Research Design of College Students’ Perspectives and Employment of
Loanwords － A Case of Southern Taiwan University
In this study, we propose the following two different methods, including
qualitative and quantitative research. First of all, “qualitative research is a field of
inquiry in its own right. It crosscuts disciplines, fields, and subject matters” (Denzin
& Lincoln, 2005, p. 2). Using a different approach, Creswell (1994) notes that “the
definition of quantitative research as a type of research that is explaining phenomena
by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods
(in particular statistics).” Each method is used as a way to research different aspects of
education.
The study is divided into two parts. The first part of research explores the lexical
borrowing and loanword adoption using examples from three reference books. The
second part has been adapted and designed for interviews and surveys. The interviews
and questionnaire surveys focus on the perceptions of loanwords held by college
students based on their age, gender, major, status and language background. Finally,
through audio recording interviews and questionnaires we explore the participants’
personal thinking about how loanwords and external culture emerges and influences
our culture. Hence both qualitative and quantitative methods are significant in the
study.