Move analysis of research article abstracts in the field of ELT: A comparative study

Year 2020, , 390 - 404, 29.03.2020

Fatma Kaya Oktay Yağız

https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.712854

Abstract

This study aims to make a comparison between research article abstracts written by two groups in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) by Turkish scholars and non-Turkish scholars working in Anglophone countries to find the rhetorical structure they employ in their abstracts. To achieve this purpose, 390 research article abstracts, 195 abstracts from each group, were analyzed. To analyze the abstracts, Hyland’s (2000) model with five moves was employed. In addition to the descriptive statistics, the Chi-Square test was used to find whether there are any statistical differences between two writer groups in terms of move use. Results showed that there are no statistically significant differences in terms of moves between the two groups. However, three moves (purpose, method, product) frequently occurred in Turkish writers’ abstracts while foreign writers include four moves (purpose, method, product, conclusion) more commonly in their abstracts. These findings have some implications for researchers, particularly for developing teaching materials for academic writing courses that can guide scholars to successfully participate in the international discourse community.

Keywords

research article abstracts; move analysis; research for publication; academic writing

References

• Afshar, H. S., Doosti, M., & Movassagh, H. (2018). A genre analysis of the introduction section of applied linguistics and chemistry research articles. Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21(1), 163-214. Retrieved on April 15, 2019 from https://ijal.khu.ac.ir/article-1-2856-en.html Alhuqbani, M. N. (2013). Genre-Based analysis of Arabic research article abstracts across four disciplines. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 3(3), 371-382. DOI:10.5901/jesr.2013.v4n3p371 Alotaibi, H. (2013). Research article abstracts and introductions: A comparative genre-based study of Arabic and English in the fields of educational psychology and sociology. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/pqdtglobal/docview/1443852060/8669883F30E4445DPQ/1?accountid=8403 Amirian, Z., Kassaian, Z., & Tavakoli, M. (2008). Genre analysis: An investigation of the discussion sections of applied linguistics research articles. The Asian ESP Journal, 4(1), 39-63. Retrieved on December 13, 2018 from http://asian-esp-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/AESP-Volume-4-Issue-1-April-2008.pdf Amnuai, W. (2019). Analyses of rhetorical moves and linguistic realizations in accounting research article abstracts published in international and Thai-Based journals. SAGE Open, 1-9. DOI:10.1177/2158244018822384 Amnuai, W., & Wannaruk, A. (2013a). Investigating move structure of English applied linguistics research article discussions published in international and Thai Journals. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 1-13. DOI:10.5539/elt.v6n2p1 Amnuai, W., & Wannaruk, A. (2013b). A move-based analysis of the conclusion sections of research articles published in international and Thai journals. The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 19(2), 53-63. Retrieved on October 23, 2018 from http://ejournals.ukm.my/3l/article/view/1782/2039 Behnam, B., & Golpour, F. (2014). Genre analysis of English and Iranian research articles abstracts in applied linguistics and mathematics. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 3(5), 173-179. DOI:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.3n.5p.173 Belcher, W. L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. United States of America, SAGE Publication. Bonn, S. V., & Swales, J. (2007). English and French journal abstracts in the language sciences: Three exploratory studies. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6, 93-108. DOI:10.1016/j.jeap.2007.04.001 Busch-Lauer, I.-A. (1995). Abstracts in German medical journals: A linguistic analysis. lnformation Processing & Management, 31(5), 769-776. DOI:10.1016/0306-4573(95)00024-B Çandarlı, D. (2012). A Cross-cultural investigation of English and Turkish research article abstracts. Studies About Languages, 20, 12-17. DOI:10.5755/j01.sal.0.20.1770 Chahal, D. (2014). Research article introductions in cultural studies: A genre analysis exploration of rhetorical structure. The Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 2(1), 1-20. Retrieved on March 26, 2019 from http://espeap.junis.ni.ac.rs/index.php/espeap/article/view/54/28 Connor, U. (1996). Contrastive rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coşmuş, C. (2011). Structural organization of abstracts in English and Turkish research articles. (Master’s thesis, Uludağ University Graduate School of Educational Sciences, Bursa, Turkey). Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp Darabad, A. M. (2016). Move analysis of research article abstracts: A cross disciplinary study. International Journal of Linguistics, 8(2), 125-140. DOI:10.5296/ijl.v8i2.9379 Ebadi, S., Salman, A. R., Nguyen, T. T., & Weisi, H. (2019). Rhetorical structure variations in abstracts and introductions of applied linguistics master’s theses by Iraqi and international students. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 7(1), 101-117. Retrieved on February 11, 2019 from http://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_120635_fc65684b49849e3cd22b1e89da34eba8.pdf El-Dakhs, D. A. (2018). Why are abstracts in PhD theses and research articles different? A genre-specific perspective. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 36, 48-60. DOI:10.1016/j.jeap.2018.09.005 Flowerdew, J. (2008). Scholarly writers who use English as an additional language: What can Goffman’s ‘‘Stigma’’ tell us? Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 7, 77-86. DOI:10.1016/j.jeap.2008.03.002 Flowerdew, J. (2011). Action, content and identity in applied genre analysis for ESP. Language Teaching, 44(4), 516-528. DOI:10.1017/S026144481000042X Friginal, E., & Mustafa, S. S. (2017). A comparison of U.S.-based and Iraqi English research article. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 25, 45-57. DOI:10.1016/j.jeap.2016.11.004 Ghasempour, B., & Farnia, M. (2017). Contrastive move analysis: Persian and English research article abstracts in law. The Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 5(4), 739-753. DOI:10.22190/JTESAP1704739G Hartley, J., & Betts, L. (2009). Common weaknesses in traditional abstracts in the social sciences. Journal of The American Society for Information Science and Technology, 60(10). DOI:10.1002/asi.21102 Hu, G., & Cao, F. (2011). Hedging and boosting in abstracts of applied linguistics articles: A comparative study of English- and Chinese-medium journals. Journal of Pragmatics, 43, 2795–2809. DOI:10.1016/j.pragma.2011.04.007 Hwang, J. V., Nguyen, T.-H., & Su, T.-J. (2017). Move analysis for scientific abstract sections: A study of nanoscience and nanotechnology research article abstracts. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, 15(1), 19-22. Retrieved on January 28, 2019 from http://www.wiete.com.au/journals/WTE&TE/Pages/Vol.15,%20No.1%20(2017)/03-Hwang-C-s.pdf Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. Harlow: Pearson Education. Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse. London, GBR: Continuum International Publishing. Imtihani, N. (2010). Genre analysis in the frame of systemic functional linguistics. Humaniora, 22, 86-93. DOI:10.22146/jh.v22i1.988 Jie, C. (2010). A generic analysis of English research article abstracts and the use of modal verbs for financial economics. Sino-US English Teaching, 7(12), 33-37. Retrieved on July 02, 2019 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED514815.pdf Jones, S., & Tetroe, J. (1987). Composing in a second language. In A. Matsuhashi (Ed.), Writing in Real Tie: Modelling Production Processes (pp. 34–57). Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Kafes, H. (2012). Cultural traces on the rhetorical organization of research articles. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 3(3), 207-220. Retrieved on July 29, 2019 from http://www.ijonte.org/FileUpload/ks63207/File/20.kafes.pdf Liebman, J. D. (1992). Toward a new contrastive rhetoric: Differences between Arabic and Japanese rhetorical instruction. Journal of second language writing, 1(2), 141-165. DOI:10.1016/1060-3743(92)90013-F Lores, R. (2004). On RA abstracts: from rhetorical structure to thematic organisation. English for Specific Purposes, 23, 280-302. DOI:10.1016/j.esp.2003.06.001 Marefat, H., & Mohammadzadeh, S. (2013). Genre analysis of literature research article abstracts: A cross-linguistic, cross-cultural study. Applied Research on English Language, 2(2), 37-50. DOI:10.22108/are.2013.15469 Martin-Martin, P (2003). A genre analysis of English and Spanish research paper abstracts in experimental social sciences. English for Specific Purposes, 22, 25-43. DOI:10.1016/S0889-4906(01)00033-3 Menezes, C. A. (2013). A comparative study of textual and rhetorical features of abstracts written by expert and novice writers. A Palavrada-Bragança, 3, 10-18. Retrieved on October 20, 2019 from https://revistaapalavrada.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/1-a-comparative-study-of-textual-and-rhetorical-features-of-abstracts-written-by-expert-and-novice-writers-cilc3a9ia-alves-menezes.pdf Mohan, B. A., & Lo, W. A. Y. (1985). Academic writing and Chinese students: Transfer and developmental factors. TESOL quarterly, 19(3), 515-534. DOI:10.23073586276 Noorizadeh-Honami, L., & Chalak, A. (2018). Comparative analysis of architecture research article abstracts written by native and nonnative authors: A cross-linguistic, cross-cultural study. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 8(3), 325-330. DOI:10.17507/tpls.0803.08 Özmen, K. S. (2016). Rhetorical analysis of the doctoral abstracts on English language teaching in Turkey. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 6(1), 25-35. DOI:10.26634/jelt.6.1.4808 Öztürk, İ. (2007). The Textual organisation of research article introductions in applied linguistics: Variability within a single discipline. English for Specific Purposes, 26, 25–38. DOI:10.1016/j.esp.2005.12.003 Pho, P. D. (2008). Research article abstracts in applied linguistics and educational technology: A study of linguistic realizations of rhetorical structure and authorial stance. Discourse Studies, 10, 231-250. DOI:10.1177/1461445607087010 Piqué-Noguera, C. (2012). Writing business research article abstracts: A genre approach. Ibérica, 24, 211-232. Retrieved on February 05, 2019 from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e992/1b7021c8e4fa8dd460f3261f65c07c5ffa31.pdf?_ga=2.64741999.1923805056.1566990716-900848606.1564906786 Ren, H., & Li, Y. (2011). A comparison study on the rhetorical moves of abstracts in published research articles and master’s foreign-language theses. English Language Teaching, 4(1), 162-166. Retrieved on March 07, 2019 from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d146/a4c03ca2cc7d9b6bc4dd26dfe74bbf7d082d.pdf Ruiying, Y., & Allison, D. (2003). Research articles in applied linguistics: Moving from results to conclusions. English for Specific Purposes, 22, 365-385. DOI:10.1016/S0889-4906(02)00026-1 Saboori, F., & Hashemi, M. (2013). A Cross-Disciplinary move analysis of research article abstracts. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 4(4), 483-496. Retrieved on April 06, 2019 from https://profdoc.um.ac.ir/articles/a/1038627.pdf Salager-Meyer, F. (1994). Hedges and textual communicative function in medical English written discourse. English, 13(2), 149-171. DOI:10.1016/0889-4906(94)90013-2 Samraj, B. (2002). Introductions in research articles: Variations across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 21, 1-17. DOI:10.1016/S0889-4906(00)00023-5 Samraj, B. (2005). An exploration of a genre set: Research article abstracts and introductions in two disciplines. English for Specific Purposes, 24, 141-156. DOI:10.1016/j.esp.2002.10.001 San, L. Y., & Tan, H. (2012). A comparative study of the rhetorical moves in abstracts of published research articles and students’ term papers in the field of computer and communication systems engineering. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 1(7), 40-50. DOI:10.7575/ijalel.v.1n.7p.40 Suntara, W., & Usaha, S. (2013). Research article abstracts in two related disciplines: Rhetorical variation between linguistics and applied linguistics. English Language Teaching, 6(2), 84-99. DOI:10.5539/elt.v6n2p84 Swales, J. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Tanko, G. (2017). Literary research article abstracts: An analysis of rhetorical. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 27, 42-55. DOI:10.1016/j.jeap.2017.04.003 Tseng, F.-P. (2011). Analyses of move structure and verb tense of research article abstracts in applied linguistics journals. International Journal of English Linguistics, 1(2), 27-39. DOI:10.5539/ijel.v1n2p27 Zand-Vakili, E., & Kashani, A. (2012). The Contrastive move analysis: An investigation of Persian and English research articles’ abstract and introduction parts. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 3(2), 129-137. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n2.12