A corpus-based approach to the analysis of the video abstract. A phase-based model


Abstract


Academics constantly strive to gain greater visibility for their research, in particular through digital platforms that allow their research to be communicated to a wider public. Alongside old and well-established academic genres (e.g. the Research Article, the Abstract, and the Conference Presentation), new genres have emerged including the Blog, the TED Talk Lecture, and the Video Abstract. While the first two of these genres have received considerable attention in the discourse analysis community, research into the Video Abstract genre has only recently been undertaken despite the fact that scientific publishers (e.g. Taylor & Francis, Elsevier and SAGE) urge authors to present their articles in this way in order to enhance article visibility and improve the chances of an article being cited. The present study, grounded in ESP genre analysis and multimodal discourse analysis, investigates the strategies used in video abstracts by researchers to share their research using a small corpus of video abstracts taken from international journals of three different academic fields, namely Medicine, Biology, and Chemistry. In particular, the study attempts to understand the changes brought about by the shift from the written to the video channel of communication vis-à-vis the dissemination of research findings.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i22390359v40p45

Keywords: specialised discourse; video abstracts; phasal analysis; generic structure potential; corpus-based approach to discourse analysis

References


Berkowitz J. 2013, Video abstracts, the latest trend in scientific publishing. Will ‘publish or perish’ soon include ‘video or vanish’?, “University Affairs”. http://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/video-abstracts-the-latest-trend-in-scientific-publishing (18.11.2020).

Baldry A. 2004, Phase and Transition, Type and Instance: Patterns in Media Texts as Seen through a Multimodal Concordancer, in O’Halloran K. (ed.), Multimodal Discourse Analysis: Systemic Functional Perspectives, Continuum, London/New York, pp. 83-108.

Baldry A. and Thibault P.J. 2006, Multimodal Transcription and Text Analysis. A Multimedia Toolkit with Associated On-line Course, Equinox, London/Oakville.

Bhatia V.K. 2017, Critical Genre Analysis. Investigating Interdiscursive Performance in Professional Practice, Routledge, London/New York.

Caliendo G. and Compagnone A. 2017, From the University Classroom to the TED Stage: Exploring Research Promotion as Professional Practice, in Garzone G., Catenaccio P., Grego K. and Doerr R. (eds.), Specialized and Professional Discourse across Media and Genres, Ledizioni, Milano, pp. 263-286.

Carrada G. 2005, Comunicare la scienza. Manuale di sopravvivenza per i ricercatori, Sironi, Milano.

Coccetta F. 2020, Medical Video Abstracts: A Web Genre for Research Accessibility and Visibility, in Gotti M., Maci S. and Sala M. (eds.), Scholarly Pathways: Knowledge Transfer and Knowledge Exchange in Academia, Peter Lang, Bern, pp. 305-327.

Gregory M. 2002, Phasal Analysis within Communication Linguistics: Two Contrastive Discourses, in Fries P., Cummings M., Lockwood D. and Sprueill W. (eds.), Relations and Functions in Language and Discourse, Continuum, London, pp. 316-345.

Halliday M.A.K. 1988, On the Ineffability of Grammatical Categories, in Benson J., Cummings M. and Greaves W. (eds.), Linguistics in a Systemic Perspective, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/New York, pp. 27-51.

Halliday M.A.K. and Matthiessen C. 2014, Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. Fourth Edition, Routledge, London/New York.

Hasan R. 1978, Text in the systemic functional model, in Dressier W.U. (ed.), Current Trends in Text Linguistics, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 228-246.

Hasan R. 1984, The nursery tale as a genre, in “Nottingham Linguistic Circular” 13, pp. 71-102.

Hasan R. 1985, Language, Context and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social-semiotic Perspective, Part B, Deakin University Press, Geelong.

Hasan R. 2004, Analysing Discursive Variation, in Young L. and Harrison C. (eds.), Systemic Functional Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis. Studies in Social Change, Continuum, London/New York, pp. 15-52.

Hyland K. 2004, Disciplinary Discourses. Social Interactions in Academic Writing, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.

Jakhar D. and Ishmeet K. 2018, Video abstracts in dermoscopy: moving beyond text, in “Res Clin Dermatol” 1 [2], p. 20.

Lemke J. 1998, Multiplying Meaning: Visual and Verbal Semiosis in Scientific Text, In Martin J. and Veel R. (eds.), Reading Science. Critical and Functional Perspectives on Discourses of Science, Routledge, London, pp. 87-11.

Liu J. 2020, Research video abstracts in the making: a revised move analysis, in “Journal of Technical Writing and Communication” 50 [4], pp. 423-446.

Luzón M.J. 2017, Connecting genres and languages in online scholarly communication: an analysis of research group blogs, in “Written Communication” 34 [4], pp. 1-31.

Malcolm K. 2010, Phasal Analysis. Analysing Discourse through Communication Linguistics, Continuum, London/New York.

Mattiello E. 2017, The popularisation of science via TED Talks, in “International Journal of Language Studies” 11, pp. 77-106.

Mauranen A. 2013, Hybridism, edutainment, and doubt: science blogging finding its feet, in “Nordic Journal of English Studies” 12 [1], pp. 7-36.

Mewburn I. and Thompson P. 2013, Why do academics blog? An analysis of audiences, purposes and challenges, in “Studies in Higher Education” 38 [8], pp. 1105-1119.

O’Halloran K. 2005, Mathematical Discourse: Language, Symbolism and Visual Images, Continuum, London/New York.

Plastina A.F. 2017, Professional Discourse in Video Abstracts: Re-articulating the Meaning of Written Research Article Abstracts, in Garzone G., Catenaccio P., Grego K. and Doerr R. (eds.), Specialized and Professional Discourse across Media and Genres, Ledizioni, Milano, pp. 57-73.

Scotto di Carlo G. 2014, The role of proximity in online popularisations: the case of TED Talks, in “Discourse Studies” 16 [5], pp. 591-606.

Spicer S. 2014, Exploring video abstracts in science journals: an overview and case study, in “Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication” 2 [2]. https://jlsc-pub.org/articles/abstract/10.7710/2162-3309.1110/ (18.11.2020).

Swales J. 1990, Genre Analysis. English in Academic and Research Settings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Swales J. 2004, Research Genres. Explorations and Applications, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Thibault P.J. 2000, The Multimodal Transcription of a Television Advertisement: Theory and Practice, in Baldry A. (ed.), Multimodality and Multimediality in the Distance Learning Age, Palladino Editore, Campobasso, pp. 311-385.

Zong Q., Xie Y., Tuo R., Huang J. and Yang Y. 2019, The impact of video abstract on citation counts: evidence from a retrospective cohort study of New Journal of Physics, in “Scientometrics” 119 [3], pp. 1715-1727.


Full Text: pdf

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.