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.