Technical Communication Quarterly Mar 1994

The uses of metaphor in citation classics from the scientific literature

Joseph E. Harmon Argonne National Laboratory

Abstract

To gain a better sense of the metaphorical nature of the scientific research paper, the author reviewed 89 journal articles taken from the top 400 most‐cited documents in the Science Citation Index database for the period 1945–1988. Metaphorical constructions were found in a variety of forms: conceptual models, experimental designs, technical analogies, standard technical names, conventional figurative expressions, and even original figurative language normally associated with more‐literary writing. Examples are given for each mode of metaphor.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
1994-03-01
DOI
10.1080/10572259409364565
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Topics
empirical research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Moran et al. (2012)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Malone (2007)
    Historical Studies of Technical Communication in the United States and England:…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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Show all 42 →
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