Research papers article analysis
Furlano, Patricia-Godoy, Barbara-Goyeneche, Ximena.
Research Articles (RAs) are papers
written by investigators to illustrate an outcome of scientific research with
supporting data. RAs are generally divided into different sections, namely
Title, Abstracts, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods,
Results, Discussions, Recommendations, References and Appendixes (Swales &
Feak, 1994). The purpose of the current study is to analyze and compare the
Introduction and Methods sections as well as the Literature Review of two
research papers of different disciplines; one in the education field and the
other in the medicine arena.
Swales and Feak (1994) has created the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S.)
which describes the general organizational patterns as regards how writers
should present their introductions. They suggest three Moves in RAs’
Introductions; in Move 1 the writer establishes a research territory by
reviewing previous research and outlining the importance of the study; in Move
2 the author establishes a niche by indicating the gap that has been found in
the area; and in Move 3 the writer occupies the niche by outlining the purposes
of the current study and how the investigation will accomplish for the
field.
Both
analyzed articles attempt to show that the research studies are worth
considering. Valk, Rashid, and Elder, (2010) remark the increasing
exploration of the potential of mobile phones to facilitate learning nowadays;
and Besierre, Pressman, Kiesler, and Kraut, (2010) affirm that as the
number of Internet users is growing rapidly, it is important to assess how it
affects people’s well-being. As regards the revision of previous research, in
the education research article the author makes more generalizations about the
subject and reviews more in depth items of previous research. This is not as
clear in the medicine article as there is little evidence of previous research
in Move 1.
As regards verb tenses and their
mastering when writing different sections of research papers, both articles
make good use of them as expected for introductions. The present simple
is used to establish current state of knowledge and the writers’ research, the
present perfect is used to say what has been found and the past simple, though
it is not included in the introduction of the education paper, is used in the
medicine one to show results of previous research.
The articles’ motivations for the
study lack the exploitation of the proposed topic in question. They start Move
2 with a negative opening stating that more evidence is needed. On the one hand
the authors of the educational paper state that: “however, there remains a lack
of analysis that brings together the findings of the rising number of
m-Learning projects in the developing world” ( Valk et al. 2010, p. 2).
On the other hand the medicine research points out that: “although prior
research has shown…little reliable information exists about the impact of using
the Internet to obtain health resources, especially in non-clinical
populations” (Bessiere et al., 2010 ). Move 2 is very short as it is the link
that joins Move 1 and 3.
Concerning Move 3, even though both
articles outline the purpose of the study, they differ in some features
included. The education paper announces principal findings and indicates the
structure of the Research Paper. On the contrary, in the medicine article these
features are placed in a different section namely Current Study. The
medicine article contains both a descriptive and a purposive statement as it
not only states the purpose of the research but also describes the present
study. Besierre et al. (2010) announce that “the purpose of the current
research was to determine whether using the internet for health purpose is
beneficial or harmful to physical and psychological well-being.” (p.2).
Furthermore, the author explains how the study was conducted. On the contrary
the educational paper only contains a descriptive statement initiating Move
3.
With reference to literature review,
in the medicine article, as exposed previously, there is little on formation
about the topic of the research paper. A more complete review is presented in
two extra headings, Health Resources Online and Non-Medical Internet Use.
Regarding education research paper the author makes a general revision of the
literature, analyzing the topic in a broad way, placing specific information in
three subsequent headings, Theories of Mobile Learning, The role of Mobiles in
Improving Access to Education, and The Role of Mobiles in Promoting new
Learning.
Both
articles use a wide variety of sources. While the medicine article bases their
searches on online medical journals and online libraries, the educational paper
utilizes books as well as articles in its digital version, a newspaper article
and a paper from a conference. Regarding the way of acknowledging the
sources chosen, the articles differ from the method employed. While the
medicine paper acknowledges sources with a number system, the educational
article uses in text citations following The American Psychological Association
(APA) (2008) manual’s requirements.
When analyzing social scientific
research papers it is indispensable to remember what type of research it is.
According to Sampieri, Collado and Lucio (1998), scientific research is a
type of research which is systematic, controlled, empiric and critical. Systematic
and controlled because as any discipline it is based on a system; empiric
because it is based on observable issues and critical because it is under
permanent objective observation and reflection. Thus, it is of utmost
importance to remember research’s characteristics when delving into this
type of study.
To be able to analyze research
reports it is crucial to know about research types. Dankhe (1986, cited
in Sampieri et al., 1998) states that there are four types of research studies:
exploratory, descriptive, correlational, and explanatory. Thus, each type of
research study implements a different research method or strategy; components
such as the design, data and sample will vary depending on the chosen research
type and each of them is use different research tool to carry out the study.
In light of the typology to take
into account when examining research reports, it can be identified that the
paper in the educational field belongs to the descriptive type. Sampieri
et al. (1998) state that descriptive studies measure concepts and focus
on measuring the characteristics of a particular phenomenon. This type of
research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how and deals with
everything that can be counted or studied.
Valk et al. (2010)
delved into case studies for the purpose of examining the existing evidence of
m-Learning as a tool to exert a positive impact on educational outcome. The
authors identified relevant m-Learning pilot projects by searching academic
publications, as well as conducting a general internet search. The selected
projects document results and have evidence, both qualitative and quantitative,
thus, definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding the impact of mobile phone
on education.
As regards the method of study employed in the medicine field it can be assumed
that it is a correlational study. According to Waters (n.d.) correlational research
is a type of quantitative study in which two or more variables from the same
group are analyzed and correlated (brought into reciprocal relation), to
determine if there is a relationship or covariation between the
variables. Bessiere et al. (2010) used a non-experimental method in their
research. Thus, they did not manipulate variables deliberately; they just
observed the phenomenon and then analyzed it. The researchers conducted a
national survey of US households, using random digit dialing, to determine
whether using the Internet for health purposes is beneficial or harmful to
physical and psychological well-being.
In relation to the Method section,
the medicine article includes the traditional subsections Procedure and
Participants, it also adds Measures and Statistical Analysis subsections,
omitting the Material one. On the contrary the educational article does not
make the division among participants, method and procedure. And the information
is placed in a subsection called Methodology. Both articles contain a
great amount of information. While the medical paper utilized technical
vocabulary the explanations in the educational article are clearly exposed with
simple language and straightforward explanations. The simple past tense is used
to describe methods and data of the experiment.
Although both papers do not follow strictly the requirements for writing
research papers, they contain the information specified for each section. On
the whole they provide the necessary information concerning introductions,
literature reviews and method section and they are written in an academic
style. In the hope of gaining understanding of the construction of research
articles in different disciplines, an analysis of two research papers, a
medicine and an educational one, was carried out. An awareness of the rules and
conventions of research papers can help learners to become better writers and
professionals and thus showing the path to develop themselves as members of a
discourse community.
References
American Psychological Association
(2008). Publication Manual
(5th ed.). Washington, DC: British Library Cataloguing-In-Publication
Data.
Bessiere, K., Pressman, S., Kiesler, S., &
Kraut, R. (2010). Effects of Internet Use
on Health and Depression: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12, (1). Retrieved April, 2013
from: http://www.jmir.org/2010/1/e6/
Hernández Sampieri,
R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (1998). Metodología de la investigación. (2nd
ed.). McGraw Hill: Mexico
Swales, J. M., & Feak, C. B. (1994). Academic
writing for graduate students: A course for non-native speakers of English. Ann Harbour, MI: The University of
Michigan Press.
Valk, J., Rashid, A., & Elder, L. (2010). Using Mobile Phones to Improve
Educational Outcomes: An analysis of evidence from Asia. International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning, 11(1). Retrieved April 2013 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ881581.pdf
Waters, J. (n.d.). Correlational resarch. Retrieved April , 2013 from http://www.capilanou.ca/programs/psycology/students/research/correlation/html
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