Cover not available

Article published In: International Journal of Corpus Linguistics
Vol. 22:2 (2017) ► pp.153–186

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Multi-Dimensional Analysis, text constellations, and interdisciplinary discourse

 | University of Birmingham
 | University of Birmingham
 | University of Cambridge
 | University of Central Lancashire
Published online: 16 October 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.22.2.01tho
Abstract
Multi-Dimensional Analysis (MDA) has been widely used to explore register variation. This paper reports on a project using MDA to explore the features of an interdisciplinary academic domain. Six dimensions of variation are identified in a corpus of 11,000 journal articles in environmental studies. We then focus on articles in one interdisciplinary journal, Global Environmental Change (GEC). It is expected that these articles will diverge sufficiently to produce differences that are analogous to register differences. Instead of identifying these “registers” on external criteria, we use the dimensional profiles of individual texts to identify ‘constellations’ of texts sharing combinations of features. Six such constellations are derived, consisting of texts with commonalities in their approaches to research: the development of predictive models; quantitative research; discussions of theory and policy; and human-environment studies focusing on individual voices. The identification of these constellations could not have been achieved through an a priori categorisation of texts.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The language of academic disciplines
    • 2.1Multi-Dimensional Analysis
    • 2.2Disciplinary variation
  • 3.The Birmingham-Elsevier Environment Corpus
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1.Identifying and interpreting dimensions
      • 4.1.1Dimension 1: System-oriented vs. action-oriented
      • 4.1.2Dimension 2: Explicit vs. implicit argumentation
      • 4.1.3Dimension 3: Informality
      • 4.1.4Dimension 4: Conceptual discourse
      • 4.1.5Dimension 5: Text-focused vs. site-focused
      • 4.1.6Dimension 6: Non-research world vs. research world
    • 4.2Identifying constellations
  • 5.Results and discussion
    • 5.1Dimension scores and the 11 journals
    • 5.2The text constellations in GEC
      • 5.2.1Constellations 1, 5 and 3: Dimensional profiles
      • 5.2.2The other three constellations
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (41)
References
Ackermann, K., & Chen, Y-H. (2013). Developing the Academic Collocation List (ACL): A corpus-driven and expert-judged approach. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(4), 235–247. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alsop, S., & Nesi, H. (2009). Issues in the development of the British Academic Written English (BAWE) corpus. Corpora, 4(1), 71–83. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Biber, D. (1985). Investigating macroscopic textual variation through multifeature/multidimensional analyses. Linguistics, 23(2), 337–360. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1988). Variation Across Speech and Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1989). A typology of English texts. Linguistics, 27(1), 3–43. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1990). Methodological issues regarding corpus-based analysis of linguistic variation. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 5(4), 257–269. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1995). Dimensions of Register Variation: A Cross-linguistic Comparison. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Reppen, R. (1998). Corpus Linguistics: Investigating Language Structure and Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Biber, D., Egbert, J., & Davies, M. (2015). Exploring the composition of the searchable web: A corpus-based taxonomy of web registers. Corpora, 10(1), 11–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Biglan, A. (1973). The characteristics of subject matter in academic areas. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57(3), 195–203. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Breiman, L. E. O. (2001). Random forests. Machine Learning, 45(1), 5–32. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Charles, M. (2006). The construction of stance in reporting clauses: A cross-disciplinary study of theses. Applied Linguistics, 27(3), 492–518. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Conrad, S., & Biber, D. (2001). Multi-dimensional methodology and the dimensions of register variation in English. In S. Conrad & D. Biber (Eds.), Variation in English: Multi-dimensional Studies (pp. 13–42). Essex: Pearson Education.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Csomay, E. (2002). Variation in academic lectures: Interactivity and level of instruction. In R. Reppen, S. Fitzmaurice & D. Biber (Eds.) Using Corpora to Explore Linguistic Variation (pp. 203–224). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Durrant, P. (2015). Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation in university students’ writing: Mapping the territories. Applied Linguistics, 38(2), 165–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2017). Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation in university students’ writing: Mapping the territories. Applied Linguistics, 38(2), 165–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Egbert, J., Biber, D., & Davies, M. (2015). Developing a bottom-up, user-based method of web register classification. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(9), 1817–1831. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Friginal, E., & Weigle, S. (2014). Exploring multiple profiles of L2 writing using multidimensional analysis. Journal of Second Language Writing, 261, 80–95. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gardner, S., Biber, D., & Nesi, H. (2015). MDA perspectives on discipline and level in the BAWE corpus. Paper presented at the Corpus Linguistics 7th Conference, Lancaster, UK.
Giannoni, D. (2010). Mapping Academic Values in the Disciplines: A Corpus-based Approach. Bern: Peter Lang. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gray, B. (2013). More than discipline: Uncovering multi-dimensional patterns of variation in academic research articles. Corpora, 8(2), 153–181. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grieve, J., Biber, D., Friginal, E., & Nekrasova, T. (2010). Variation among blogs: A multidimensional analysis. In A. Mehler, S. Sharoff & M. Santini (Eds.), Genres on the Web: Corpus Studies and Computational Models (pp. 45–71). New York: Springer-Verlag. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Groom, N. (2005). Pattern and meaning across genres and disciplines: An exploratory study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(3), 257–277. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K., & Hasan, R. (1990). Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of Language in a Social-Semiotic Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K., & Martin, J. (1993). Writing Science: Literacy and Discursive Power. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hardy, J., & Friginal, E. (2016). Genre variation in student writing: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 221, 119–131. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hardy, J., & Römer, U. (2013). Revealing disciplinary variation in student writing: A multi-dimensional analysis of the Michigan Corpus of Upper-level Student Papers (MICUSP). Corpora, 8(2), 183–207. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hu, G., & Wang, G. (2014). Disciplinary and ethnolinguistic influences on citation in research articles. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 141, 14–28. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huckin, T., Leslie, A., & Olsen, L. (1984). The need for professionally oriented ESL instruction in the United States. TESOL Quarterly, 18(2), 273–294.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interactions in Academic Writing. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001a). Bringing in the reader: Addressee features in academic writing. Written Communication, 18(4), 549–574. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001b). Humble servants of the discipline? Self-mention in research articles. English for Specific Purposes, 20(3), 207–226. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). As can be seen: Lexical bundles and disciplinary variation. English for Specific Purposes, 27(1), 4–21. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kanoksilapatham, B. (2007). Rhetorical moves in biochemistry research articles. In D. Biber, U. Connor & T. A. Upton (Eds.), Discourse on the Move: Using Corpus Analysis to Describe Discourse Structure (pp. 73–119). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kilgarriff, A., Baisa, V., Bušta, J., Jakubíček, M., Kovář, V., Michelfeit, J., Rychlý, P., & Suchomel, V. (2014). The Sketch Engine: Ten years on. Lexicography ASIALEX, 1(1), 7–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuhn, M., & Johnson, K. (2013). Applied Predictive Modeling. New York: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mauranen, A. (2006). Speaking the discipline: Discourse and socialisation in ELF and L1 English. In K. Hyland & M. Bondi (Eds.) Academic Discourse across Disciplines (pp. 271–294). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McGrath, L. (2016). Self-mentions in anthropology and history research articles: Variation between and within disciplines. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 211, 86–98. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Poos, D., & Simpson, R. (2002). Cross-disciplinary comparisons of hedging: Some findings from the Michigan Corpus of Spoken Academic English. In R. Reppen, S. Fitzmaurice & D. Biber (Eds.) Using Corpora to Explore Linguistic Variation (pp. 3–24). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (24)

Cited by 24 other publications

Chen, Yagang & Jiajin Xu
2026. Exploring interdisciplinary boundaries: A BERTopic modeling approach to analyze four interdisciplinary fields at the abstract and sentence levels. English for Specific Purposes 81 ► pp. 56 ff. DOI logo
Curry, Niall & Pascual Pérez-Paredes
2025. Exploring public-oriented research communication. Register Studies DOI logo
Hu, Changwei, Yu Zhu & Liangjie Yuan
2025. Influences of Language Functions on Linguistic Features: Multi-Dimensional and Entropy Analyses of Academic and Entertainment Registers. Entropy 27:8 ► pp. 783 ff. DOI logo
Staples, Shelley & Gavin Brookes
2025. Register and professional discourse. Register Studies DOI logo
Xu, Qin, Tomoji Tabata & Yu Zhu
2025. Multi-dimensional analysis of Japanese native speakers’ L2 Chinese writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 68 ► pp. 101204 ff. DOI logo
Sezgin, Hatice & Ece Zehir Topkaya
2024. Metadiscursive Features in Interdisciplinary Lectures: Implications for EAP Notetaking. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 47:2 ► pp. 332 ff. DOI logo
Wang, Zhongliang & Kanglong Liu
2024. Linguistic Variations Between Translated and Non-Translated English Chairman’s Statements in Corporate Annual Reports: A Multidimensional Analysis. Sage Open 14:2 DOI logo
Yang, Mei
2023. Disciplinary influence on lexical bundle functions: reassessing the paradigm factor. Corpora 18:3 ► pp. 357 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Chenxia, Muhammad Afzaal, Abdulfattah Omar & Waheed M. A. Altohami
2023. A corpus-based analysis of the stylistic features of Chinese and American diplomatic discourse. Frontiers in Psychology 14 DOI logo
Diao, Hong
2022. Homogenized literary co-translation: A Hero Born and A Bond Undone. Across Languages and Cultures 23:1 ► pp. 92 ff. DOI logo
Liu, Jing & Liang Xiao
2022. A multi-dimensional analysis of conclusions in research articles: Variation across disciplines. English for Specific Purposes 67 ► pp. 46 ff. DOI logo
Wingrove, Peter
2022. Narrative discourse in TED Talks. English Text Construction 15:1 ► pp. 89 ff. DOI logo
Wingrove, Peter & Peter Crosthwaite
2022. Multi-Dimensional Exploratory Factor Analysis of TED talks. Register Studies 4:1 ► pp. 91 ff. DOI logo
Mu, Congjun
2021. A multidimensional contrastive analysis of linguistic features between international and local biology journal English research articles. Scientometrics 126:9 ► pp. 7901 ff. DOI logo
Muguiro, Natalia
2020. Citations in Interdisciplinary Research Articles, DOI logo
Wang, Qian
2020. Book review: Paul Thompson and Susan Hunston, Interdisciplinary Research Discourse: Corpus Investigations into Environment Journals. Discourse Studies 22:4 ► pp. 525 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Hui
2020. Book Review. English for Specific Purposes 60 ► pp. 205 ff. DOI logo
Biber, Douglas & Susan Conrad
2019. Register, Genre, and Style, DOI logo
Clarke, Isobelle, Jack Grieve & Christopher M. Danforth
2019. Stylistic variation on the Donald Trump Twitter account: A linguistic analysis of tweets posted between 2009 and 2018. PLOS ONE 14:9 ► pp. e0222062 ff. DOI logo
Conrad, Susan
2019. Register in English for Academic Purposes and English for Specific Purposes. Register Studies 1:1 ► pp. 168 ff. DOI logo
Esimaje, Alexandra U. & Susan Hunston
2019. What is corpus linguistics?. In Corpus Linguistics and African Englishes [Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 88], ► pp. 7 ff. DOI logo
Kaufhold, Kathrin & Lisa McGrath
2019. Revisiting the role of ‘discipline’ in writing for publication in two social sciences. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 40 ► pp. 115 ff. DOI logo
Pan, Fan
2018. A multidimensional analysis of L1–L2 differences across three advanced levels. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 36:2 ► pp. 117 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2024. Textbook English [Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 116], DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue