Differences in quality between Thai and international research articles in ELT

This study seeks to explore potential problems of English Language Teaching (ELT) academics in Thailand in getting their research published in international journals. Using content analysis, the study analyzes and compares 100 research articles published by ELT academics in Thailand with 100 research articles published in international journals. To analyze the articles, 25 specific quality categories, manifesting five generic aspects of quality are used. The main findings from the chi-square analysis comparing the two groups of the research articles reveal that five out of six quality categories associated with the literature review and two out of four with the discussion were shown to be significantly different with large effect sizes. The ratings in these seven categories suggest that the articles published by the academics in Thailand are of lower quality. The findings also show that these seven categories fall into three of the five generic quality aspects, namely, justification, awareness, and coherence. Possible explanations for the comparatively low quality of the Thai research articles include conflicts between national research policies and academics’ motivations for conducting research and national cultural values, issues that may also apply to academics in other peripheral countries.

► We examine quality differences in Thai and international research articles in ELT.
► Literature review & discussion sections of Thai research articles are of lower quality.
► 3 Problematic generic quality aspects are justification, coherence, and awareness.