A Comparative Analysis of Reporting Verbs Used in Literature Review Chapters of Bachelor’s and Master’s Theses of Chinese English Majors

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-332
Author(s):  
Shuangqing Wen ◽  
Issra Pramoolsook
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Crucial Aspect ◽  
Classification Framework ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Master's Thesis ◽  
Practical Implications

Reporting Verbs (RVs), a crucial aspect of citations in academic writing, are used to report the work of other researchers. A Literature Review Chapter, as a key part-genre of any thesis, or a bigger genre where it is embedded, is the main place that has the highest number of RVs. Accordingly, this study aimed to analyze and compare the use of RVs between 30 bachelor’s thesis (BT) Literature Review Chapters and 30 master’s thesis (MT) Literature Review Chapters of Chinese English majors in terms of denotation and evaluation of RVs based on Hyland’s (2002) classification framework. The findings reveal that the RVs used in the BT Literature Reviews were smaller in amount and narrower in range compared with those in the MT counterparts. Regarding the denotation of RVs, Discourse Act RVs were found to be the most predominant in the BT corpus, while Research Act RVs prevailed in the MT corpus. Cognition Act RVs were the least used in the two corpora. Regarding the evaluation of RVs, factive RVs were the most frequently used in the BT Literature Reviews, while non-factive RVs were the most prominent in the MT counterparts. However, negative RVswere infrequent in both corpora. This study would increase the thesis writers’ knowledge on the significance of RVs, raise their awareness of employing RVs, and help them use RVs appropriately and effectively in writing their thesis and other academic writings. This paper also provides practical implications for teaching RVs in preparing research dissertations.

scholarly journals Expressions of Criticality in Expert and Student Writing: A Corpus Contrastive Analysis of Literature Reviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Muna Liyana Binti Mohamad Tarmizi ◽  
Anealka Aziz Hussin
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Research Journal ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Integral Role

Literature review in academic writing plays an integral role in demonstrating writers’ knowledge about a field of study as well as in informing the writers of influential researchers and research groups in the field. More importantly, writers are expected to critically analyze previous studies related to their topic. Despite its importance to the academic text, student writers find it challenging to establish a critical stance and to provide evaluative judgment when reviewing the literature. This paper presents a contrastive analysis of student and expert writers’ expressions of criticality in literature review sections of 8 applied linguistics master theses from UiTM (a Malaysian public university) and 62 literature reviews of research journal articles from a similar field (i.e., Language and Communication, English for Academic Purposes and Applied Linguistics). Corpus techniques are used to identify the most common expressions of criticality used by these two groups of writers. The corpus was analyzed using detailed consistency analysis and concordance software from WordSmith Tools (Scott, 2012). Findings revealed that student writers prefer to use hedges and boosters to express criticality and the evaluations they make tend to sound more reporting rather than analyzing and synthesizing the resources critically. Results from this study are beneficial for constructing pedagogical instructions and guidelines for student writers in their critical analysis of the literature review.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Reporting Verbs Used in the Introduction Chapters of Bachelor’s Theses and Master’s Theses by Chinese English-Majored Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangqing Wen ◽  
Issra Pramoolsook
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Similar Distribution ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Chinese Context ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Classification Framework ◽  
Thesis Writing

Reporting verbs (RVs), as rhetorical lexical devices, play a key role in academic writing because they enable writers to attribute content to other sources and allow them to convey both the kind of activities reported and their evaluation of the reported information. However, no study has been conducted on how RVs are used differently between bachelor’s theses (BTs) and master’s theses (MTs) in the Chinese context. Through corpus-based and comparative analysis, this study, therefore, aims to analyze and compare the use of RVs between 30 BT Introduction Chapters and 30 MT Introduction Chapters by Chinese English-majored students in terms of denotative potentials and evaluative functions based on Hyland’s (2002) classification framework. The results reveal that RVs used by undergraduate students are smaller in amount and narrower in range compared with those used by master’s students. Concerning the denotative potentials of RVs, a similar distribution of RVs was found in the two corpora. Both undergraduate and master’s students prefer Discourse Act RVs and Research Act RVs to Cognition Act RVs. Regarding their evaluative functions, undergraduate students show a tendency toward non-factive RVs, while master’s students tend to use factive RVs. These findings provide a valuable view of how Chinese English-majored students use RVs in their thesis writing, but their knowledge of the rhetorical functions of this device is still insufficient. The findings might increase thesis writers’ knowledge on the significance of RVs and raise their awareness of using RVs appropriately and effectively in their thesis writing, or even in all kinds of academic discourse. This paper then provides some suggestions for thesis writing courses.

scholarly journals The R&D personnel – a key competitive factor for the innovative enterprises in Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimcho Dimov ◽  
Neviana Taneva
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Innovation Activity ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
Competitive Factor ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – the article explores the R&D personnel as a competitive factor of the innovative enterprises in Bulgaria. Research methodology – a wide literature review and survey are conducted on R&D personnel and its performance together with a comparative analysis of secondary data resources. Findings – the article presents the essence, the peculiarities, the innovation results, the R&D competencies in the context of the innovative enterprises in Bulgaria. A generalized classification of the innovation goals and results is developed. The approach and the model clearly describe the R&D personnel as a factor, influencing the innovation activity and focus on its improvement. Research limitations – lack of relevant research studies on the topic in Bulgaria. Practical implications – the results help managers to make decisions on how to raise the enterprise’s innovation activity. The model can be implemented in the enterprise's innovation system to distinguish the R&D personnel's needs for improving their innovation competencies, motivation or performance measurement, and management. Originality/Value – a model for decreasing the discrepancies between the R&D personnel and the organisationаl innovation requirements. Framing constructs for developing an approach for identifying the needs for more competitive R&D personnel and overcoming the innovation gaps in search of high innovation activity.

On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurizio Massaro ◽  
John Dumay ◽  
James Guthrie
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Research Agendas ◽  
Structured Literature Review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a method for a structured literature review (SLR). An SLR is a method for examining a corpus of scholarly literature, to develop insights, critical reflections, future research paths and research questions. SLRs are common in scientific disciplines dominated by quantitative approaches, but they can be adapted in accounting studies since quantitative and qualitative approaches are commonly accepted. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review, as a piece of academic writing, must have a logical, planned structure. The authors also argue it requires tests based on qualitative and quantitative methods. Therefore, the authors describe ten steps for developing an SLR. Findings – The SLR method is a way that scholars can stand “on the shoulders of giants” and provide insightful and impactful research that is different to the traditional authorship approaches to literature reviews. Research limitations/implications – Traditional literature reviews can have varied results because of a lack of rigour. SLRs use a process that, through a set of rules, potentially offers less bias and more transparency of the execution and measures and techniques of validation and reliability. Practical implications – SLRs provide an approach that can help academics to discover under-investigated topics and methods, nurturing, therefore, the development of new knowledge areas and research approaches. Originality/value – The paper presents accounting researchers with an opportunity to develop insightful and publishable studies, and also serves as a basis for developing future research agendas in the accounting field. The authors advocate the SLR method especially to higher degree research students and emerging scholars as a way of potentially developing robust and defensible research agendas and questions.

Institutional Plagiarism Policy (Georgian higher education institutions’ case)

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natela DOGHONADZE ◽  
Ekaterine PIPIA ◽  
Nikoloz PARJANADZE
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Survey Questionnaire ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Copyright Violation ◽  
University Policies

The article deals with various aspects of plagiarism: definition (discriminating it from cheating and copyright violation), types (intended / unintended), involved people, causes, prevention, detection and punishment of plagiarism. A survey (questionnaire containing 42 items to be assessed in a 5-point Likert scale and one open- ended item) was conducted in Georgia. The questionnaire developed based on the literature review was uploaded on social media in three variants (to analyze the results separately and compare them): for students, for researchers and for assessors. The obtained results revealed that the opinions of the three groups of respondents differed to a certain degree, but were quite similar, eventually. The survey disclosed the existing problems, such as: lack of academic writing (in the native and especially foreign language) and research skills, lack of training in avoiding plagiarism, insufficiently clear university policies in the area, the emphasis on punishment instead of prevention, etc. Based on the obtained results recommendations for universities are given concerning plagiarism policies. 

Novas Considerações sobre a Fotoproteção no Brasil: Revisão de Literatura/New Considerations on the Photoprotection in Brazil: Literature Review

1970 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 80-96
Author(s):  
Mayara Motta Melo ◽  
Clarissa Santos de Carvalho Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Skin Cancer ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Sun Exposure ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
De Se ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Harmful Effects

RESUMOA incidência do câncer de pele vem aumentando a cada ano. Sabe-se que entre outros fatores, a radiação solar é a principal responsável pelo desenvolvimento dessa patologia. A prevenção, feita através da fotoproteção, teria grande impacto nesse cenário. No entanto, as orientações sobre como se proteger dos malefícios do sol devem ser coerentes com a incidência solar da região, os hábitos da população e o fototipo da pele. Os conceitos sobre fotoproteção foram definidos por entidades européias e norte americanas e não devem ser reproduzidos para o Brasil de forma aleatória, pois a incidência solar no Brasil é muito maior, a população tem fototipos diferentes e o hábito de se expor ao sol é muito mais frequente. Portanto, faz-se necessário elaborar conceitos próprios para o Brasil e conscientizar a população sobre os perigos da radiação solar para que a incidência do câncer de pele reduza definitivamente. Essa revisão visa mostrar a relação da radiação solar no Brasil com a pele dos brasileiros e evidenciar a importância da fotoproteção para essa população. Para isso foi feito um levantamento de artigos originais, revisões de literatura, consensos brasileiros e internacionais e livros de dermatologia.Palavras-chave: Fotoproteção, Câncer de pele, Exposição solar, Radiação ultravioleta, Vitamina D. ABSTRACTThe incidence of skin cancer is increasing every year. It is known that among other factors, solar radiation is the main responsible for the development of this pathology. Prevention, made by photoprotection, would have great impact in this scenario. However, the guidelines on how to protect themselves from the sun's harmful effects should be consistent with the sunlight of the region, the habits of the population and the phototype skin. The concepts of photoprotection were defined by European and North American entities and should not be played for Brazil at random, as the solar incidence in Brazil is much higher, people have different skin types and the habit of sun exposure is much more frequent. Therefore, it is necessary to draw up own concepts for Brazil and raise awareness about the dangers of solar radiation, so that the incidence of skin cancer can be definitely reduced. This review aims to show the relationship of solar radiation in Brazil with the skin of Brazilian and to highlight the importance of sun protection for this population. With this purpose, it was  made a survey of original articles, literature reviews , Brazilian and international consensus and dermatology books.Keywords: Photoprotection, Skin cancer, Sun exposure, Ultraviolet radiation, D vitamin.

Instruction of Nominalization by Applying Enabling of POA

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-358
Author(s):  
Hao Chen
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Academic English ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Learning Journals ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Chinese English Learners ◽  
Oriented Approach

AbstractIt is noticeable that the academic papers written by Chinese English learners are lacking in academic features largely due to their poor ability to use nominalization. Therefore, the instruction of nominalization in an academic English writing course is badly needed. The author conducted one-semester-long instruction of nominalization to 90 non-English majors under the guidance of the production-oriented approach (POA). This research demonstrated how to apply POA, specifically, the enabling procedure to the teaching of nominalization. By triangulating the data of students’ interviews, learning journals and written output, and the data of 4 teachers’ class observations and interviews, this study found that the accurate application of the three criteria of effective enabling contributed to the improvement of the quantity and quality of nominalization in academic writing.

scholarly journals The Employability Skills Needed To Face the Demands of Work in the Future: Systematic Literature Reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 595-603
Author(s):  
Nuryake Fajaryati ◽  
Muhammad Akhyar ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Education Quality ◽  
Employability Skills ◽  
Work Demands ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Instructional Process ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
The Future ◽  
Three Stages

AbstractThe qualified human resources with high competitiveness and employability skills are needed to face the era of technological disruption, but employers find a lack of expertise among job seekers. Insufficient skills are related to the issue of education quality. This study aims to identify the employers’ employability skills needed in the career field and the way to integrate it into the instructional process. The research was conducted through Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and mapping approach that consisted of three stages: planning, conducting, and reporting. The literature reviews in this research were derived from Science direct, Springer and IEEE as the main references. The results from the analysis in the literature review showed that employability skills are needed in relation to the work demands in the future according to the employers covering communication, team working, problem solving, and technological skills. The implementation of employability skills in the instructional process is to integrate them into the classroom for all subjects.

Existentialism and organizational behaviour

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Blomme ◽  
Kirsten Bornebroek‐Te Lintelo
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Behaviour ◽  
Important Input ◽  
Emergent Change ◽  
Organisational Behaviour ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis article aims to develop a conception consisting of insights from complexity theory and additional notions from Weick's sense‐making theory and existentialism for examining organization behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThis paper carries out a literature review of Karl Weick's theory of sense‐making and some notions from existentialism to discuss the possible contributions to complexity theory and with this a further comprehension of organizational behaviour.FindingsFour existential conditions, namely death, freedom, existentialism and meaninglessness, give a further comprehension of Weick's concept of equivocality. Equivocality is an important input for organizing processes. The complexity of organizing processes is an object for examining organizational behaviour from a complexity scientific standpoint. The authors argue that the concept of equivocality and with this the states of equilibrium in an organization can be approached with examining the states of the mentioned four existential conditions.Practical implicationsAn important point of application for change managers in an organization is equivocality. The increase of equivocality will lead to a shift in the state of equilibrium in which new themes will emerge and corresponding organisational behaviour. The level of equivocality is due to the presence of existential fears. Hence, change managers should focus on existential themes and anxieties in an organization to advance emergent change.Originality/valueNew in this paper is the usage of notions from existentialism to elaborate Weick's conception of sense‐making. Also this paper discusses the possible contribution of this elaboration to research of organisational behaviour from the perspective of complexity theory.

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