Trends in the Expression of Epistemic Stance in NIH Research Funding Applications: 1985-2020
Trends in the Expression of Epistemic Stance in NIH Research Funding Applications: 1985-2020
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DOI：
10.1093/applin/amad050
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发表时间：
2023-08-11
影响因子：
3.6
通讯作者：
Budgell, Brian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Millar, Neil;Mathis, Bryan;Budgell, Brian
我们报告了竞争性资助申请中知识立场表达的变化，即申请人对知识和信仰的信心和确定性。我们分析了描述1985-2020年期间由美国国立卫生研究院资助的所有项目的140个立场特征的摘要。我们确定的趋势表明，申请人采取的立场不那么谨慎，不那么试探性，越来越自信，乐观和有希望。例如，弱可能性/概率的持续下降就证明了这一点，如情态动词（如may， might, should）、认知状态动词（如indicate， seem）和副词（如possible， probable, perhaps）所表达的可能性/概率；表达确定性、重要性和经验性的特征也在增加，例如状态动词（例如demonstration、establish、reveal）和强调频率/程度的副词（通常、广泛、几乎）。我们认为(i)这些变化最好与研究生态系统中不断增加的销售技巧以及结构和文化变化有关，并且（ii）在个体特征层面而不是在元话语类别层面更好地分析该数据集中的趋势。
We report on changes in the expression of epistemic stance in competitive funding applications-that is, applicants' confidence and certainty towards knowledge and beliefs. We analysed abstracts describing all projects funded by the US National Institutes of Health during the period 1985-2020 for 140 stance features. Trends that we identify indicate that applicants adopt a stance less cautious and less tentative, and increasingly confident, optimistic, and promissory. This is evidenced, for example, by a consistent decline in weak possibility/probability, as expressed by modal verbs (e.g. may, might, should), by epistemic status verbs (indicate, seem) and adverbs (e.g. possible, probable, perhaps); and an increase among features that convey certainty, importance, and empiricism-for example, status verbs (e.g. demonstrate, establish, reveal), and adverbs that emphasize frequency/degree (usually, widely, almost). We argue that (i) these shifts are best understood in relation to increasing salesmanship and structural and cultural shifts within the research ecosystem, and (ii) trends in this dataset are better analysed at the level of individual features, rather than at the level of metadiscoursal categories.