Effect of Research Design on Distribution ofPrototypical Participant-Oriented Lexical Bundles: ACorpus-Based Study of Quantitative Research Articles

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate Prototypical Participant-Oriented Lexical Bundles (PPOLBs) in quantitative research articles to discern potential variations between correlational and experimental research designs. The selection of PPOLBs for this investigation aligns with the taxonomy of functional categories developed by Hyland (2008a) and later refined by Salazar (2014) in terms of prototypicality. The study encompasses five major disciplines, 11 subjects, and a total of 2576 research articles. Data distribution is stratified based on research design, journal impact factors, and article sections. The AntConc program was employed to retrieve the frequency of PPOLBs. Initially, a 3-factor MANOVA was used to explore the effects of research design on the distribution of PPOLBs; however, due to the absence of normal distribution, the analysis transitioned to the Kruskal Wallis H Test. Among the three categories, only STNC_LBs exhibited a statistically significant difference (2(1) = 11.489, p = 0.01), while ACK_LBs and the other subcategory displayed no notable variations. The findings of this study aim to equip second language students with insights into the effective use of linguistic elements based on registers and proficient writing.