IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2023

Computer-Assisted Corpus Analysis: An Introduction to Concepts, Processes, and Decisions

Susan Lang ; Duncan A. Buell University of South Carolina ; Norbert Elliot New Jersey Institute of Technology

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Problem:</b> This tutorial aims to guide readers through key concepts, basic processes, and common decision points that inform computer-assisted corpus-based research in technical, professional, and scientific communication (TPSC). <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key concepts:</b> Based on our collaborative experiences and an example developed for this tutorial, key concepts of corpus analysis useful to TPSC researchers and practitioners include the following: corpus location, text preparation, and programming language and software selection. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Key lessons:</b> These key concepts can be used to establish basic processes and decision points that, in turn, yield lessons related to the usefulness of lexicogrammatical language models and the significance of multidisciplinarity. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Implications:</b> Although corpus research is a growing and important part of the field of TPSC, challenges remain in terms of language model variety and ethical considerations. At least in part, these challenges can be met, respectively, by alignment between corpus and analytic tools and reference to the Common Rule and related international standards.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2023-03-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2022.3228026
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
collaborative writing scientific writing quantitative research digital rhetoric
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Jordan (2026)
    Terms of Service and Community Guidelines as “Value-Laden” Documents: An (Adapt…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Lambrecht (2025)
    “What People Are Saying” About Extreme Weather: A Comparison of Public Commenta…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Sanz-Valdivieso et al. (2025)
    International Technical Communication in Linguistically Low-Resource Industries…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Markey et al. (2024)
    Dense and Disconnected: Analyzing the Sedimented Style of ChatGPT-Generated Tex…
    Written Communication

References (50) · 18 in this index

  1. 10.46430/phen0043
     ↗
  2. Anthony (2001)
    Characteristic features of research article titles in computer science
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Orr (2006)
    Introduction to the Special Issue: Insights From Corpus Linguistics for Profess…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Yu et al. (2017)
    The Generic Structure of CSR Reports in Italian, Chinese, and English: A Corpus…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Grene et al. (2017)
    Use of Plain-Language Guidelines to Promote Health Literacy
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Show all 50 →
  1. Turner (2022)
    Key-notes: A Content Analysis of ATTW Conferences 1998-2018
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Itchuaqiyaq (2021)
    Theory-to-query: Developing a corpus-analysis method using computer programming and human…
    Tech. Commun.
  3. DeJeu (2022)
    The Ethics of Delivering Bad News: Evaluating Impression Management Strategies …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Crossley et al. (2022)
    Linguistic Features of Writing Quality and Development: A Longitudinal Approach
    Journal of Writing Analytics
  5. 10.1017/cbo9780511621024
     ↗
  6. Biber (1992)
    The multi-dimensional approach to linguistic analyses of genre variation: An overview of …
    Comput. Humanities
  7. 10.4324/9780203856949-1
     ↗
  8. Boettger et al. (2019)
    Gender Effects in Student Technical and Scientific Writing—A Corpus-Based Study
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. (2022)
    Oxford English Corpus
  10. 10.4324/9780203856949.ch6
     ↗
  11. 10.1075/scl.16.02flo
     ↗
  12. (2022)
    Adobe PDF reader
  13. (2022)
    Python
  14. (2022)
    The R project for statistical computing
  15. Berberich (2022)
    Corpus-analysis.com
  16. (2022)
    Prosuite
  17. (2022)
    DocuScope corpus analysis Computer-aided rhetorical analysis and dictionary building too…
  18. Perry (2022)
    Corpus
  19. Kyle (2022)
    Tool for the automatic analysis of syntactic sophistication and complexity
  20. (2022)
    Stanford Parser
  21. (2022)
    SpaCy
  22. Kaufer et al. (2006)
    A Corpus Study of Canned Letters: Mining the Latent Rhetorical Proficiencies Ma…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  23. Jin (2018)
    A Multidimensional Analysis of Research Article Discussion Sections in the Fiel…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  24. Sun et al. (2021)
    To Entertain or to Serve: Chinese and US Banks’ Online Identity Based on a Genr…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  25. (2022)
    PDF to Text
  26. 10.1075/lllt.36.12zha
     ↗
  27. Rau (2021)
    Rediscovery of Developmental Research Articles in Electrical Engineering and De…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  28. Harmon (1989)
    The structure of scientific and engineering papers: a historical perspective
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  29. Harmon (1992)
    Current Contents of Theoretical Scientific Papers
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  30. Kaufer (2023)
    Corpora and rhetorically informed text analysis: The diverse applications of DocuScope
  31. Aull (2020)
    How Students Write: A Linguistic Analysis
  32. 10.3115/1117729.1117730
     ↗
  33. 10.4324/9781315833729
     ↗
  34. 10.1016/j.jeap.2010.01.001
     ↗
  35. 10.1017/9781316423530.006
     ↗
  36. 10.1016/s0889-4906(98)00015-5
     ↗
  37. 10.1353/rhe.1999.0019
     ↗
  38. Weger et al. (2022)
    How Effectively Do We Communicate? An Analysis of Team Reflexivity in Transitio…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  39. 10.4324/9781315871691
     ↗
  40. Ringler (2018)
    Placing Writing Tasks in Local and Global Contexts: The Case of Argumentative Writing
    Journal of Writing Analytics
  41. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)
  42. Rudniy (2018)
    De-Identification of Laboratory Reports in STEM
    Journal of Writing Analytics
  43. Phelps (2020)
    Modernization Updates to the Common Rule: Recommendations for Researchers Worki…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  44. (2018)
    Common rule 2018 requirements: IRB review
  45. International Compilation of Human Research Standards, 2021 Ed
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2015
    Instructional Design for Stem-Based Collaborative, Colocated Classroom Composition ↗
    Brad Mehlenbacher; Meagan Kittle Autry; Ashley Rose Kelly
    genre theory writing pedagogy collaborative writing technical communication professional writing scientific writing digital rhetoric online writing instruction book reviews
  2. Computers and Composition Digital Press Dec 2011
    Collaborative Approaches to the Digital in English Studies ↗
    Laura McGrath
    collaborative writing quantitative research digital rhetoric
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 1999
    Using genre theory to teach students engineering lab report writing: a collaborative approach ↗
    K. Walker
    rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum collaborative writing writing centers professional writing scientific writing digital rhetoric
  4. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Legacies, commitments, and new challenges: The Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative interviews three generations of Computers and Composition editors ↗
    Ali Alalem; Alyse Campbell; Thais Rodrigues Cons; Funmilola Fadairo; Nicole Koyuki Golden
    rhetorical criticism collaborative writing digital rhetoric
  5. Journal of Writing Research Feb 2026
    Can ChatGPT do the same? ChatGPT and professional editors compared ↗
    Daniël Janssen; Henri Raven; Lisanne Van Weelden; Yohannes Den Hertog
    writing pedagogy argument collaborative writing professional writing quantitative research artificial intelligence