Written Communication Apr 2011

Professional Citation Practices in Child Maltreatment Forensic Letters

Catherine F. Schryer Toronto Metropolitan University ; Stephanie Bell University of Waterloo ; Marcellina Mian Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar ; Marlee M. Spafford University of Waterloo ; Lorelei Lingard Western University

Abstract

Using rhetorical genre theory and research on reported speech, this study investigates the citation practices in 81 forensic letters written by paediatricians and nurse practitioners that provide their opinion for the courts as to whether a child has experienced maltreatment. These letters exist in a complex social situation where a lack of clarity exists as to which professional group (healthcare providers, police, social workers) is primarily responsible for gathering accounts of children’s injuries. Yet physicians need these accounts into order to compare them to actual injuries. The study documents the direct and indirect citations that occur in the letters, observes documentation strategies, notes the instances in which partial breakdowns in citation occur, and points to the linguistic factors contributing to these breakdowns.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2011-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088311399710
Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Lillis et al. (2020)
    Time, the Written Record, and Professional Practice: The Case of Contemporary S…
    Written Communication
  2. O’Keefe (2015)
    Borrowed Authority
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Spafford et al. (2010)
    Accessibility and Order: Crossing Borders in Child Abuse Forensic Reports
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Schryer et al. (2009)
    The Trial of the Expert Witness
    Written Communication
  3. Schryer (2000)
    Walking a Fine Line
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. SCHRYER (1993)
    Records as Genre
    Written Communication
Also cites 10 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1016/j.jpeds.2006.01.033
     ↗
  2. 10.7551/mitpress/6352.001.0001
     ↗
  3. 10.1016/0378-2166(94)00076-7
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  4. 10.1075/sl.14.2.04may
     ↗
  5. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.06.001
     ↗
  6. 10.1515/text.1.1998.18.2.211
     ↗
  7. Schryer, C.F., Lingard, L. & Spafford, M.M. (2007). Regulated and regularized: Genres, improvisation, and ide…
     ↗
  8. 10.1145/344599.344646
     ↗
  9. 10.1093/applin/12.4.365
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  10. 10.2307/356693
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 4 View in citation network →

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