Online Data Collection in Applied Linguistics

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers became resourceful and many transitioned to online methods for remote data collection, suddenly bringing many platforms and methods to prominence in new experimental contexts. As in-person data collection resumed, online data collection remained as these methods have proven particularly useful in the field of applied linguistics and especially Second Language Acquisition (SLA), which often requires researchers to recruit participants who are inherently difficult to find (e.g., individuals proficient in less-commonly taught languages or living in a context far from the researcher’s university). In this chapter, we highlight factors that researchers should consider when implementing online research along with a high-level troubleshooting guide. We cover recruitment, enhancing participant performance, implementation, and deployment. Within these topics, we highlight important technological, procedural, and participant privacy recommendations for visual, aural, and oral online data collection designs specially tailored for applied linguists.