According to Swales (1990) and Swales and Feak (1994) research
papers should meet some specific
requirements in the teaching field, such as having a title, an introduction,
methods, results, and discussions sections. The present paper provides an
analysis of a document in the field of Social Sciences, thesis and methodology,
in order to evaluate the reliability and validity of Lindón Villoria’s article.
One of the aspects to consider when analyzing research papers is that
introductions are essential for the authors to present and sell their work in
their field of study. Moreover, researchers usually use an established pattern:
creating a need to carry out the research, establishing the purpose of study,
and filling the gap between the aforementioned stages. For instance, the
introduction to Lindón Villoria’s research can illustrate these moves:
En
este documento presentamos algunas consideraciones de carácter metodológico
respecto a la investigación social. En principio presentamos un apartado sobre
lo que estamos denominando oficio del investigador. En esta parte buscamos
diferenciar la labor del investigador de las ciencias sociales de otras
actividades relativamente próximas aunque diferentes. En un segundo apartado
presentamos algunas ideas con respecto a lo que consideramos una de las
actividades que le otorga especificidad a la labor del investigador, nos
referimos al constante proceso de selección entre las múltiples alternativas
que se van abriendo, tanto empíricas y teóricas como analíticas y técnicas. En
la tercera parte del documento reefleccionamos sobre el carácter procesual de
la investigación, en donde el proceso es visto como la fusión interna de la
teoría y la realidad. Por último incluimos algunas conclusiones en relación a
lo que implica recorrer el camino presentado desde una posición protagónica,
que definimos como el rol del investigador de las ciencias sociales. (Lindón Villoria, 1998, p.3)
Regarding the methods sections of the paper, it is not clearly stated
with a specific subtitle, neither it follows the principles of process
paragraphs. However, the participants, materials and procedures are visualized
throughout the body of the paper, facilitating the understanding of the purpose
and structure of the research.
Swales and Feak (1994) state that some writers decide to write three
separate sections or blend them in two sections. Lindón Villoria (1998) has
chosen to describe and discuss the results in the same section. She describes
the main steps in the process of research, and then presents her analysis of
the hypotheses of the paper. Although, Swales (1998) suggests summarizing the
data in tables, and/or figures, the educational research paper presents results
in prose form since they are qualitative rather than quantitative in nature.
All in all, several features should be considered when analyzing papers
in any field of study. Lindón Villoria’s research paper follows the established
stages in the introduction. It is not written as a process text, but it
contains the necessary information to understand the objectives of the
research. Furthermore, rather than using charts or graphs to summarize the
data, she uses prose to write the results section of her qualitative research.
References
Lindón Villoria, A. (1998). De
la investigaciónen ciencias sociales, de las “tesis” yla metodología de la
investigación. El Colegio Mexiquense, A. C.
15,1-7. Retrieved May14th 2011
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in
academic and research settings. (Cambridge Applied Linguistic Series).
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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