From belief to behavior: exploring what language research methods truly measure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36505/TheLinguisticProceedings/2025/16/01/022/000682Keywords:
methodology, self-report, elicited production, conversational analysisAbstract
Research on language use frequently relies on self-report questionnaires. Although efficient, this method primarily captures beliefs about language rather than language behaviour itself. This paper compares three methodological approaches: self-report questionnaires, an elicited-production task based on structured scenarios, and a semi-structured conversational task. Using examples from a study on self-presentation in Polish, the paper demonstrates the different types of data generated by each method, ranging from trait-level ratings to concrete utterances and co-constructed interaction. It is argued that combining these approaches provides a more comprehensive account of language use than relying on any single method alone, offering a broader methodological framework for psycholinguistic research.
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Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
