Citations in post-methods sections of quantitative and qualitative research articles in second language learning: A corpus-based study

Abstract

Citation practices within the post-methods sections (i.e., results, discussion, implications, and conclusion) of research are crucial for knowledge generation, as they contribute to the interpretation, explanation, and evaluation of new findings in relation to previous literature. Despite their importance, these practices have remained underexplored. Addressing this gap, we conducted an in-depth analysis of a balanced sample comprising 96 quantitative and qualitative research articles on second language (L2) learning and teaching published in 2016, 2019, and 2022 in four top-tier journals. We examined the rhetorical functions and linguistic forms of citations within the post-methods sections, to explore (1) whether and how the post-methods sections revisit the literature used for framing a study in the literature review, (2) what rhetorical functions these post-methods citations fulfill, and (3) how they are linguistically realized. The results showed that (1) most of the literature cited in the literature review was not re-invoked in the post-methods sections, while half of the literature cited in the post-methods sections was newly introduced; (2) the rhetorical functions fulfilled by these post-methods citations in quantitative and qualitative research are overlapping yet distinct, and (3) their linguistic forms exhibit minor research paradigm differences. Implications for applied linguistics and EAP pedagogy and research are discussed.