scholarly journals Utilization of active and passive constructions in English academic writing

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
Erdoğan Bada ◽  
Ömer Gökhan Ulum

By its nature, AW represents adversity compared to other types of writing. It owns the characteristics of more notable patterns and language usage compared to other writing styles such as literary works, news, etc. Without discriminating the language used, this kind of writing generally bears similarities across languages due to the description and representation of scientific concepts. Therefore, there stands a must that objectivity is observed in AW as much as possible.  In terms of language usage, diverse structures may be seen to be used in varied frequencies. Within this study, articles written in English and published in scientific journals covered by high ranking field indices such as Social Sciences Citation Index, Science Citation Index/Health Sciences Library, and American-Eurasian Network for Scientific Information were perused depending on their related fields classified as the Social Sciences, Natural and Applied Sciences, and Health Sciences, and then active/passive dispersion of these articles was identified through descriptive content analysis. The results suggest that active structure usage (61%) in overall analysis outnumbered that of passive (39%); the decline in its utilization depending on fields is rather significant, in that while the gap between active (74%) and passive (26%) usage in Social Sciences is rather wide in favor of active construction, we can observe a significant narrowing of the divide in Natural and Applied Sciences (60% active, 40% passive), and Health Sciences (51% active, 49% passive). The findings of this descriptive study may contribute to prospective research carried out in the specified fields in AW.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilara Parente Pinheiro Teodoro ◽  
Vitória de Cássia Félix Rebouças ◽  
Sally Elizabeth Thorne ◽  
Naanda Kaana Matos de Souza ◽  
Lídia Samantha Alves de Brito ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: To present a theoretical reflection about the origin and the assumptions of the "Interpretive Description" method, and to discuss its applicability in Nursing and Health research. Method: Theoretical-reflective study, based on articles and books published by proponent of this approach, as well as scientific articles in which the authors reported having used this method in their studies. Results: It was evidenced that the "Interpretive Description" arose from the need to generate a better understanding of clinical practices in Nursing. This approach has its roots in the methodological traditions of the Social Sciences, although it differs from them in terms of its excessive rigidity and essentially theoretical objectives. The proposed method has been applied in several studies either in Nursing as other areas of Health. Conclusion: The "Interpretive Description" is considered a feasible approach for the production of knowledge in Applied Sciences such as Nursing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 8-19
Author(s):  
Omnia Ibrahim

This study examines the difficulties faced by Arab students in the tertiary level in creating a well-written paragraph in English academic writing. The participants were approximately 40 students from RAK Medical and Health Sciences University located in Ras Al Khaimah in The United Arab Emirates. The study’s significance is to propose potential methods and solutions for academic English instructors to improve the students’ performance by designing a writing course based on the pre-and post-tests that were used to monitor students’ progress in writing before and after the course of Academic writing. Pre-tests were conducted to analyze the needs of the students. The analyses revealed that the participants had trouble using the writing fundamentals like grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure. After implementing the course topics, the results of the post-tests showed changes in the students’ academic writing performance. The study concludes that to obtain the best results from the courses of English Academic writing, the course should be based on the difficulties faced by the students. It also shows that before applying any academic writing course, the instructor has to carry out an error or needs analyses to identify the weak points of the group, then the course can be designed accordingly.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Biasutti ◽  
Alessio Surian

Abstract The paper reports research employing a quantitative approach to investigating the competences of university students about educating for sustainable development (ESD). Participants were 467 bachelor students of the following five areas: social sciences, educational sciences, applied sciences, engineering and health sciences. The Student Survey of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies was employed. Internal consistency and factor structure of this questionnaire were investigated by assessing Cronbach’s alphas and by performing exploratory factor analysis. Data were subjected to ANOVA for comparing the students of the five faculties. The relevance of factors and the differences between students of different areas were discussed considering also how to infuse ESD principles in university curricula. The aim is reorienting university study programmes in various faculties to prepare students about sustainable development issues.


Innovar ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (61) ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Portugal Ferreira ◽  
Fernando Ribeiro Serra ◽  
Benny Kramer Costa ◽  
Martinho Almeida

In this study we examine how the RBV has been included in IB research over the past twenty years using Barney's (1991) article as a key marker. Bibliometric techniques analyzing citations, co-citations and research themes delved into, were applied to the articles published between 1991 and 2010 in five leading IB journals. Data was collected from the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). We conclude that the RBV has been having an important impact on most of IB research themes and has been driving a large portion of current thought on the multinational corporations' strategies, location choices and internationalization. Although, we also find areas that have been explored to much lesser extent. In addition to identify the stock of accumulated knowledge, this study contributes to highlight areas for future inquiry on how IB studies may further benefit from an RBV-oriented perspective.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligia Amparo-Santos ◽  
Micheli Dantas Soares

This paper discusses theoretical and methodological challenges in the production of knowledge located in the interface between the Social Sciences and the Sciences of Food and Nutrition, mediated by Health Sciences. We recognize that the discussion on the intersections between these scientific fields arises from the need to expand the understanding of the phenomena surrounding the field of Food and Nutrition from other theoretical frameworks beyond the biomedical paradigm. The discussion will guide a reflection on the following issues: a) how to establish Brazilian academic-scientific output at the interface between the Nutritional Sciences and Social Sciences, mediated by Health Sciences; b) considering that there is a 'field' of the socio-anthropology of food developed historically within the Social Sciences and Humanities, which distinguishes the production of knowledge in the field of health; c) the main theoretical and methodological challenges of academic-scientific output today. We also discuss challenges related to the practical consequences of this output, considering the interventionist legacy in the field of health. Lastly, we highlight that such reflections also face another important challenge, namely the urgent need to reinvent ways of thinking and doing science which, articulated with demands inherent to a new field shaped by the search for production of knowledge and practices, is more important to issues raised by health care.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-214
Author(s):  
Pei-Shan Chi

Abstract The usage data provided by Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) implies the scholarly interest of researchers through full text accesses and record saves on the platform. The WoS usage count has been studied for journal papers alongside citations at different levels of journal, country, and field. To extend the results of the previous studies, this study explores the WoS usage counts for book literature in the Book Citation Index (BKCI) to determine the usefulness of the usage statistics provided by the new data source and their different patterns across fields as well as document types. The correlations between WoS citations and usage counts are from weak to moderate in six selected fields. Edited books have stronger correlations between the two metrics than the other two document type groups. Usage data of aggregated book volumes in the sciences correlate with citations significantly and show higher utilization rates than citations. Their usage counts on the same platform are the supplement of WoS citations in the fields. In contrast, book publications in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) present a different pattern of their usage to reduce its ability to coordinate citations. In addition, the low usage of books in SSH may indicate the limited access of the BKCI-SSH and probably lower effectiveness of its usage data compared to the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). However, the further investigation of altmetric usage metrics from different sources confirms an overall lower usage for books in the social sciences than in the sciences.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Carley ◽  
Alan L. Porter ◽  
Ismael Rafols ◽  
Loet Leydesdorff

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study is to modernize previous work on science overlay maps by updating the underlying citation matrix, generating new clusters of scientific disciplines, enhancing visualizations, and providing more accessible means for analysts to generate their own maps. Design/methodology/approach We use the combined set of 2015 Journal Citation Reports for the Science Citation Index (n of journals = 8,778) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (n = 3,212) for a total of 11,365 journals. The set of Web of Science Categories in the Science Citation Index and the Social Sciences Citation Index increased from 224 in 2010 to 227 in 2015. Using dedicated software, a matrix of 227 × 227 cells is generated on the basis of whole-number citation counting. We normalize this matrix using the cosine function. We first develop the citing-side, cosine-normalized map using 2015 data and VOSviewer visualization with default parameter values. A routine for making overlays on the basis of the map (“wc15.exe”) is available at http://www.leydesdorff.net/wc15/index.htm. Findings Findings appear in the form of visuals throughout the manuscript. In Figures 1–9 we provide basemaps of science and science overlay maps for a number of companies, universities, and technologies. Research limitations As Web of Science Categories change and/or are updated so is the need to update the routine we provide. Also, to apply the routine we provide users need access to the Web of Science. Practical implications Visualization of science overlay maps is now more accurate and true to the 2015 Journal Citation Reports than was the case with the previous version of the routine advanced in our paper. Originality/value The routine we advance allows users to visualize science overlay maps in VOSviewer using data from more recent Journal Citation Reports.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Stetzer ◽  
Ryan P. Burge

While there have been many approaches to classifying religious traditions in the social sciences (see Hackett and Lindsay 2008), the most popular approach is the religious tradition classification scheme, which was most carefully systematized by Steensland et al. (2000). Their widely-embraced article argued that the most accurate typology of religiosity was to sort individuals into seven distinct groups: evangelical Protestant, mainline Protestant, black Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, other religious groups, and no religion. This approach has become popularly known as “reltrad” and its usage in academic writing is voluminous. A brief search of Google Scholar indicates that over 900 published articles and books utilized the reltrad framework. However, the implementation of this typology has never been fully and accurately operationalized.


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