Semi-Automated Analysis of a Thesis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v1i2.303Keywords:
computerized textual analysis, correspondence analysis, phd thesis, reporting verbs, writing in the disciplines, english for specific purposes, academic english, postgraduate writing, thesis supervisionAbstract
Given the high demands in knowledge and practice of written language conventions of academia and of specific disciplines, research traditions, and accepted approaches to thesis writing, doctoral students face a daunting array of challenges in writing a thesis. Here we discuss some ideas for automated analysis of low-level features of a thesis and preliminary work using Correspondence Analysis showing differences across chapters in theses from four fields (Biology, Linguistics, Tourism, and Film Studies) according to the presence of the three types of reporting verbs studied by Hyland (2002), i.e. those expressing research acts, cognitive acts, and discourse acts. The analysis illustrates the method and is suggestive of its potential for pointing up differences in thesis structure that might be of value for thesis students and their supervisors.
References
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Becher, T. (1989) Academic Tribes and Territories. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Bennett (2009) An analysis of undergraduate academic writing. Unpublished work in progress. University of Birmingham.
Berglund, Y. and Mason, O. (2002) The influence of external factors on learner performance. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Teaching and Language Corpora 205–215. Amsterdam: Rodopi.
Berkenkotter, C. and Huckin, T. N. (1995) Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., and Finegan, E. (1999) Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. London: Longman.
Bunton, D. (2002) Generic moves in Ph.D. thesis introductions. In J. Flowerdew (ed.), Academic Discourse 57–75. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. (2006) Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide to Spoken and Written English Grammar and Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Coffin, C. (this issue) Incorporating and evaluating voices in a Film Studies thesis.
Coxhead, A. (2000) A new academic wordlist. TESOL Quarterly 32(2): 213–238.
Donohue, J. (this issue) Using the PhD thesis introduction as a heuristic for writing a thesis.
Dudley-Evans, A. (1986) Genre analysis: An investigation of the introduction and discussion sections of MSc dissertations. In M. Coulthard (ed.) Talking about Text 128–145. Birmingham: The University of Birmingham.
Geertz, C. (1983) Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretative Anthropology. New York: Basic Books.
Greenacre, M. J. (1993) Correspondence Analysis in Practice. London: Academic Press.
Hyland, K. (2000) Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Longman: Pearson Education.
Hyland, K. (2002) Activity and evaluation: Reporting practices in academic writing. In J. Flowerdew (ed.) Academic Discourse 115–130. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Hyland, K. (2005) Metadiscourse. London and New York: Continuum.
Koutsantoni, D. (2007) Developing Academic Literacies: Understanding Disciplinary Communities’ Culture and Rhetoric. Oxford Bern Berlin: Peter Lang.
Mason, O. and Berglund, Y. (2002) Low-level parameters reflecting the naturalness of texts. Proceedings of Journées Internationales d’Analyse statistique des Données Textuelles 2002 507–516. Saint-Malo, France.
Paltridge, B. (2002) Thesis and dissertation writing: An examination of published advice and actual practice. English for Specific Purposes 21(2): 125–143.
Pennington, M. C. (2002) Thesis and Dissertation Website. National Teaching Fellowship grant. UK Institute of Teaching and Learning.
Prior, P. (1998) Writing/Disciplinarity: A Sociohistoric Account of Literate Activity in the Academy. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Shannon, C. and Weaver W. (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Swales, J. M. (1981) Aspects of Article Introductions. University of Birmingham, Language Studies Unit.
Swales, J. M. (1990) Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J. M. (1994) Research Genres: Exploration and Applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Published
2010-06-06
Issue
Section
From the e-Sphere
How to Cite
Mason, O., & Pennington, M. C. (2010). Semi-Automated Analysis of a Thesis. Writing and Pedagogy, 1(2), 303-326. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v1i2.303
