Comparative Analysis of Two Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of Two Research Articles

     Throughout time, researchers have published in professional and technical contexts a vast variety of research papers. Such articles have demonstrated not only a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the scientific field but also critical thinking of the topic. Swales and Feak (1994) established basic guidelines to write these academic articles. According to them, since introductions in research articles have a crucial role in keeping the reader’s attention and interest, they should be structured under the Create a Research Space Model (C.A.R.S) which states that information is organized from general to specific following certain steps with particular syntactic and semantic features. The methods section is also significant in a research paper because it is here where researchers explain in detail how they achieved the aims of the study and the tools used to collect and process data. The present paper analyzes and compares the introduction and methods section of an article in the educational field and one in the field of medicine. 

     On the one hand, the article in the educational field written by Aydin and Yildiz (2014) presents quite a long introduction clearly indicated under the heading ‘ Introduction’ at the start of the section. Considering the C.A.R.S. model organizational patterns, it is possible to say that the information in the introduction of the article is organized in a ‘funnel shape’ i.e. from general concepts and discussion to the particular situation under analysis. Moreover, the three moves of organization can also be identified; however not so clearly. The research space is created with Move 1a and 1b which specially refer to previous research carried out in the field in the past decades and its outcome. Move 2 appears in a single sentence starting with the negative connector ‘although’ and establishing the niche that will expand the previous knowledge in the area. According to the organizational patterns model, move 3, which includes descriptive and purposive statements, is clearly indicated with the phrase ‘the present study’ and outlines the nature of the research as well as announces the its findings.

     On the other hand, the introduction in the article in the medicine field written by Gregg (2014) is rather shorter than the one analyzed previously. The introduction in the medicine field paper is not indicated under any heading, it simply appears between the abstract and methods section. As regards the organizational patterns models of C.A.R.S., the information in this section is structured from general to specific clearly referring to previous research. However, there is no indication at all about any gap found; therefore the niche is not established. This introduction states the nature and purpose of the research but fails to give further indications on the structure of the paper. 

     The methods section in the article by Aydin and Yildiz (2014) is vastly developed and presents most of the main elements commonly included in the section: the participants are described in detail indicating age, gender and background knowledge, the materials (tasks, questionnaires and interviews) further explaining the kind of questions or tasks and finally the procedures also giving a detailed explanation. It is also worth noticing that the authors include all the information in a section called ‘Methodology’ and not ‘Methods’.    It is of upmost importance to consider the difference between these two terms.  Whereas ‘Methods’ refers to the technique used for collecting data, ‘Methodology’ is the theory on which a method is founded.

     In the case of the medicine article, the section is introduced under a centered ‘Methods’ title and it also follows most of the usual conventions when writing a section like this is an academic field . Although the section is sub-divided in ‘data sources’, ‘definitions’ and ‘data analyses’, it contains information about participants, materials and procedures. Medical institutions and associations are mentioned and there is a wide use of scientific medical terminology which requires knowledge of the field to be understood. 

     In conclusion, both articles comply with most of the elements required by the organizational pattern model in introductions and follow the principles of process paragraphs in its methods sections. Although some differences have been spotted and pointed out, they do not interfere with the successful communication of  the general purpose research articles have.   

References 

Swales, J.M., &Feak, C.B. (1994). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills. Ann Harbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Aydin, Z. &Yildiz, S. (2014). Using wikis to promote collaborative EFL writing. Language Learning & Technology 18 (1), 160-180. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february 2014/aydinyildiz.pdf 

Gegg, E. W., Li, Y., Wang, J., Rios Burrows, N., Ali, M. K., Rolka, D., Williams, D. &Geiss, L. (2014). Changes in Diabetes-Related Complications in the United States, 1990-2010. The New England Journal of Medicine.370 (16), 1514-1523. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1310799