This book uses interesting data obtained via a detailed analysis of authentic doctoral dissertations to provide enlightening information on how writers convincingly present the purpose statements, research questions, and hypotheses of their studies, which are collectively regarded as directional determinants of their research. Employing a broad range of instances extracted from the dissertations, it shows how candidates cogently present the directional determinants of their studies. A quantitative analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which frequencies of various steps were correlated to one another. A thorough qualitative analysis was done to analyze prominent language mechanisms employed to accomplish major communicative functions. This book also reports key shifts that writers use to move from one rhetorical segment to another in ways that engage the pertinent use of the directional determinants. Views from experienced supervisors were elicited to investigate the research communitys expectations concerning how the determinants could be properly written. The findings of this study are of considerable significance to language instructors and university students in the fields of English language studies (ELS), teaching of English as a second language (TESL), and other language-related disciplines. The data can also be used to prepare materials for the teaching of English for research purposes (ERP) at tertiary level.

Jason Miin-Hwa Lim is an Associate Professor at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. He has published extensively, and is currently an Editorial Board Member of Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Elsevier). He was a Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Michigan, and a Research Fellow at the RELC in Singapore.