Volume 7 (2016) Issue 1 - Article Khamkhien

Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching

Volume 6 (2016) Issue 1

Structural Patterns and Linguistic Features

of Research Articles on Applied Linguistics:
Evidence from Introduction Sections to Methods
Sections

Attapol Khamkhien (Bangkok, Thailand)

Abstract

Writing and publishing research articles (RAs) in English is crucial because an RA is

considered as one of the channels to communicate among researchers and scholars
worldwide. This paper centres on the rhetorical structures and linguistic features commonly
used in the Introduction and Methods sections of the RA genre. Inspired by Swales’ analytical
framework (1990; 2004)and the contributions of Connor, Upton and Kanoksilapatham (2007)
who suggest steps of conducting a move-based genre analysis, this study examined 50 RA
Introduction and Methods sections in the field of applied linguistics. These RAs were
analysed by genre analysis into ‘moves’ and ‘steps’. Through a comprehensive analysis of 50
systematically selected RAs published in journals listed in the Thai Citation Index (TCI)
database, the results revealed that each section displayed a generic pattern, comprising a
series of moves and steps. Lexico-grammatical features associated with a communicative
function were also identified. The structural patterns and linguistic features found to
functionally interact with one another may facilitate the understanding of novice writers and
graduates of published RAs in these sections. Pedagogically, the findings generated by this
study could be useful for teaching students how to write scholarly publications in EAP
classrooms. The structural patterns identified might also be meaningful for teachers in
designing relevant reading and writing materials for advanced learners to improve their
writing skills to effectively disseminate discoveries in their fields.

Key words: Rhetorical structure, Introduction, Methods, genre analysis, applied linguistics,
research writing

1   Introduction
Writing for scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals is crucial. Scholars
and researchers from various academic disciplines have been under
tremendous pressure to not only get access to information, but also share
and disseminate their research findings through English in prestigious
journals. Consequently, since RAs represent the preferred medium of
exchanging knowledge among members of the academic community
(Flowerdew 1999: 123-124), researchers and scholars are pushed to
successfully involve and meet the standard criteria and conventions of writing
practices for academic and professional reasons.

Thai faculty members, researchers, and practitioners are currently

encouraged to have their research papers accepted and published in top-tier
journals in English. Many Thai universities have recently set up a bonus
payment scheme stipulating that for RAs published in prestigious academic
journals indexed in respectful databases, authors will be rewarded. Moreover,
successful publications can enhance an author’s reputation, prestige,
chances of receiving promotions and grant awards, and acceptance in the
field (Kanoksilapatham 2007: 173). Furthermore, one of the essential
characteristics that Thai graduate students should have is the ability to
communicate, share, and exchange their knowledge in English so that the
knowledge gained can be used to develop the country. Many Thai universities
require candidates wishing to graduate with a master’s or doctoral degree to
publish their research findings in at least one RA in an academic journal.
Also, any RA published must contain master’s or doctoral research and be
published in an international peer-reviewed journal (Svasti & Asavisanu
2007). Writing for scholarly publications is, thus, regarded as a prerequisite
for Thai graduate students before entering the academic community.

As stated by Canagarajah (1996) and Flowerdew (1999), without having

received formal training in how to write academic English, publishing RAs in
peer-reviewed articles is somewhat difficult for many non-native speaking
researchers. The task of writing RAs in general is also considered
relatively daunting and challenging in the view of most novice writers. To
publish an RA successfully, writing skills are essential to ensure that writers
can efficiently and successfully express themselves academically. Cook
(1990) and MaCarthy (1991) suggest that to be able to understand and
produce RAs, writers need to make use of both macro and micro skills. The
macro knowledge of an RA genre starts with the knowledge of the structural
organisation of the discourse units, before moving on to lexical and
grammatical features used in the text. In contrast, the micro knowledge of the
RA concerns the smallest units of discourse, such as grammatical items,
before moving on to more general features such as sentences, discourse
units, and structural organisations of the discourse units. In other words, to
write effectively, writers need to have knowledge of the genre and linguistic
characteristics, including lexico-grammatical features, rhetorical organisation,
communicative functions, and content (Hyland 2004: 149-150). In other
words, these macro and micro language components therefore have different
but complementary characteristics.

However, Thai authors and graduate students still often face serious
problems when attempting to publish their RAs in English in refereed journals,
particularly international journals. Specifically, Thai graduate students in
the field of social sciences seem to have some difficulties in publishing in
English for a number of reasons. First, they need to understand how to
conform to the overall organisation, and how to use certain expressions
and vocabulary commonly employed in their respective discourse
communities and academic disciplines. Second, the trend towards publishing
in English, including venues for publication with a huge number of academic
journals, is more pronounced in the hard sciences (Cargill & O’Connor 2006,
Flowerdew & Li 2007) than in the humanities and social sciences. Hence, it is
inevitable that the ability to read and write an RA in English is pivotal for
novice authors in general, and for Thai graduate students in particular, and
for handling academic writing tasks encountered in a higher education
setting.

Through the widely used Create a Research Space Model (CARS)

proposed by Swales (1990, 2004), a multitude of genre-based
studies have been textually conducted on the macro-structure of RAs
and have revealed that different components and lexico-grammatical
features were found in the four sections of RAs (Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRD)) and different fields of
discipline (e.g. Basturkmen 2012, Bruce 2008, 2009,
Kanoksilapatham 2012, Lim 2006, Pho 2010, Ozturk 2007, Yang &
Allison 2003). These studies also acknowledge the increasingly
important role of RAs written in English. The results of these studies
generally seem to indicate that the rhetorical structure of the RA is, to
some extent, dependent on to which the text it belongs and the
linguistic and / or cultural context in which it is written. However,
particular attention in this line of research has been paid to the
analysis of the Introduction section in several disciplines, whereas
the Methods section seems to have attracted the least attention
(Duenas 2007).
With respect to the importance of publishing RAs in refereed journals, the
generic schemata and conventions associated with these are taken into
account. The objective of the present study is to describe how the
Introduction-and-Methods sections in RAs on applied linguistics are
rhetorically constructed. We also attempt to present detailed rhetorical and
lexico-grammatical realisations prevalently found in applied linguistics RAs. It
is hoped that the rhetorical descriptions will shed light on their RA genre to
sharpen a better understanding in writing RAs for publication to disseminate
scientific discoveries. In addition, awareness of rhetorical patterns and
linguistic features used is valuable to novice writers in general and graduate
students in particular who encounter difficulties in reading, preparing and
writing RAs for publication.
2   Swales’ Framework of Move and Step Analysis
Swales’ framework was originally designed to help non-native speakers of
English in a university setting to master the macro level of organisational
structures and the micro level of linguistic features which are conventionally
used in texts required in their disciplines and professions (Hyon 2002, Swales
1990, 2004). According to Biber et al. (2007: 15), Swales’ move analysis is
regarded as a specific genre analysis. It was developed as a top-down or
macro approach to demystify the discourse structure of texts. The basic aim
of move analysis is to consider and describe texts as a sequence of 'moves',
where each move presents a stretch of text serving a particular
communicative function. Each move, therefore, not only has its own purpose
but also contributes to the overall communicative purpose of the genre.

In conducting a move analysis, researchers segment texts into moves based

on their communicative purpose as it is believed that the overall discourse
structure of a text can be described in relation to the sequence of move types.
Some moves occur more frequently than others and can be realised as
obligatory, whereas other moves do not occur frequently in the text and can
be described as optional. Each move contains a number of elements with
which it is realised. These constituent elements are referred to as 'steps' by
Swales (1990, 2004) or 'strategies' by Bhatia (1993). The steps of a move
primarily function to achieve the purpose of the move to which it belongs. To
be precise, a move captures the function and purpose of a segment of text at
a more general level, whereas a step more specifically presents the rhetorical
means of realising the function of the move. The set of steps for a move is
recognised by the set of rhetorical choices most commonly available to RA
authors so as to realise a certain communicative purpose (Biber et al. 2007).

Swales (1990, 2004) proposed a version of the CARS model which has been
the predominant analytical tool used in the analysis of the Introduction
component of RAs. It is used to describe the content schema structure of RAs
Introduction, consisting of three moves. Each of the moves is obligatory and
minimally consists of one component step. However, Swales’ analytical
model was criticised by scholars for its subjectivity (Ädel 2014,
Kanoksilapatham 2013 and 2015). Conducting a move analysis also lacks
explicit rules for decisions on move boundaries, leading to questions of the
reliability and empirical validity of the analysis (Paltridge 1994). However, as
suggested by Dudley-Evans (1994: 226), decisions about the classification of
move patterns are made on the basis of linguistic evidence, text
comprehension, and the understanding of the academic discourse
community. Furthermore, according to Swales (2004), the model proposed is
not to prescribe, but is used to provide guidelines with regard to how ideas
are marshalled in the Introduction section.

Although criticism concerning the usefulness and validity of the CARS model
has been raised, the model has been subsequently validated in a number of
RA Introductions across several disciplines (e.g. Samraj 2002 in wildlife
behaviour and biology conservation, Kanoksilpatham 2011 in civil
engineering, Ozturk 2007 in second language acquisition and second
language writing). As an extension, the model was also used to analyse other
internal sections of RAs in academic disciplines (e.g. Brett (1994) in the
Results section, Peacock (2011) in the Methods sections in eight disciplines,
Lim (2006) in the Method sections of management RAs, Yang & Allison
(2003) in Results and Discussion sections of applied linguistics RAs, and
Nwogu (1997) in the Discussion section of medical articles). The findings
from these studies have helped us to recognise that the rhetorical
organisation of texts is helpful, providing the schema of what information
elements or moves are presented. These studies also indicate that, although
the CARS model was very informative, the scrutiny of individual disciplines
demonstrated that each discipline has its own unique characteristics. A
rhetorical organisation could be identified even though the corpus of each
study was taken from different disciplines. Swales’ framework seems to be
successful with the application to each of the four sections of RAs. However,
as demonstrated by these studies, not all the findings from diverse academic
disciplines are identical, displaying the characteristics of their academic
disciplines. Some studies did not clearly report linguistic features prevalently
used in each move type identified, whereas specific results from
previous studies that focused on similar disciplines remain
underdeveloped (Kanoksilapatham 2015: 75). In addition, most previous
studies have focused on a single section of articles, contributing to an
incomplete understanding of what should be included in each section when
linking the knowledge of macro and micro-structure of the Introduction-and-
Methods sections of an RA, at least in the discipline of applied linguistics

3   The Study
3.1 Data Compilation

To obtain valid genre analysis results, 50 RAs on applied linguistics were first
systematically compiled so as to ascertain that the datasets were
representative of the genre. To enhance the validity of the analysis with
regard to a journal selection, the journals approved to be included in the Tier
1 by the Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI), representing the high quality of
their publications and journals (Sombatsompop et al. 2012), were carefully
selected. From these journals, the respective 2013 and 2014 issues were
selected so as to enhance the coherence and validity of the results of
the study.
To systematically select 50 RAs from each of the journals, firstly, RAs were
chosen whose contents appear to relate to studies in the field of applied
linguistics (e.g. teaching and learning, second language acquisition,
discourse analysis, foreign language teaching, and testing and assessment).
Secondly, since each issue of the journals may contain review articles,
forums or book reviews, only empirical RAs, consisting of Introduction,
Methods, Results, and Discussion and / or Conclusion sections were
compiled. However, only the sections of Introduction and Methods were
analysed in this study.

3.2 Data Analysis

The data collected and complied were analysed using Swales’ analytical
framework and the steps developed by Connor, Upton and Kanoksilapatham
(2007) to perform a move-based genre analysis to determine the sub-units of
moves and steps. Linguistic features found in move and step instances were
analysed to explore their communicative function in the text segments. To
determine the potential status of each move, the frequencies of occurrence of
the individual moves identified were recorded. Based on the criterion
arbitrarily established as a potential measure of move stability for any move
posited, a move was classified as obligatory, usual, or optional if it was found
in 100%, more than 60%, and in less than 60% of the corpus,
respectively. Inter-coder reliability analysis was also conducted to
demonstrate that a text segment identified in each move type can be defined
to ensure that different coders can demarcate the boundary of text units at a
sufficiently high agreement rate (Kanoksilapatham 2005, 2012). In the
present study, inter-coder reliability for identifying moves between the
researcher and three coders across the texts was attained, with an average
rate for the introduction section of 89.30% and the Methods section of
92.14%, respectively.

4   Results
In the presentation of the texts below, parenthetical citations appearing in the
original texts are replaced by the abbreviation (Ref) for space-saving
purposes. Distinct lexico-grammatical features in text segments, which seem
to particularly indicate communicative functions, are highlighted in boldface,
because they offer semantically driven clues on how moves are identified with
regard to their communicative function. However, the original division of
paragraphs has been preserved. Lastly, the names of the journals are
abbreviated as JES, JLA, LEA, MNY, NET, SCOJ, SJSH, SPPJ, and VEJ
(see Appendix).

4.1 Features of Moves and Steps and their Frequency in Introduction

Sections
Our analysis reveals that the Introduction section in RAs on applied linguistics
consists of four move types. The following table presents the occurrence and
frequency of each move and step identified in the 50 RA Introduction sections
analysed:

RA (N = 50)
Move / Step
Frequency

Move 1: Establishing the topic being studied 50

Step 1: Announcing the importance of the field 34

Step 2: Making topic generalisation 41

Step 3: Reviewing previous studies 46

Move 2: Presenting statement of problems/needs 16

Move 3: Establishing a niche 42

Step 1: Indicating research gaps 27

Step 2: Presenting positive justification 17

Move 4: Introducing the present study 50

Step 1: Stating objective(s) 44

Step 2: Summarising research methods 8

Step 3: Claiming research values 13

Step 4: Indicating research questions 10

*=Obligatory, **=Usual, ***Optional

                                   Table 1: Frequency of occurrence of moves and steps in

research article Introduction sections
As shown in Table 1, Moves 1, 3 and 4 occurred relatively often. Specifically,
Moves 1 and 4 were always present (100%) in the Introduction section, whilst
Move 3 occurred less frequently (92%). Move 2 was rarely found (32%),
however, compared with other moves in the section. Moves 1 and 4 were
always present (100%) in the Introduction section, whilst Move 3
occurred less frequently (42 out of 50 Introductions or 84%). Move 2
was rarely found (16 Introductions or 32%). Based on the criterion to
classify the status of each move regarding the occurrence rate of the
move, with the exception of Move 2, all moves identified appeared in
all 50 Introductions, resulting in a high frequency of occurrence
ranging from 84% to 100%. Thus, Moves 1 and 4 were considered
obligatory, while Move 3 appearing quite frequently in the section
was a usual move. Move 2 was considered to be optional. The
following sections discuss in detail the characteristics of each move type and
its constituent step(s) with regard to linguistic features reflecting the specific
communicative functions that they have, contributing to the generic structure
of the section.

4.1.1 Move 1: Establishing the Topic Being Studied

This the first move to occur in the initial position of the Introduction section.
This move is generally used to ensure that readers can determine if the
research is of relevance to them and, thus, worth reading, and to claim its
significance of further exploration in the field. Move 1 consists of three
possible steps: announcing the importance of the field, making topic
generalisations, and reviewing previous research.

4.1.1.1 Move 1 / Step 1: Announcing the Importance of the Field

This move is generally used to present the importance of the research topic
being studied. This move / step functions as a statement of current
knowledge, highlighting the importance of the research topic.
 Examples:

(1)    Reading entirely in English is particularly important for Thai university

EFL students because of the large number of course texts, references and
internet materials appearing in that language. (JLA 1, Dorkchandra 2013:
33)

(2)    Language learning strategies have been considered as a key factor

for successful language learning for the last few decades. (SCOJ 2,
Yang 2013: 41)

As can clearly be seen, the authors can introduce the topic of the study and
claim that it is a significant area of study through emphatic lexical items
(important, key factor) and amplifiers (particularly important). Evaluative
adjectives are used as predicative adjectives. More interestingly, the current
state of the topic is signalled by the use of the Present tense and the Present
Perfect tense (have been considered), showing that the topic under
investigation is still of potential interest to the readers. These linguistic
features and lexical items help contribute to highlighting the importance of the
topic and the on-going interest to investigate a particular concept or area of
applied linguistics. This finding is congruent with Samraj’s (2002) study which
suggests that centrality claims seem to be made in two ways: either by
assertions about the importance of the topic being discussed or by assertions
regarding active research activity in the field concerned.

4.1.1.2 Move 1 / Step 2: Making Topic Generalisation

This move is invariably present and usually opens the section. This can occur
elsewhere in the Introduction section. Similar to Swales (2004), this
move / step can take a variety of forms, but it generally falls into one of two
categories: statements about knowledge that are generally known in the field
or practice and statements about phenomena.

Examples:

(3)    Reading involves a number of cognitive processes; therefore,

 awareness and understanding of these processes help readers perform
their reading better. (SPPJ 1, Chanprasert 2013: 95)

(4)  The English language is complicated by the fact that one word can

carry more than one meaning and various meanings can be
associated with a word. (JLA 2, Laongphol & Chatupote 2013: 3)

Move 1 / Step 2, indicates that the statement represents what is generally

known or accepted in the field. Therefore, reference to a particular scholar is
not made. The use of verbs in the present tense, be they active or passive
(involves, is complicated, can carry, can be associated), is the dominant
linguistic feature used to accomplish this move / step; expressing a statement
is assumed to be known to, or agreed by, discourse members including
potential readers and those who are interested in the topic. Given that the
statement which denotes this move is brief and / or uncontroversial, the
function of this move is similar to Wharton’s (2006) comment, asserting that
by stating initial information in a brief form, writers are signalling that they
believe this information to be shared knowledge in the community.

4.1.1.3 Move 1 / Step 3: Reviewing Previous Research

In this move, previous studies deemed by the authors to be relevant to the

topic are presented to help establish the claims that the authors want to
make. This move / step is always recognised through clusters of citations
intermingled throughout the text.

Examples:

(5)   A number of studies on modified interaction or negotiation for

meaning (Ref) suggested that the process of negotiating for meaning is
facilitative of L2 acquisition. (NET 2, Champakaew & Pencingkarn 2014:
81)

(6)  (Ref) confirmed this notion by saying, “In learning another language, it

is evident that we have to learn both grammatical correctness and
idiomatic preference”, otherwise the production of lexical errors and
 improper use of words could result. (LEA 8, Yumanee & Phoocharoensil
2013: 90)

The excerpts above reveal that a unique feature of this step is the presence
of citations or references (Ref). Compared with Step 2 of Move 1 (Making
topic generalisations), Move 1 / Step 3, is relatively specific, as all realisations
of the move refer to previous studies, e.g. a number of studies. These lexical
items are employed to contextualise the study being reported, demonstrating
its connections to previous studies. This move / step is widely found in the
Introduction section because assessing previous research in the literature
can possibly enhance the author’s credentials as a possessor of knowledge.

Interestingly, the instances above show the distinct use of the

Present Perfect tense and the Past tense. With respect to the use of
tense, Shaw (1992: 303) proposes some intriguing and perspective
views on the use of tenses by claiming that the Present Perfect tense
is used when the author needs to continue a discussion based on
previous literature or to point out that the results of previous studies
are acceptable in general. In contrast to the Present Perfect tense,
the simple past tense is used when previous results are not generally
accepted, and thus do not support the author’s claims.

4.1.2 Move 2: Presenting Statement of Problems / Needs

In Move 2, the author tries to attract the readers' attention by

mentioning some problematic issues, leading to the necessity
and / or need to conduct the study in question. Words or phrases,
negation patterns conveying negative connotations are usually
employed in this move in order to present key characteristics of a
particular problem. This move could occur once in the Introduction
section or could be interrupted by another move type.

Examples:

(7)  Although the importance of reading is well-recognized, many Thai

 university EFL students’ English reading comprehension skill is still poor.
This indicates difficulties in fulfilling the demands of their studies. (JLA 1,
Dorkchandra 2013: 33)

(8)  Despite a regular use of the English language both inside and outside
the classroom setting, the students still encounter problems in their
learning and they generally see unknown words as the first problem to
overcome. (SJSH 1, Saengpakdeejit 2014: 148)

In the instances above, the authors try to convince readers that the problem
being stated in the paper is relevant by pointing out how the situation or
problem arises. The use of verbs in the present tense (is, indicates,
encounter, see) is prominent in Move 2, highlighting the existence of the
current problems, which are thus worth investigating in the study. The distinct
use of words that have negative meanings (difficulties, problems) is the main
strategy commonly used to accomplish this purpose. Meanwhile,
contradiction connectors (although, despite) are used to connect the ideal
situation previously mentioned to the current situation that falls short of the
goal.

4.1.3 Move 3: Establishing a Niche

Move 3 is used in the Introduction section of RAs on applied linguistics to

draw attention to a weakness or gap in the literature. This third move found
represents a common strategy used in order to prepare readers by
addressing or identifying gaps in previous studies, pinpointing how
inadequate and problematic they are. Move 3 is typically realised through two
steps as follows.

4.1.3.1 Move 3 / Step 1: Indicating Research Gaps

Step 1 of Move 3 serves to express critical comments addressing a current

gap in existing research. This move / step is used most to pinpoint some
limitations or weaknesses in the existing literature. The occurrence rate of
Move 3 / Step 1 was quite high (56%), as opposed to Hirano (2009)
suggesting that Brazilian writers have a tendency to not criticise others’ work
openly.

Examples:

(9)   Generally, many of the two-way communication task studies were

conducted in experimental setting where NS-NNS were involved, and few
studies have explored EFL learners’ negotiating in classroom. (NET 2,
Champakaew & Pencingkarn 2013: 82)

(10)  No study has been reported about the type of processing approach
of English language by learners of non-romance languages in
general and Persian in particular. (LEA 6, Ansarin 2013: 17)

Move 3 / Step 1, is employed in the above examples as a strategy to mention

that previous research studies suffer from some limitations. A number of
lexical entries are used in this move, involving a set of lexical items including
negative quantifiers and evaluations, such as indefinite adjectives or
pronouns, negation devices (no, few), and adversative connectors (yet). The
use of the adversative connector indicates that existing knowledge bears
some limitations, and thus remains to be explored. This finding is in line with
the work of Swales (1990), who observes that this step shows that previous
literature studies have been limited in some way and is therefore associated
with more affirmative sentence connectors.

4.1.3.2. Move 3 / Step 2: Presenting Positive Justification

Move 3 / Step 2, serves to support the need for the existence of the study,
specifying the expected benefits obtained from the work being reported.

Examples:

(11)  Considering these studies, examining the components of student

engagement is essential to successfully engage students even if following
the school curriculum is required in some schools. (NET 1, Hirano 2014:
 58)

(12) There is, consequently, a need to improve this aspect of their service

to the customer. One area of possible improvement would be the
recognition of the more practical training of ‘small talk’. This particular
approach to facilitating a more interactional form of conversation would
have potentially several benefits apart from greater social interaction with
the customers developing confidence in terms of language for the cabin
crew. (NET 4, Pawataungsunit 2014: 133)

As shown above, the verbs in the present tense (is) and lexical items
indicating that research should be conducted (need as a noun) are commonly
used. Moreover, the authors used lexical items with positive reasons in
reporting the study (essential, potentially several benefits) to assist them in
reinforcing the research topic which they intend to investigate.

4.1.4 Move 4: Introducing the Respective Study

Move 4 is a means to introduce the work which will fill in the gap indicated in
Move 3. Therefore, Move 4 is closely connected to Move 3. With regard to the
position of this move, it usually ends the Introduction section. Move 4 could
be realised by four steps: stating objectives, summarising research methods,
claiming the value of the given research, and indicating research questions.

4.1.4.1 Move 4 / Step 1: Stating Objectives

Move 4 / Step 1, explicitly indicates the purpose of the research being

reported. This is in line with Samraj’s (2002) study which shows that research
goals are generally presented and elaborated in all the Introductions to
articles on wildlife behaviour that she studied.

Examples:

(13) This research aimed to study whether the training in part of speech

identification and dictionary use would help students translate better and
 find out what factors they thought affect their ability to translate and how
they feel about the training. (JLA 2, Laongphol & Chatupote 2013: 6)

(14)  With this in mind, the researchers were encouraged to examine a

range of LLS by employing a case study of a group of undergraduate
students majoring in English in Cambodia. (LEA 1, Seng & Khleang 2014:
59)

The most frequent signal in this step to state the objectives is the use of
deictic references to the texts, including demonstrative adjectives (this), and
specific determiners (the) followed mainly by common nouns (study,
research). Impersonal stereotypical phrases such as the aim of this
study or this study aimed to were also used (e.g. This research aimed to
study). The noun researchers is used to express identity and inform readers
of their involvement of the research. In this regard, it is worth noting that the
verbs is and aimed are used in the form of the Simple Present tense or Past
tense in order that the authors can explicitly state the objective(s) of the
research. The use of the noun aim and semantically suitable infinitives (to
study, to examine) to go with it in this move / step is congruent with Swales’
study (2004), stating that proposing the purpose of the study is usually
categorised in two forms: the descriptive form, focusing on the features of the
study, or the purposive form, which is marked by the use of expressions such
as the aim or the goal.

In this respect, the first pronoun (I) is also used to stress that the study being
presented was conducted by the author him or herself as shown in the
following instance.

Example:

(15) In this study, I examined the effective instructional strategies that help

students who study a foreign language understand reading and writing in
the target language. I also examined in what ways teachers can
encourage and motivate students to learn a foreign language, how the
strategies that teachers in the United States use compared with my
experience teaching in Japan and with that of Japanese
 students I interviewed, and how teachers manage time to involve students
while teaching a huge amount of content, which might take up most of the
class period. (NET 1, Hirano 2014: 59)

The use of the first person pronoun signals the presence of a researcher in

the research paper, serving to claim ownership. This explanation is in line
with Hyland (2009) and Hyland & Tse (2012) who indicate that by referring to
the writers in the first person, they want to stress their contribution and their
presence in the article where the author interacts with other scholars and the
audience.

4.1.4.2 Move 4 / Step 2: Listing Research Procedures

Move 4 / Step 2, serves to briefly describe methodological procedures

and / or experimental frameworks adopted by the studies.

Examples:

(16)  However, in this study three different two-way communication tasks

were selected; problem-solving tasks, information gap tasks and story-
telling tasks. (NET 2, Champakaew & Pencingkarn 2013: 82)

(17)  Using Lee’s working definition of coherence and students’ voices as

the conceptual framework, we ventured into a writing class to explore how
a group of EFL university students viewed coherence and the extent to
which teaching and students’ views on coherence might be related. (LEA
4, Vivekmetakorn & Kaewbangpood 2014: 94)

Compared to Move 4 / Step 1, Step 2 of Move 4 normally exceeds mere one-

sentence announcements. Lexical signals used to express Move 4 / Step 2,
include expressions related to research procedures and research
tools (problem-solving tasks, information gap tasks, story-telling task). Activity
verbs describing research activities (were selected) and underlining
theoretical frameworks used (Using Lee’s working definition of coherence and
students’ voices) are also used to present methodological procedures. The
choice of the Simple Past tense also indicates that the methodology was
carefully selected in the study being reported.

4.1.4.3 Move 4, Step 3: Claiming Research Value

Move 4 / Step 3, serves to inform readers of the value of the research being
presented. Functionally, in this move / step the research findings are
discussed from several perspectives, including implications, significance,
interpretations or contributions of the study being reported.

Examples:

(18) The results of this study contribute some empirical evidence in an

attempt to raise awareness of a test bias which has been overlooked in
many ESL / EFL contexts. (JES 1, Wuttipornpong 2013: 34)

(19) The results of this study may not only minimize the marginalization of
value and lived experiences of Thai secondary school students, but also
enable them to share and value their own cultural identities with students
from other countries. (VEJ 2, Nomnian 2013: 15)

The above examples indicate that the authors use Move 4 / Step 3, to
express the contribution of the results of their studies and their practical
implications. Some linguistic features used to accomplish this move / step
include cognitive nouns (awareness) and nouns expressing likelihood
(empirical evidence) as well as predicative and possibility modals (may).
Deictic elements, including specific determiners or demonstrative adjectives
(this) followed by common nouns (study) and formulaic structures (the results
of this study) are frequently used in these texts. Move 4 / Step 3, is regarded
as a strategy to state the value of the research before the authors make
strong claims for the validity of their research and implications in the
Discussion section.

4.1.4.4 Move 4 / Step 4: Indicating Research Questions

If present, Move 4 / Step 4 may be the last move to end the Introduction. The

aim or goal of a study in this move / step can be explicitly stated in the form of
research questions.

Example:

(20) In particular, this investigation tried to answer the

following questions:

1) How do students respond, in terms of attention / awareness, action

and attitude, to WCF?

2) Are there significant differences in students’ responses

to the three types of WCF, namely direct, indirect, and
coded corrective feedback? (LEA 2, Parreño 2014: 7)
As shown here, the research questions found in Introduction sections are
stated directly (to answer the following questions), and are generally listed.
Since this move / step is used infrequently in the corpus, this finding is
consistent with Swales’ (2004) CARS model, indicating that Step 2 in Move 3
(Presenting RQs or hypotheses) is regarded not only as optional but that it is
less fixed in its occurrence of order than the other steps.

4.2 Features of Moves and Steps and their Frequency in Methods

Sections

The Methods sections of 50 RAs on applied linguistics consist of a

set of five distinctive moves organised into a particular pattern. The
findings concerning the frequency of occurrence of the rhetorical
moves and steps of the 50 RA Methods sections are presented in
Table 2:

Move / Step RA (N
= 50)

Frequency
 Move 5: Summarising 20
research objectives and
methods

Step 1: Announcing research 10

objectives / questions

Step 2: Presenting research 13

designs

Move 6: Describing 50
participants/ sources of data

Step 1: Providing the 50

description of the participants /
data

Step 2: Justifying selection 17

criteria

Step 3: Defining variables 3

Move 7: Stating research 50

instruments

Step 1: Detailing research 50

instruments

Step 2: Presenting the 20

development / justification of
research instruments

Move 8: Detailing research / 47

Describing thedata collection

Move 9: Describing data 41

analysis

*=Obligatory, **=Usual, ***Optional

                   Table 2: Frequency of occurrence of moves and steps in research article

Methods sections

Table 2 demonstrates that a set of five moves was not always used in the RA
Methods as some moves were found to be more frequent than others.
Moves 6 and 7 were discovered in all of the 50 RAs (100%), while
Moves 8 and 9 were relatively frequent (47 and 41 out of 50 or 84%
and 82% of occurrence, respectively). Move 5 was found to be the
least frequent move type (40%). Moves 6 and
7 are considered obligatory (as they were found in all the texts of our
corpus) in performing their communicative functions in this particular
section, while Moves 8 and 9 are usual moves (occurring in more
than 60% of the texts of our corpus). Move 5 is regarded as optional.
Therefore, it can be said that Moves 6, 7, 8, and 9 play an
integral role in the Methods sections of the RAs on applied linguistics
analysed. In contrast, the relatively low percentage of Move 5
indicates that summarising research objectives and research
methods may play a much smaller role in the Methods section than it
does in others.

4.2.1 Move 5: Summarising Research Objectives and Methods

Move 5 is to present the general information of the research design and
research method of a given study. In some cases, it is used to restate the
research objectives of the study being reported. Move 5 was found to occur at
the beginning of the Methods section and can be accomplished in two steps
which are presented in the following.

4.2.1.1 Move 5 / Step 1: Announcing Research Objectives / Questions

Move 5 / Step 1, is the segment in which authors address the objectives of
their research, or the question(s) to be answered in the study.

Example:
 (21) This study sets out to investigate Thai students’
attitudes towards the native-speaker and other ASEAN
models in English pronunciation learning that highlight
intelligibility with reference to the ideologies of ELF and EIL.
Corresponding to the objective stipulated, the research
question addressed in this study is: What are the Thai
English learners’ attitudes towards native-like pronunciation
or the pronunciation of other varieties of English advocated
by the nations of EIL, ELF, and WEs? (JES 2,
Kanoksilapatham 2013: 133)
The above focuses on the research objectives and research questions to be
addressed in the study which the example is quoted from. The linguistic
features of this move / step are rather formulaic, consisting of the use
of to or in order to, followed by an infinitive verb form (investigate) to
announce the research objectives of the study. The research questions can
be listed in the form of an interrogative sentence.

4.2.1.2 Move 5 / Step 2: Presenting Research Designs

Move 5 / Step 2, serves to give an overview of the research design and / or

approaches used to collect the research data. In other words, the authors
might announce the research design of the study being reported before giving
more details of the data collection process later in the Methods section. The
position of this move / step is not fixed as it can be found anywhere in the
section.

Examples:

(22) This study employed four qualitative research methods:

in-depth interview, focus-group interview, documents and
questionnaires. (LEA 3, Wanich 2014: 107)
(23)  A qualitative descriptive research design using random
sampling was employed to determine how students’
 perceive their service learning involvement at RIS as well as
their satisfaction level in the RIS service-learning program.
(SCOJ 4, Vu 2013: 50)
The predominant linguistic features used to identify and guide readers to the
research design include the type or nature of research
(qualitative, quantitative research), and research methods or data collection
techniques employed in the study (in-depth interview, focus-group
interview, documents and questionnaires, random sampling). Linguistically,
the use of verbs in the past tense, be they active or passive constructions
(employed, was employed) indicate the completion of the research activities
in the study.

In this regard, as another possible variation of Move 5, the co-

occurrence of Move 5, Step 1 (Announcing research
objectives / questions) and Move 5, Step 2 (Presenting the research
design) can occur in a sentence to accomplish the function of Move
5.

Example:

(24)  Following the notion of triangulation (Ref), we gathered

data from three sources i.e. classroom observation,
interview and documents with aims to explain students’
views on coherence and gain a better insight into teaching
and learning this concept in an EFL setting. (LEA 4,
Vivekmetakorn & Kaewbangpood 2014: 94)
Noticeably, this move is relatively infrequent compared to other moves in the
Methods section. The use of verbs in the past tense suggests that the
research activities were completed, and thus informs the success of the
study. Moreover, the use of lexical items with research-oriented meanings
indicates the specification and characteristics of the study being
reported. Interestingly, the occurrence of this move was not reported by Lim
(2006) and Ngowu (1997), who also examined Methods sections. However, it
was found in Arsyad’s (2013) study.
4.2.2 Move 6: Describing Participants or Sources of Data

Move 6 is to ostensibly describe the size of the sample of participants and
their characteristics. Sometimes, the population, description of sampling
technique, and representativeness of the sample are also provided. Move 6
can be realised by three possible steps.

4.2.2.1. Move 6 / Step 1: Providing the Description of Participants or

Data

Move 6 / Step 1, precisely reports the number of participants who took part in

the research study being reported. Demographic information of the
participants, including gender, age, and occupation, and the setting in which
the research was carried out is also provided in this move / step.

Example:

(25) The research population was the air hostesses and air
steward in: first class, business class or economy class. The
participants totalled 20 crew, both male and female. Their
education background ranged from high school to that of a
Bachelor of Arts degree. (NET 4, Pawataungsunit 2013: 134)
The presence of the word participants clearly serves to specify the
information regarding the people selected in the study being reported. The
description of the participants is precise and specific, providing their number,
gender, and other characteristics (20 crew, both male and female). Specific
information of the participants such as age range and educational
background (Their education background ranged from high school to that of a
Bachelor of Arts degree) is also reported in this move / step.

4.2.2.2 Move 6 / Step 2: Justifying Selection Criteria

This move draws attention to the rationale and / or criteria used in
the selection of participants / data in the study. This move / step is
used to assure readers that the potential participants or samples
taking part in the study satisfactorily fulfil the requirements, serving
appropriately the objective(s) of the study.

Example:

(26) This target group was chosen for the following reasons.
Firstly, they were the students of one researcher’s friend;
therefore, it was convenient to gather data. Secondly, with
exposure English during lower and higher secondary
school, it was assumed that they would have their own
opinions on and effective ways of English learning. Also,
because they were freshman English majors, they were
useful for investigating and reflecting their possible
formulated strategies to learn English at early undergraduate
degree. (LEA 1, Seng & Khleang 2014: 6)
The above text demonstrates some explicit reasons why the participants were
selected to participate in the study. Linguistically, the subordinating
conjunction because is used to imply a justification for selecting these
participants. The use of verbs in the simple past is rather dominant in this
move / step. Other linguistic features which indicate that the participants were
selected wisely and systematically, serving the purpose of the study, are
lexical items, such as the adjectives convenient and useful, and the
enumeration of the various reasons through the use of firstly,
secondly, and also.

4.2.2.3 Move 6 / Step 3: Defining Variables

Move 6 / Step 3, provides information about research variables. It is used

with the experimental study, investigating what research variables could
affect the outcome.
 Example:

(27) Independent variables were the variable of person

factor, the variable of family factor, and the variable of
institution factor.
    The dependent variable was the characteristic of self-
directed learning of the students from Faculty of Education,
Silpakorn University. (VEJ 1, Paiwithayasiritham 2013: 4)
As shown above, the author can explicitly state research variables in Move
6 / Step 3, by using words such as independent variable, and dependent
variable. This move / step is used because the author needs to guide and
inform readers of the factors to be investigated in the study.

4.2.3 Move 7: Stating Research Instruments

This move centres on detailed information regarding research instruments

used for particular research objective(s). This move is similar to that of the
use of Move 6 and consists of two steps as presented below.

4.2.3.1 Move 7 / Step 1: Detailing Research Instruments

Move 7 / Step 1, describes how research instruments are obtained, adapted,

or created, pertaining to the particular objective(s) of the study. In this
move / step, the detailed description and / or characteristics of the
instruments are also provided and are sometimes presented with citations
(Ref) if the study adopts or adapts the instruments from previous studies.

Examples:

(28) The Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies

Inventory (MARSI) designed by (Ref) was used to assess
students’ awareness and the use of reading strategies while
they read. It consists of 30 items of metacognitive reading
 strategies. (SPPJ 1, Chanprasert 2013. 96)
(29) To investigate the commodification of English through
media discourses in this study, I will adopt a critical
approach. For this research, Critical Discourse Analysis
(CDA) was adopted as a theoretical framework and Content
Analysis was performed to examine the data collected. (NET
5, Kogar 2014: 147)
As can be seen from these examples, the authors explain methods for
measuring variables, using lexical items related to research techniques for
the collection of data in the study (e.g. questionnaire) or approaches to data
analysis (critical approach, Critical Discourse Analysis, Content Analysis). In
order to describe a methodological procedure, verbs in passive past-tense
constructions (was used, was adopted) are employed. The verbs was
used and was adopted also entail some information regarding how the
instruments are constructed, used, or developed in the study. The details of
the research tools used can also be elaborated by using verbs like consists
of, as shown. Clearly, the use of the deictic centre lexical item (this) with a
noun (study, research) is to state that the instruments used specifically
pertain to this particular study.

4.2.3.2 Move 7 / Step 2: Presenting the Development or Justification of

Research Instruments

Move 7 / Step 2, describes the process of implementing research instruments

and / or provides justification for their choice, demonstrating in what way they
are appropriate for the study being reported. It is possible that this
move / step is used as researchers might wish to protect themselves
from possible inquiries by convincing readers that the instruments used were
carefully and appropriately selected, adapted or developed.

Example:

(30) The initial version of the questionnaire was piloted

 before use with 30 first and second year students at the
Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science of a public university in
the second semester of 2012 academic year. The purpose of
this piloting was to ensure that the language used in the
questions was understood by the respondents, and the
questions successfully elicited what they were supposed to.
Based on the comments and feedback from the
respondents, the questionnaire was revised accordingly.
Some question items were rewritten, and others were
elaborated to make sure that confusion was eradicated, and
clarity enhanced. (JES 2, Kanoksilapatham 2013: 134-135)
The above example reveals that the authors purposely tried to convince
readers that the choice of research instruments used appropriately serves the
purpose(s) of the study. Specifically, some lexical signals such as was
piloted, to ensure, was revised, were rewritten, were elaborated, was
eradicated, and clarity enhanced can markedly help to state the justification
of the instruments being used. Some lexical items are also used together with
infinitive verbs (to ensure, to make sure), demonstrating the objective of the
development of research instruments, which aids the authors to clarify the
effectiveness and reliability of the instruments after some changes were
wisely and appropriately made. In so doing, possible questions relevant to
research instruments used in the given study can be eliminated,
strengthening the reliability and credibility of the research findings.

4.2.4 Move 8: Demonstrating Research / Describing the Data Collection

Move 8 aims to selectively present data collection procedures in detail. Move

8 is used to convince readers that research activities in the study were
systematically implemented in order to obtain reliable data for the analysis.

Example:

(31) The OCSI (Thai translation) was administered to all participants

during normal class time. The questionnaire consists of 62 Likert Scale
 items relating to strategy use. All written and verbal instructions were
given in English and participants were informed that participation was
voluntary and contribution would remain anonymous. (LEA 7, Metcalfe &
Noom-Ura 2013: 74)

As shown in the above example, Move 8 is quite technical and objectively

presented as most of the procedures described in this move were used with
verbs in the past tense, especially in the passive voice (was carried out, were
asked, were required, were given, were informed, was accessed, was used,
were interviewed, was recorded, was piloted, and was transcribed). It is
possible that the authors use these to indicate that the study accomplished its
task of addressing the objectives / purposes established by following step-by-
step the research activities mentioned. This finding substantiates Waard &
Maat’s (2012) work on biological RAs. That is, the interpretation of the
Method propositions can be clearly recognised by the co-occurrence of
research activity verbs and passive constructions.

The analysis of the 50 Methods sections of RAs indicates that Move

8 is an important element as the entire corpus of Methods RAs
contains the details of research procedures. In agreement with
Branson (2004) and Kanoksilapatham (2005), the analysis indicates
that details of the procedures are written in a clear manner and fully
described to facilitate readers’ understanding and / or to allow
replication in future studies to be possible for validation purposes.

4.2.5 Move 9: Describing Data Analyses

Move 9 is the last move of the Methods section in which authors present the
method used to analyse the data obtained from the data collection process.
To be precise, in quantitative research, authors describe statistical devices
used in the analysis and also justify analysis procedures. For the qualitative
nature of the study, qualitative procedures may sometimes be described in
this move. Our analysis has shown that Move 9 concludes the Methods
section, with not a single step being found.
 Example:

(32) All of the returned questionnaires (N = 387) were

quantitatively analyzed by using the SPSS Statistics (SPSS)
program for descriptive statistics in order to calculate mean
rating and percentages, and to highlight any trends and
significant commonalities, anomalies, etc. The Likert scale
data analyzed by descriptive statistics provided a summary
of data that not only identify the most popular answer for
each question but also a group average. (JES 2,
Kanoksilapatham 2013: 135)
As shown in the preceding example, this move emphasises approaches to
analyse the data collected for the study, detailing statistical devices
(descriptive statistics, mean rating, and percentages). Specific purposes for
using statistical analysis are identified by the use of to, followed by a verb in
the infinitive (calculate, highlight). Similar to the characteristics of Move 8, to
describe how the data analysis is conducted in the study, passive verbs in the
past tense (were analyzed) are prevalently found in the RA Methods.

5 Discussion and Conclusion

The results obtained from 50 RAs reveal that four distinct move types
and five rhetorical move types were found in the Introduction and
Methods sections, respectively. Each move identified has its own
communicative function, recognised by a set of lexico-grammatical
features. The description from a linguistic perspective provided by
this study can help to highlight the characteristics of the rhetorical
moves and provide more explicit functions of moves and steps found
in these two particular sections.
The rhetorical structure of moves and steps generated by this study mostly is
in resonance with Swales’ (2004) Create-a-Research-Space (CARS) model
for RA Introductions. It is undeniable that his CARS model is rather
successful, both in descriptive and pedagogic perspectives (Samraj 2002).
This indicates that Swales’ model is invaluable as a descriptive reference.
Thus, it is likely that since Swales’ three-move schema found in RA
Introductions in many leading journals is relatively well-known and widely
accepted among scholars, as witnessed by a plethora of research activities in
this line. His framework and model have become prototypical and have
entered the consciousness of numerous researchers. Moreover, because of
its robustness in the field, the researchers possibly know how to write an RAs
which are consistent with Swales’ CARS model.

Regarding the four moves identified in the Introduction sections, the findings
are partly congruent with Lakic’s (1997) study focusing on RA Introductions in
economics. In this work, four move types were found: establishing the
territory, summarising previous research, establishing a niche, and occupying
the niche. The occurrence of the four moves identified in the present study is
also partly in agreement with Swales’ 2004 model. As mentioned in 4.1.2,
Move 2 in the present study is quite specific. The status of Move 2 is
considered optional (32%). However, it could be argued that the use of Move
2 in this study is not trivial since there is no consensus of a cut-off point
suggested in the literature to allow a move to be categorised as optional
rather than simply idiosyncratic. If this is the case, the issue needs to be
addressed. It could be argued that those moves which appear to be
idiosyncratic and which therefore are not probably considered as optional
moves in the framework, and those moves that do not achieve over 60 % of
the occurrence rate, are still not trivial.

The results of our analysis also show that most of the steps found in Move
4 are relatively similar to those in Kanoksilapatham’s (2007) study
investigating civil engineering RAs and indicating that Move 3 in the
Introduction section serves to introduce a particular study. However, the
number of steps found in the present study is less than the one found in
Kanoksilapatham’s study. This indicates that apart from the four steps in
Move 4 of the present study, in engineering RA Introductions, the authors
also present major findings of their respective study, define the
relevant terminology and direct future research. It is possible that research
activities in civil engineering focus on the design and construction determined
by the locations and settings of the study site. Summarising results and
procedures in Introductions can provide an incentive to readers to maintain
their interest and continue reading. As a consequence, when reporting
research findings, the Introduction section of RAs on civil engineering
contains a number of particular steps providing important descriptions of the
respective study. These reasons also reflect the thematic range of the
discipline.

As for the Methods section, the typical functions of the five moves found in
the present study are partially in agreement with Peacock (2011), Lim (2006),
and Nwogu (1997). Despite some common features and characteristics of the
move types identified, the presence of Move 5 in the current study is
intriguing because it is the first move found in the Methods section in the
discipline of applied linguistics. Apparently, the occurrence of Move 5
(Summarising research objectives and methods) is not included in the model
for the Methods section proposed by Lim (2006) and Nwogu (1997). This may
well be due to the fact that the texts analysed in these studies are taken from
different disciplines. That is, in Nwogu’s study, the corpus was from medical
journals, while management was the topic of Lim’s study. Therefore, again,
disciplinary variations can lead to the uniqueness of the organisational
patterns of each discipline. The distinctive results yielded by our analysis also
highlight the issue that the disciplinary communities constrain the rhetorical
conventions of academic knowledge production (Hyland 2004, 2009).

The results of the present study should be interpreted cautiously. In the

present study, only 50 RAs from journals indexed in the TCI database were
examined, and this limited scope affects the generalisability of this study. The
results yielded might vary due to the fact that each journal analysed may
have different standards of publication, even though the data collection of this
study was systematically controlled. As the discipline of applied linguistics is
quite broadly defined, the selection of articles taken from or published in
different journals might affect the rhetorical patterns prevalently used. Thus,
analysing different groups of journals in the field and comparing the structural
patterns of selected linguistic features, or interviewing the authors of scientific
articles to gain empirical evidence for potential claims should be taken into
account in conducting future studies.

However, the present study, in general, sheds some light on how the target
discourse communities of applied linguistics prefer a certain rhetorical
structure to be realised. The awareness of rhetorical macro- and micro-
structural patterns is valuable to readers who encounter difficulties in
understanding RAs, as well as to less experienced writers, especially Thai
graduate students, who need to understand the specific demands and
expectations of writing for publication. The insights into how the Introduction
and the Methods sections are constructed can increase and facilitate the
reception and the production of academic papers. Awareness of the relevant
structural pattern can also help to direct the reading of novice writers and
graduate students who would like to enter research and academic
communities. Specifically, the knowledge provided by the present study
can be used in the development of academic writing and reading materials for
advanced students, particularly Thai graduate students who wish to publish
their research work in journals indexed in the TCI database.

The awareness of prevailing rhetorical patterns also bears some pedagogical

usefulness. Since the present study to a certain extent highlights the linguistic
features that are commonly associated with the communicative functions of
each rhetorical move found in these two sections, the linguistic
characterisation of moves has a significant impact with regard to the teaching
of rhetorical moves, allowing the presentation of moves not as abstract units
but as discourse units that can be characterised by a set of linguistic features.
In EAP classes, the description of rhetorical structures and the
characterisation of moves provided by this study are pedagogically useful for
the teaching of rhetorical elements, both moves and steps, and language use
in writing RAs. Teachers can make full use of how to teach the linguistic
features found in this study, providing students with authentic materials and
knowledge about how to effectively understand and use these sets of
linguistic features in reading and writing classes or in writing for publications.
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Author:

Attapol Khamkhien
Assistant Professor
Kasetsart University
Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science
Department of English
Thailand
E-mail: faasapk@ku.ac.th