A Comparative Analysis of Two Research Articles: Introductions, Literature Reviews and Methods

Academic writing is an area which offers a wide variety of genres and discourses.  As members immersed in this community of writing, reading and analysis of research studies made by proficient members of various academic discourse communities become increasingly necessary.  This paper is based on a comparative analysis which combines the examination and the scrutiny of research findings that belong to different scientific fields.  In order to illustrate introductions and methods sections in Research Articles, this paper will examine two researches in the field of medicine and education, carrying out a deep analysis of their introductions, literature reviews and methods.  The first article belongs to the field of medicine and is based on the effects of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality in Guinea-Bissau (Roth et al., 2010), the second article explores the use of blogs in a specific academic setting in China (Sun & Chang, 2012).  Although both articles follow academic standards as regards structure of academic research papers, they present different formats and styles when presenting the information.  The parameters they exhibit are discussed, compared and contrasted in the present paper.

The C.A.R.S. Model: Moves in Introductions

The first element that characterizes a research article is its introduction.  In order to write an introduction, the writer has a fundamental purpose in mind: to call readers’ attention.  A common organizational pattern that facilitates reading as well as comprehension is the model proposed by Swales and Feak (1994) called the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S.) (Swales & Feak, 1994, as cited in Hengl and Gould, 2002).  It is comprised of three moves, which contain semantic and syntactic patterns: establishing a territory, establishing a niche, and occupying the niche.          

Move 1a: establishing the territory

As it has been mentioned, the first move in introductions establishes the territory of the research and may be divided into two parts: the first one, which is optional, accounts for the relevance of the research and the second part reviews outstanding literature on previous studies.  Roth et al. (2010) state the importance of their investigation demonstrating that no other studies have dealt with the problem of the effects of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality in Guinea-Bissau: “Routine infant vaccines currently used in low income countries were not tested in randomized trials for their impact on overall child survival before their introduction” (p.1).

Whereas Roth et al. (2010) develop Move 1a, Sun and Chang (2012) establish the research territory defining blogs through a contrastive definition: “ Blogs differ from list servers, discussion boards, or Wikis in that blogs are controlled and owned by the bloggers (…)” (p.43). Moreover, they expand the definition by stating general characteristics and benefits of using blogs: "Characterized by their strong personal editorship, hyper linking potential, archival features, access to content, blogs invite users to share, create and interact in a virtual space to generate knowledge." (p.43).

Move 1b: literature reviews

According to C.A.R.S. Model (Swales & Feak, 1994), Move 1b is the section which presents current knowledge on the subject matter of the research.  Roth et al. (2010) explore the literature relevant to their study chronologically, departing from pioneering studies on vaccination in low income countries to recent ones carried out in the same context.  From the linguistic point of view, Roth et al. (2010) follow standard procedures applying the present perfect tense to describe areas of inquiries:  “Numerous studies of measles vaccine have reported significant reductions (…)” (p.1, Roth et al., 2010), and present tenses to refer to current and accepted knowledge in the field of medicine: “This is best documented for standard measles vaccine.”(p1). Past simple tense is also used to describe the methods and findings from relevant studies related to the area of interest: “In Sun’s study examining speaking practice on blogs, EFL students went through a series of stages (…)” (p.44).

Unlike Roth et al. (2010), Sun and Chang (2012) develop Move 1b making reference to consulted literature on blogs in a general – specific manner.  Sun and Chang (2012), proceed smoothly from a general definition of blogs, stating their distinct characteristics and benefits, to a more specific definition in pedagogical settings.  The authors provide a detailed revision of studies made in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT), providing advantages of including blogs in the foreign language classroom.  Similarly to Roth et al. (2010), Sun and Chang (2012) use the present perfect tense to refer to areas of inquiries: “Several studies have highlighted the advantages of integrating blogs in foreign language classrooms to develop writing skills, and present tenses to describe current knowledge.” (p.43).

Move 2: establishing the niche

Establishing the gap is the main objective of Move 2, as it is the link between Move 1 and 3.  As Swales and Feak (1994) point out, readers should have an overall idea of what is coming in Move 3.  The researcher raises questions as regards previous studies, stating the significance of his research, trying to fill the gap found in the literature review. To accomplish this aim of demonstrating that there is some kind of left-aside issue, Move 2 is introduced with a negative opening.  Accordingly, Roth et al. (2010) present Move 2 explaining that “randomized studies of BCG in low income countries have not been carried out” (p.1), and connect Move 2 and Move 3 establishing the gap. Similarly, Sun and Chang (2012) start Move 2 with a negative opening, describing that there is no major research done on the field of blogging in academic writing, especially in EFL: “little, if any, empirical research has been done to examine how interactions in blogs help EFL graduate students develop academic writing knowledge and writer identities.”(p.44).  As it has been seen, clear evidence is presented as regards smooth transitions between move 1 and 2 made by researchers when writing papers to communicate their findings.    

Move 3: occupying the niche

The last move in introductions aims at outlining purposes, describing the general nature and structure of the paper and / or presenting main findings. Move 3 may comprise two types of phrases: purposive or descriptive statements. While the former establishes the purposes of the study, the latter attempts to describe the general structure of the paper.  Roth et al. (2010) make use of descriptive statements in order to present the steps followed in their research studies. Evidence of this can be traced by the use of sequence connectors as firstly and secondly.  Furthermore, a clear and concise description of the study is given, stating its design and characteristics, as well as its main objective. Likewise, Sun and Chang (2012) make use of a descriptive statement, referring to the phases they followed to carry out their research, as well as establish their view towards the topic of study: “the current study expands the conceptual scope of blogs and views blogs as a social medium for knowledge and identity construction (…).” (p. 2).

Methods Section

As explained in the Macmillan Dictionary (2012), methods comprise techniques that describe the processes, the individuals involved and the tools for collecting information (Macmillan Dictionary, 2012).  On the one hand, Sun and Chang (2012) follow a case study research method in order to analyze inductively seven graduate students.  The authors develop the methods section by describing the participants, the procedures followed and the techniques used to collect data.  On the other hand, Roth et al. (2010) carry out an experimental design and provide more detailed explanations on the setting, the study design and the data collection procedures and the participants.  Although each work has a different outcome, the main characteristics of the methods and procedures that have been followed to arrive to results are clearly depicted and explained, providing a solid framework that improves understanding of the articles.

Conclusion

To bring the paper to a close, relevant components and features of two distinct research papers have been identified and discussed: introduction, literary review and method section. Through comparing and contrasting, concepts and papers’ structure have been examined in context.  Although these articles pertain to differing scientific fields, they include the same moves and linguistic features used in academic research papers.  Lastly, the interpretation of the articles has offered major insights on the requirements and procedures for writing academic papers effectively.

 

References

Hengl, T. and Gould, M. (2002). Rules of thumb for writing research articles. Retrieved in April 2012 from: http://www.itc.nl/library/Papers/hengl_rules.pdf

Macmillan Dictionary (2012). Method definition. Retrieved in April 2012, from: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/method

Sun, C. and Chang, J. (2012). Blogging to Learn: Becoming EFL Academic Writers through Collaborative Dialogues. Language Learning and Technology, volume 16 (Number 1), pp. 43-61. Retrieved in April 2012, from: http:/llt.msu.edu/issues/february2012/sunchang.pdf

Roth, A., Stabell Benn, C., Ravn H., Rodrigues A., Lisse I.M., Yazdanbakhsh M., Whittle H., Aaby P. (2010). Effect of Revaccination with BCG in Early Childhood on Mortality: Randomised Trial in Guinea-Bissau. British Medical Journal. DOI: 10.1136.

Who is Anne Frank? In fact, that is not the point

The diary of Anne Frank is neither written by a popular writer nor by a known one. It was actually written by Anne Frank (special ed. 2007). Departing from the title, many facts come to the mind: that the book is a diary, that the diary belongs to Anne Frank, that the name of the author is present in the title, that the author is a girl and her name is Anne Frank. However, all the presuppositions that emerge from the title seem minor, irrelevant, almost meaningless and even quite naïve when our thinking and imagination are immersed in the dark side of humanity, between 1942 and 1944, where Holland was not characterized by its wooded lands, as the etymology holds (Wikipedia, n.d.), but by lands covered in blood, death, prosecution, living clandestinely.

On 12 June in 1942, Frank celebrated her thirteenth birthday. Her parents gave her a present that she longed to have: a diary. The diary is an impressive record of the daily lives of real people who lived in constant fear due to Nazi ideology. The first hints to the story are traced with horrendous expressions such as prosecution, hostility, concentration camp. Between these words, the name of Anne, a child, is present. Her family lived in Frankfurt, but Hitler´s anti-Jewish thinking mobilized the Franks to Amsterdam, Holland. The family was finally apprehended in 1944 and Anne died of typhus. Imagine a child or any person living in “purposefully unsuitable hygiene conditions”, suffering from extremely high fever, backache, several headaches, and delirium (Wikipedia, n.d.).

Even though her mental condition deteriorated slowly but severely due to her illness and the Nazi harassing, Frank was able to write and describe the holocaust in which she was surrounded by. She wrote a long list of the things she could not do: “Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: (. . .) Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets between 8:00 P.M. and 6:00 A.M.; Jews were forbidden to attend theaters, movies or any other forms of entertainment; Jews were forbidden to take part in any athletic activity in public; Jews were forbidden to sit in their gardens or those of their friends after 8:00 P.M.; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews were required to attend Jewish schools, etc.” (Frank House, n.d.).

Human disaster described in the book would not have become opaque if the author had excluded unpleasant sexual descriptions of her mother and other people living with the family. However, the book is recommendable as the author makes a memorable and believable heroine in a world of sadness and horror. It is also remarkable that the clarity with which this child describes many everyday situations brings those moments of extreme cruelty back to us vividly.  Frank expresses a view to the effect that in spite of the terrifying and devastating denotation of atrocities and systematic murder, one finds refuge in her innocence.

Reference

Anne Frank House (n.d.). Anti-Jewesh measures. Retrieved in November 2011, from: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Franks-History/The-Nazis-occupy-the-Netherlands/Anti-Jewish-Decrees/

Frank, A. (special ed. 2007). Diario de Ana Frank. Santiago de Chile: Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología.

Wikipedia (n.d.). The diary of a young girl. Retrieved in November 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_a_Young_Girl

Critical incidents and journal entries: tools for teaching reflection

When writing journal entries in academic settings, it is possible to keep a record of issues that teachers consider important and valuable enough to analyze and reflect upon. Journal entries can be productive in critical incidents as they may offer a “mechanism for self-reflection” (Gazin, 2003). Critical incidents trigger the expression of thoughts and emotions with confidence.

As I reflect upon my teaching experience, I find meaningful the idea of writing journal entries as a way of expressing my thoughts concerning conflicts that may arise in my context of work. First of all, it is important to bare in mind the fact that in order to make use of this strategy, we should first develop this skill (Gonzalez, Escartín and Pérez, 2003). When referring to this type of incidents, we should consider the overall context, time, place, participants, actions taken and resolution of the event. After that, reflection and evaluation of the incident help reviewing the teaching experience and behaviour when one is immersed in the school environment.

The analysis done after reflection is a fruitful resource to be put into practice before unpleasant and unexpected events. I have discovered that working with incidents implies an internal conversation, a travel of introspection where I am able to see myself changing and growing as thoughts and attitudes change and grow.

Reference

Gazin, A. (2003). Reading and writing workshop: Focus on Autobiography. Education Resources Information Center.Retrieved in November 2011, from: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ602568&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ602568

Gonzalez, J., Escartín, N. and Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, año/vol. 17, número 001. Universidad de Zaragoza. España. Pages 101 and 106.

Reflecting on my classroom attitude and action

Critical incidents are related to uncomfortable or disgusting situations that can be used in a positive manner by teachers who wish to reflect on and analyze their teaching practice. So I would like to write about an event that occurred the first semester of this year, at the school where I have been working for the last three years. The institution is located in an urban area in Merlo, though some of the students live near rural environments. One of the courses where I teach is a 5^th year of secondary school. The class is integrated by 25 students who are 16 and 17 years old.

There is one student whom I met last year when he was in 4^th year. At the beginning of the first semester, while I was talking with some students, I heard him saying he wanted to have sexual intercourse with me. I acted as if I did not hear him and continue talking. However, I felt humiliated and anger at him, and at the same time weak, as if he had taken my dignity away from me. I continued with the lesson.

A week before winter holidays, I had a meeting with the psychopedagogic staff concerning problems in the classroom. When the meeting finished, I talked with one of the specialists. I thought I should first dialogue with her before talking with the student, so as to guide me towards a proper solution (Rodríguez, n.d.). I informed her about the conflict occurred. She asked me about the expressions he used and how I interpreted them. I pointed out my anguish and she gave me a piece of advice that, in case a new problem arises, I should talk to him in private and explain to him the inappropriateness of his words in the context of the classroom.

Now I think, and at that moment also, that her questions and my answers affected or were related not only to my private life but also to my “classroom teaching and teaching thinking” (Rahilly and Saroyan, 1997). Furthermore, the fact of expressing my sensations to other person and having found a positive response to the issue make me feel confident when I have to deal with a difficult or unpleasant event.

Reference

Rahilly, T. J., & Saroyan, A. (1997). Characterizing poor and exemplary teaching in higher education: Implications for faculty development. Montreal, Quebec: McGill University.

Rodríguez, L. (n.d.). Classroom management. 4Faculty Project. Retrieved in November 2011, from: http://www.4faculty.org/includes/108r2.jsp

Discourse communities criteria from Swales´ perspective: analyzing college communities

In his article, Swales (1990) maintains that discourse communities should comply with some parameters to be considered as such. This paper will provide evidence on his assumptions, identifying the requirements in the works concerning college communities of various researchers. (Swales, 1990).

To begin with, common goals are elements that maintain the atmosphere of sharing and belonging. Not only do communities include common purposes, as Kutz (1997) states, but they also offer the possibility of negotiating aims that make up the community (Kutz, 1997; cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004; Bowers, 1987, p. 2; cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2001, p. 4).

Obtaining and sharing information are efficient modes that allow interaction among members of the community. Kelly-Kleese (2004) argues that scholarship, as part of community colleges, is “a product that is shared with others” (p. 6). Scholarship, as a means of creating knowledge and sharing it, is evidence of socially constructed learning. For transmission of information and feedback to succeed, discourse communities rely on different sources, for instance research projects, journals, meetings.

As a community, communication among members of the group and the outside world is fundamental. Being a member of a knowledge community demands knowledge about the practices as well as collaboration, “communication and the exchange of ideas” between those who take part in the community (Hoffman-Kip, Artiles and Lopez-Torres, 2003, p. 3).

A discourse community outstands for the use of a specific genre. By way of illustration, journals, researches, essays, discussions, assignments belong to the domain of college discourse communities. In addition to a distinctive type of discourse, the community should acquire a specific and specialized lexis. Hoffman-Kip, Artiles and Lopez-Torres (2003) make reference to the concept Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) which integrates the field of college community. The use of abbreviations, as the one provided, better reflects the uniqueness prevalent in discourse communities. Furthermore, terminology embodies particular meanings created by experts, scholars and members who are noteworthy for achieving a high level of skill and knowledge.

As a whole, it is my belief that being member of a discourse community requires, first of all, awareness on what the concept implies. The criterion described tackles major issues that may guide the discovery of the use of language in communities.

Reference

Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J. & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved in September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mONQM/is_3_42/ai108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor´s choice: An open memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved in September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOHCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved in September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOHCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Wenzlaff, T. L. & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved in September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405