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A comparative study of headings in theses and research articles in
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Aug 3, 2016
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2016-08-03 (1)
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Abstract
This study examined the internal headings of theses and research articles in applied linguistics. Headings collected from 110 theses and headings selected from 500 research articles underwent quantitative and qualitative analyses. The goal was to investigate possible differences between the heading writing styles adopted by the writers of each genre in focus. Analyses revealed the higher incidence of functional headings in both genres, particularly in research articles. Virtually, all functional and conventional syntactic options used in headings testified to be significantly different. Moreover, deployment of functional headings evidenced to act as a gatekeeper alternative that might have enhanced the publication chance of research articles in prestigious ISI-indexed journals. The study provides assistance for the writers of style guide manuals and syllabus designers in paving the way for novice writers to gain recognition in academia as professionals.
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Keywords: applied linguistics, conventional heading, functional heading, research article, thesis
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A comparative study of headings in theses and research articles in. (2016). Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(3), 152–167. https://doi.org/10.18844/gjflt.v6i3.1662
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References
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Wang, Y., & Bai, Y. (2007). A corpus-based syntactic study of medical research article titles. System, 35, 388-399.
Whissell, C., Abramson, C.I. & Barber, K.R. (2013). The search for cognitive terminology: An analysis of comparative psychology journal titles. Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 133-142.
Yakhontova, T. (2002). Titles of conference presentation abstracts: A cross-cultural perspective. In E. Ventola, C. Shalom, & S. Thompson (Eds.). The language of conferencing (pp.277-300). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Afful, J.B.A., & Mwinlaaru, I. N. (2010). Commonality and individuality in academic writing: An analysis of conference paper titles of four scholars. ESP World, 9(1), 125-156.
Anthony, L. (2001). Characteristic features of research article titles in computer science. IEEE Transactions of Professional Communication, 44(3), 187-194.
Bennett, K. (2009). English academic style manuals: A survey. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 8(1), 43-54.
Busch-Lauer I.A. (2000). Titles of English and German research papers in medicine and linguistics theses and research articles. In Trosborg A. (ed.), Analyzing professional genres, (pp.77-94). USA, Philadelphia: John Benjamins North America.
Buxton, A. B., & Meadows, A. J. (1977). The variation in the information content of titles of research papers with time and discipline. Journal of Documentation, 33(1), 46-52.
Cheng, S.W., Kuo, C.W., & Kuo, C.H. (2012). Research article titles in applied linguistics. Journal of Academic Language & Learning, 6(1), 1-14.
Cianflone, E. (2012). Titles in food science posters: A preliminary survey from the chimalsi_2012 Book of Abstracts. English for Specific Purposes World, 12 (36), 1-15.
Dillon, J. T. (1982) In pursuit of the colon: A century of scholarly progress: 1880-1980. Journal of Higher Education, 53(1), 93-99.
Fortanet, G.I., Coll, G.J.F., Palmer, S.J.C., & Posteguillo,C.S. (1997). The writing of titles in academic research articles. In R. Marin Chamorro, & A. Romero Navarrete (Eds.), Lenguasaplicadas a lasciencias y la tecnologÃa: Aproximaciones (pp.155-158). Caceres (Spain): Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Extremadura.
Gesuato, S. (2009). Encoding of information in titles: Practices across four genres in linguistics. In Taylor, C. (Ed.), Ecolingua, The role of e-corpora in translation and language learning (pp.125-157). Trieste, Italy: EUT.
Haggan, M. (2004). Research paper titles in literature, linguistics and science: Dimensions of attraction. Journal of Pragmatics, 36, 293-317.
Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. London: Longman.
Hyland, K. (2007). Metadiscourse: Exploring interaction in writing. New York: Continuum.
Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse: English in a global context. London: Continuum.
Jalilifar, A.R. (2010). Writing titles in applied linguistics: A comparative study of theses and research articles. Taiwan International ESP Journal, 2(1), 27-52.
McCutchen, D. (2011). From novice to expert: Implications of language skills and writing-relevant knowledge for memory during the development of writing skill. Journal of Writing Research, 3(1), 51-68.
Rath, A. (2010). Dual function of first position nominal groups in research article titles: Describing methods and structuring summary. Journal of Applied Language Studies, 1(2), 5-23.
Salager, M.F., & Angeles, A.A.M. (2013). Titles are "serious stuff": A historical study of academic titles. JAHR, 4(7), 257-271.
Soler, V. (2007). Writing titles in science: An exploratory study. English for Specific Purposes, 26(1), 90-102.
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wang, Y., & Bai, Y. (2007). A corpus-based syntactic study of medical research article titles. System, 35, 388-399.
Whissell, C., Abramson, C.I. & Barber, K.R. (2013). The search for cognitive terminology: An analysis of comparative psychology journal titles. Behavioral Sciences, 3(1), 133-142.
Yakhontova, T. (2002). Titles of conference presentation abstracts: A cross-cultural perspective. In E. Ventola, C. Shalom, & S. Thompson (Eds.). The language of conferencing (pp.277-300). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.