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The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 23, No. 0, pp.131-159
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 30 Jan 2023
Received 16 Jan 2023 Revised 10 Feb 2023 Accepted 18 Feb 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.23..202302.131

Mapping Knowledge Domains in Second Language Writing Research: A Citation Network Analysis

Hyun-Woo Lim
Professor, Graduate School of Education, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Tel: 02) 2173-2913 hlim@hufs.ac.kr


© 2023 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This study conducted citation network analysis to illuminate knowledge domains in second language (L2) writing research, as reflected in literature citation patterns. The data comprised 2,316 research articles during the period 1990-2021. CitNetExplorer software was employed to calculate citation interconnectivity and visualize the citation network. Cluster analysis of the citation network identified 14 research topics and 25 subtopics. The results indicated that the most frequently researched topics included feedback, linguistic features as a predictor of L2 writing proficiency, collaboration, individual differences in writing behavior, and voice construction and metadiscourse. The least frequently researched topics reflected research interests that are emerging or underrepresented in L2 writing research. Topics such as multimodal composing and machine translation demonstrated growing research interest in multimodality and new digital literacies. The results also raised the question of whether L2 writing research lacked focus on young learners, real-life writing tasks, and L2 writing concerns in specific cultural contexts. Limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.

Keywords:

second language writing, citation network analysis, mapping knowledge domains, CitNetExplorer

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund of 2022.

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