A Comparative Analysis on Introduction and Methods Sections in Research Articles
A scientific research is described as a systematic, controlled, empiric and critical process to produce new knowledge and solve problems (Sampieri, Collado & Lucio, 1998). This paper presents a comparative analysis between an educational- based research that deals with the use of collaborative dialogues to improve students’ proficiency in academic writing when learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and one that belongs to the medicine world as it conducts a trial on the effect of revaccination in early childhood. These articles’ Introductions, Literature Reviews and Methods sections have been analyzed so as to obtain a general account of their similarities and differences in terms of content, structure and sections.
The main issue on discussion is presented in the Introduction in order to enhance readers’ comprehension of the article as well as attract their attention. Therefore, a general to specific structure is followed progressively to cater for each part of the research process. If one considers Swales and Feak’s (1994) Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S), the first move in this type of paper should establish a common territory, where the importance of carrying out the research is stressed. This significance appears not to be stated explicitly in the articles under analysis, but conveyed through the evidence obtained from numerous trials and studies that support the ideas of the authors.
Review of previous research is carried out in both articles. A main distinction arises as regards the type of information considered, due to structural characteristics of these fields of study. Aaby et al. (2010) write a highly more technical and scientific research article (RA) and therefore refer to quantitative data found in previous trials and experiments. Besides, they show evidence of the subsequent effects of vaccines in people’s health and pose a hypothesis to be confirmed or refuted after the intervention. In terms of grammatical structures, present perfect tense is mainly used to refer to assumptions and conclusions made after the different trials.
In contrast, Chang and Sun (2012) develop a notably more qualitative research since they consider students’ perceptions, attitudes and opinions about the introduction of blogs in the EFL classes. They do not rely on figures deriving from trials, but on actual opinion of the participants involved in the studies. Citations from well- recognized authors are included so as to highlight the importance of developing academic writing skills for EFL learners. There is a combination of tenses since past tense is used to refer to those studies that were carried out, present perfect to express research activities and areas of inquiry, and finally the present tense to mention the conclusions.
Considering the C.A.R.S. model, the second move consists of a niche, which is established in both articles since there is reference to previous studies that have been either inaccurate or insufficient. Chang and Sun (2012) explicitly establish that,
Though past literature has shed light on the ways blogs can be used to encourage language learning and learners’ participation in writing practices, little, if any, empirical research has been done to examine how interactions in blogs help EFL graduate students (…) (p. 44).
A negative connector is used to express that gap in previous research, what highlights that area of study will be the focus of the current research.
Aaby et al. (2010) implicitly mention the niche when the results of previous investigations are shown, but no subsequent actions appear to have been designed. “Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine has been associated with increased mortality, especially in girls (…). Thus we started two trials of interventions designed to ameliorate these undesirable effects of DTP vaccine” (Aaby et al., 2010, p.1-2). Negative connectors are not used, but the consequence linker shows the relationship between the results of previous studies and the research that is expected to be conducted.
The final move of the paper focuses on occupying the niche previously stated by means of mentioning the purposes of the study. The main aim of Chang and Sun (2012) seems to be to provide learners with tools that facilitate the process of learning academic writing skills, what is expressed using present tenses mainly. There is also reference here to the principal findings, in terms of the new conception of blogs as social tools for personal identity and improvement of writing performance. Aaby et al. (2010) tend to focus on diminishing the undesirable effects of revaccination following pertinent courses of action.
After the Introduction and Literature Review, the Methods section should be described. To analyze it, some of the points agreed by Swales (1990), Swales and Feak (1994) and Owl (2008) have been considered. For instance, it is established that the word methods should be centered, a convention that is not applied in either of the articles, since this word is placed on the left margin. In addition, the participants, materials and procedures are stated as the sub sections of methods. Chang and Sun (2012) consider the participants and procedures, but they do not clearly refer to materials, which seems to be reduced to direct observation.
Aaby et al. (2010) write a highly detailed Methods section since they do not only provide information about the participants, the materials and procedures referred to as study population, routine data collection and intervention, but also about the study design, the outcomes, the sample size, the enrolment, the informed consent, among others. This proves to be an extensive depiction of the study and follow the conventions of placing the heading on the left margin, though they are named differently. The most prevalent tense used is the past tense and passive voice as an appropriate resource to make the article more objective.
As regards the methods used to collect data, direct observation seems to be the preferred one by Chang and Sun (2012). They establish that, “the text (i.e., 168 posts) written by the seven students in their blogs is the main source of data” (p. 5). Therefore, researchers had to read attentively and conduct an inductive analysis to establish proper relationships between this data and the research questions. On the contrary, Aaby et.al (2010) resort to qualitative interviews to collect socioeconomic and demographic information as well as data about children’s health status, and a scientific experiment that consisted on vaccination programs.
In conclusion, the analysis of the structure, the sections and the content of both research articles has proved that similarities and differences can be found in this type of writing. While the articles follow a similar structure in terms of the sections they include and the moves they present, there are notable differences as regards the data collection and analysis, the sections’ headings and the use of citations. Probably, these distinctions arise due to the structuring characteristics of each field, since medicine seems to rely on quantitative studies, while education resorts to qualitative research. Still, they both present significant and precise investigations on topics that are likely to be of great concern.
References
Aaby, P., Benn,C., Lisse, I., Ravn, H., Rodrigues, A., Roth,A., Yazdanbakhsh, M., & Whittle, H. (2010). Effect of revaccination with BCG in early childhood on mortality: randomised trial in Guinea-Bissau. BMJ: British Medical Journal. British Medical Association. DOI: 10.136/bmj.c671
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Chang, Y. & Sun, Y. (2012). Blogging to learn: becoming EFL academic writers through collaborative dialogues. Language Learning & Technology, 16, 1. Retrieved April 2012, from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2012/sunchang.pdf
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Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan.
