Chinese EFL academics’ perceptions of research quality: a phenomenological study

Abstract

This paper explores how Chinese academics, working in the field of English as Foreign Language Education in universities in China, conceptualise research quality. The paper uses a phenomenological approach and four qualitative methods (survey, interview, focus groups and document analysis) to investigate what a sample of these scholars perceive as high-quality research. We found that the participants viewed quality through various lenses and identified several different criteria. We categorised their elaboration of the criteria under three headings: methodology, contextualisation and impact. The participants nominated many general criteria that were similar to western standards of research quality, especially in relation to methodology; however, some contextual criteria were specific to the Chinese context. The paper indicates that there is much in the university research community that could be altered to enable people who are directly involved in research to disseminate their criteria for research quality, and potentially to affect and develop the quality of educational research in the Chinese context, and/or elsewhere.