issues. In order to explore international students narratives and personal experience， a series of in-depth interviews is used to obtain the useful data. There are 2200 international students （1200 men and 1000 women） participating in the focus group， with mean age 27.32 years （SD =5.46； range = 20-40）. Some （59.1%） of them are single and others （41.9%） are married， and their mean duration of stay in Australia is 14.63 months （SD = 9.48； range =3-36）. The in-depth interviews developed for the focus groups consists of two main questions. At first， the participants are asked to comment on “the difficulties of the international students” and the follow-up probes are related to the difficulties. During the second step， participants may share their advice for assisting their mates by asking to comment on ‘what are their ideal coping strategies”. Follow-up probes are associated with effective strategies the participants prefer their fellow to implement. In addition， in order to control the series of in-depth interviews towards the research topic， which understands the coping strategies of international students， the researchers state that they have pre-interview meetings and preliminary interview sessions with participants.

As mentioned before， validity and reliability provide credibility to the research study， ensuring it is plausible and can support rigorous questioning （OToole & Beckett， 2010）. The methods chosen for the study affect what instruments are used to minimize error in data collection and analysis， and any bias that might influence the results （Trice & Yoo， 2007）. When looking at the study by Khawaja and Stallman （2011） it can be seen that the Article B has high validity and reliability. Because of first of all， in order to strengthen its validity， more than two different methods are used to the data collection. Both sets of data have proved to support each other which can make the researchers feel more confident of their research findings. In this research， one of the methods used to code， sort and categories textual data is called MAX QDA （MAX qualitative data analysis）. The data collected from focus group discussions， is stripped of any identifying information and imported into this software for analysis； while the text is coded through a process of scrolling through text and color emphasizing related passages and assigning open codes to them. As emphasized in OToole and Becketts （2010） article， the computer software program is available to assist the researcher to do code， sort and analyze.

Secondly， according to the research， the researchers have a pre-meeting for the purpose of research question controlling. This is because prior to analyzing the data the researchers may identify the assessments or criteria with which they will search to answer the question. Examining data from various angles， treating data critically and then returning to the research will assist researchers understand the connections and gaps in preparation for the publication （OToole & Beckett， 2010）. Thirdly， in the process of collecting data， researchers provide opportunities for participants to review their transcripts and then make corrections， because the researchers want to ensure the interview questions presented to each participant are the same. This appropriate way of using a time scale is suitable and can add confidence to the validity and reliability of the data （Dolby & Rahman， 2008）. In addition， twenty percent of transcribed data is randomly selected for inter-rater reliability， and the data is coded independently by a second research assistant who trained in qualitative analysis and specialized in coding the data. Consequently， the reliability between the two coders is 80.39%.

4. Ethics

When undertaking research， issues of ethics should be carefully considered since they are closely related to the research project （OToole & Beckett， 2010）. OToole and Beckett （2010） highlight a guide for ethical considerations in research： informed consent， voluntary participation， avoiding harm， anonymity and confidentiality， deception， fruitful results and so forth. Apart from ethics， researchers hold a position of power. Because they will examine and investigate the experience of participants， then make a decision about what is to be researched and how to do （OToole & Beckett， 2010）.

Researching in Article A， it is difficult to identify issues about ethics and power， since there is little information about the method used for the recruitment of participants. In the study completed by Chui et al. （2010）， 121 international students respond the online survey and the recruitment of participants is done with the assistance of the Office of International Students at The University of Toledo， and those participants are completely anonymous. However， the researchers fail to declare whether the participants are volunteers， or are they selected by the officers； hence， making the issues of power questionable. This is because the method of selecting participants could have impacted on the positions of power and may affect the findings. In contrast， Article B makes this issue clearly. According to Khawaja and Stallmans （2011） statement， ethical clearance is obtained from the universitys Ethical committee. Participants are recruited through the International Student Service electronic system and interested students are invited to attend one of the four focus groups. Furthermore， participants are informed that their participation is voluntary in nature and they are free to discontinue at any time. Khawaja and Stallman （2011） also add that the researchers are trained extensively who can work with international students effectively. The session is audio recorded and later transcribed. During the process， only one research assistant is present to take down extra notes in order to ensure that all comments are recorded.

Is a research strategy likely to cause harm， and can such bad influence being justified？ Obviously， avoiding harm in doing research is another crucial issue. When analyzing in Article A， it seems that it is hard to find the harm issue， as it does not mention apparently. However， researchers from Article B claim that they work hard in avoiding harm. In order to create the relaxed atmosphere， the participants are conducted in a pleasant meeting room where chairs are arranged around the table and refreshments are offered to them. Since the previous investigations have revealed that adjustment to foreign country and a university is a challenge for overseas students， who may subsequently feel distress. Moreover， in order to avoid deception， the participants are informed that the purpose of the study is to “validate the already existing information as well as to collate ideas and strategies that promote adjustment and academic success among international students”（Khawaja & Stallman， 2011， p. 207）. Hence， the useful information can make participants feel comfortable.

In terms of preservation of confidentiality， Chui et al. （2010） inform that their study is given ethical clearance by the Institutional Review Board of The University of Toledo. Since the research is conducted via an internet survey instrument， the responses of participants are proved to be completely anonymous. What is more， researchers mention that by applying an online survey， research participants tend to speak in their own words and feel less stressed. Like Article A， Khawaja and Stallman （2011） maintain that the confidential and anonymous issues in their research are carried out effectively， because all identifying data might be removed from the results in the final step.

In addition， two groups of researchers from Article A and B highlight that their researches treat participants equally. Especially in Article B， Khawaja and Stallman （2011， p.207） argue that “a special emphasis is on ensuring that the discussion is not dominated by one or two members.” Because the facilitators will continuously monitor the participation， go around the group and gently encourage the less vocal participants to express their opinion.

Finally， what should be mentioned here is the gift prepared for the participants. In Article B， researchers emphasize that at the end of the session； the participants are thanked and presented with a $20 gift voucher for their participation in the study. However， this way of expression thanks seems to be an unethical incentive， as it may make participants believe they could not obtain the gift unless they finish the test. To avoid the mentioned matter， participants are more likely to gain the award from the beginning of the test only due to their participation.

5. Conclusion

After carefully considering the two articles based on research approaches， methodology， methods and ethics， the Article A is less organized， and cannot be considered both valid and reliable. In doing the research， Chui et al. （2010） tend to use questionnaire， as the interview responses are a combination of quantitative and qualitative. However， owing to the low response rate， the conclusion based on a small sample is questionable. Furthermore， the researchers fail to indicate how the data is collected， what kinds of tools are used to analyze data， and what processes they use for transcribing data. Meanwhile the research in Article B is more organized， and seems to be much more considerable to both valid and reliable. Khawaja and Stallman （2011） intend to explore international students personal stories by using qualitative methods， thus， a serious of in-depth interviews is applied to obtain the essential data. In order to enhance its validity， researchers use more than two kinds of method to collect data. What is more， a pre-meeting for the purpose of controlling the research question seems reasonable. In the end of the process， researchers provide participants another chance to review their transcripts and then make correction， this way of using a time scale might strengthen confidence to the validity and reliability of the data.

When considering the ethics and power， it seems that Chui et al. （2010） fail to identify those two issues in Article A， because there is little information about the way of participants recruitment. The conclusion made by the participants who are selected by the officers， or who are participating voluntary is quite different. Hence， the selection methods may lead to the issues of power questionable. In contrast， researchers in Article B declare the power issue clearly and inform that their participants are voluntary in nature and they have right to discontinue at any time. As to the issue of avoiding harm， Article A also fails to mention apparently while researchers in Article B maintain that they avoid the harm issue effectively. Creating relaxed atmosphere and informing the purpose of study in the end， have proved to be lessen detrimental influence. With regard to preservation of confidentiality and equality， both two articles state that the confidential and anonymous issues in the researches are carried out successfully， while paying more attention that the researches treat participants equally. The last point is about award， as mentioned in Article B participants might receive a $ 20 gift voucher as a way of being grateful for participation. Nevertheless， this way of expression thanks may result in participants hesitate to discontinue the activity， and then finally the equality would be slightly affected. To make the whole process more fair， participants might receive the award from the start only because of their participation.

In short， the term research defined as an investigation for establishing facts and reaching new conclusions is a complex process， because it is a systematic approach which is used for data collection， analysis， interpretation and so forth. As Boden et al. （2005） claim， research is undertaken to meet the researchers curious in upgrading their knowledge about a specific interest or theory； therefore， in order to carry out the research effectively， it is crucial to make full understand of the basic knowledge such as research approaches， methodology， methods and ethics and so on. That is to say， for the purpose of avoiding difficulties arising from misunderstanding or lack of interpretation， researchers are more encouraged to comprehend the key terms and digest the in-depth meanings before doing the research.

【Reference】

[1] Boden， R.， Epstein， D.， & Kenway， J. （2005）. Getting started on research. In The Research Process （pp. 36-49）. London/ Thousand Oaks/ New Delhi： Sage Publications.

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【作者簡介】

胡晓（1987—），女，四川成都人，四川工程职业技术学院助教，硕士研究生毕业于澳大利亚莫纳什大学，主要研究方向：对外英语教学。

王榛（1986—），女，四川德阳人，四川工程职业技术学院助教，西南交通大学硕士研究生在读，主要研究方向：项目管理。