An Investigation into Data Collection Methods in Language Studies: A Movement towards Localizing Research in Iran

Given the important and fundamental role of culture in the way of thinking and reasoning of individuals in a society, this study intends to investigate the concept of culture in order to explore the cultural differences between the West and Iran, and to show that some data collection methods are not suitable for the context of Iran, which are wrongly utilized by Iranian researchers and students. In comparison with the West, the Iranian culture is considered to be indirect, relational, multiple, context-driven, modest, and inductive. These features put the application of some research tools such as questionnaires, retrospection (a kind of thinking aloud technique), and diaries (a research technique for collecting personal experiences of individuals) into question in the Iranian context. In the end, the results are analyzed and discussed in the context of Iran, and some suggestions are made for further research.