Exploratory Study of Evaluative Techniques Used in Regional Development Literature Reviews

Abstract

Recent interdisciplinary body of literature has witnessed the appearance of a significant numberof studies dealing with the way in which researchers interact with their target audience. Theproponents of genre analysis theory investigated extensively how authors express their attitudestowards other research and looked into evaluation processes involved in this process (Swales 1990;Hyland 1998; Thompson 2001) in various fields of study, including social sciences. Based on theanalysis of five articles in regional development using content analysis, the study aimed toinvestigate how and by what rhetorical means researchers in the literature review sections ofresearch articles express their attitudes towards previous research in their area. The results showedthat authors express their views using meta-discourse used for hedging, boosting ideas and toexpress attitudes and develop personal stance.

Keywords

• literature review
• content analysis
• hedging
• boosting