Formulation of objectives of research articles in four disciplines: History, Linguistics, Literature and Biology

Abstract

The analysis of the structural and functional properties of scientific activity textual products aids understanding the role of language in the construction and diffusion of scientific knowledge. Thus, the present article is based on a study of the formulation of objectives of research articles (RA) in four disciplines: History, Linguistics, Literature, and Biology. The goal was to identify patterns in the formulation of objectives, the sections where they are presented, and potential differences among the disciplines. 40 articles were analyzed, ten from each discipline. The results show five patterns in the formulation of objectives, which are presented indistinctively within the abstract and the introduction. Nevertheless, some interesting differences have been found among the RA of the disciplines studied. Likewise, some ambiguity is found between the presentation of the research objective and the article objective, stressing the metonymic and performative character of the RA.