Managing Variation In Textile Science Abstracts and Reports Through A Comprehensive Format and Generic Structure

Abstract

Analysis of published textile science research papers revealed structural and rhetorical variations within and across published works suggesting that the needs and expectations of readers were not being met. This paper proposes a format and generic structure for both abstracts and full research papers so that written works in textile science are effective tools of communication. The format and structure identifies eleven critical elements and suggests a framework that helps readers of research recognize the validity, reliability, significance, and credibility of any research. Contributions to the development of the field of textile science through the use of the format and generic structure are offered.Effective research reporting echoes the cognitive processes that researchers followed before, during, and after their studies. Regardless of the field of study, essential components that allow the reader to assess the validity, significance, and relevance of the research should be included in all research papers (Rennie & Glass,1991). When components are missing from papers, other researchers are not able to completely evaluate the integrity of the work and use the information to continue the contribution to science, an aim toward which all research should be directed.Expert readers can easily recognize superiority in research reports and abstracts. Reports that attend to the presentation of critical information through a framework of essential elements indulge readers with the opportunity to appraise the value of the work. Professional scholars are facing demands for increased productivity within expanding ranges of activities. Consequently, there is a growing need for efficiency and quality in research reporting. Succinct presentation of critical components is the most efficient way for authors to communicate the credibility of their research within the academic community. The adoption of generic structure and format for textile related research reports can meet the need for communicating credibility as well as achieving efficiency for researchers, reviewers, and readers. Using Research for Graduate EducationCompared to the broad perspective of undergraduate education, graduate programs take advantage of published research to offer a more focused perspective. Faculty members rely on research articles for graduate course readings to provide students with current information and to describe methods used to collect, analyze, and evaluate data. Moreover, published research illustrates the progressive organization of reporting data and presenting results, while it concludes with the researcher's perception of the impact of the study on the field.Graduate students depend on research articles to expand their knowledge. With a firm understanding of both concepts and theory related to a particular topic, students gain a frame of reference to explore methods used in studying the topic. Concomitantly, they can identify gaps in knowledge and propose specific studies to address those gaps. The comprehension of conceptual rela...

Research Trends in Textiles and Clothing: An Analysis of Three Journals, 1980–1999

“…Finally, of those articles with a theoretical perspective, 3.1% (f = 7) focused on aesthetics and design, 2.7% (f = 6) had a historic focus, 0.9% (f = 2) addressed construction, whereas 0.4% (f = 1) were journal analyses. These results are fairly consistent with those of Hutton (1984) for the overall percentage of articles that articulated a theoretical framework and with those of Kadolph and Scheller (1997) for the extent to which the textile science articles they analyzed specified a theoretical framework.…”

“…Finally, like Kadolph and Scheller (1997), we urge researchers to think about how their published research articles are used by graduate students and other scholars. Those authors found that in textile science reports, researchers did not always articulate essential elements of the research.…”

“…Like McCullers (1984), Hutton (1984) urged authors to articulate their theoretical underpinnings and to ground their results in a theoretical context. Kadolph and Scheller (1997) examined textile science research reports and analyzed a sample of 29 such articles from 1994 to 1995.…”

“…As Hutton (1984) had argued in the context of clothing and human behavior research, they argued that a theoretical framework is important in textile science research reports because it provides a context for an interpretation of the results. Kadolph and Scheller (1997) also found other critical elements lacking, including clear statements identifying independent and dependent variables, hypotheses, statistical procedures used, or research strategy employed.…”