Variations in the Citation Use and Perceptions in Writing the Literature Review by EFL Postgraduates

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 3, 441 - 460, 26.11.2019

Nayef Jomaa Jomaa , Siti Jamilah Bidin

https://doi.org/10.32601/ejal.651398

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Academically, citation is pivotal
since it presents justifications for the arguments and a demonstration of the
writer’s position. Despite the increasing number of studies on citations,
little knowledge has been reported regarding the citation use and practices of
EFL students within the ESL context. Hence, the present study aimed at
investigating the extent of variation in the citation practices in the
literature review of PhD theses in Applied Linguistics and Information
Technology. The study analysed the citations qualitatively focusing mainly on
several aspects, including using types of citations, the variety of the
citations based on the type of the clauses in each citation, and the
perspectives of EFL Arab postgraduates on using citations. A purposeful
sampling was adopted in selecting the literature review of 20 PhD theses and
nine EFL Arab candidates of Applied Linguistics and Information Technology. The
results show the dominance of the integral citation in the literature review of
Applied Linguistics and Information technology. The inter-disciplinary comparison
also reported similarity in terms of the high frequency of using citations with
clauses complexes. The discourse-based interviews revealed that EFL Arab
postgraduates depended on the integral citation to highlight ideas, attract the
reader’s attention, affirm the credibility of the cited information, and refer
to the type of the information. The little available information on using
citations and the possible effect of their native language may lead EFL Arab
postgraduates to have their own strategies regarding citations use.
Consequently, EFL postgraduate students probably need explicit instructions on
the use of citations.

Keywords

Academic writing, citations, EFL Arab postgraduates, literature review, PhD theses

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