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Developments in corpus-based translation studies A bibliometric approach. Gernot Hebenstreit University of Graz. Starting point.
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Developments in corpus-based translation studiesA bibliometric approach Gernot Hebenstreit University of Graz
Startingpoint This paper aims at giving an overview of the development of corpus based methodologies in research on translation and interpreting. Analyzing bibliographic data on relevant publications this study tries to give answers to the following questions: Which branches of translation/interpreting studies have most interest in “introducing” or “incorporating” corpora? Of what kind are the research questions that are to be answered based on information provided by corpora? Is there a relation between the adherence to a school of thought and the interest in corpora? What’s the relation of quantitative vs. qualitative research? Which methodological questions are being raised? Are there preferred design patterns for building corpora? What role does tagging play? Of what kind are the desiderata voiced in terms of corpus technology? Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Bibliometrics? • Measuring academic activity • Publications as indicator of scientific activity • Only published knowledge is scientific knowledge • Perception of achievements is documented in citations • Derek J. de Solla Price, Eugene Garfield (Institute of Scientific Information) • Mainly used for assessing academic activity Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Perspectives ofbibliometrical analysis • On Producers • Authors, teams, institutions, fields, nations • Scholars as writers choosing occasions, topics, methods, arguments, style • As linkers choosing documents to cite or to refer to • As submitters choosing journals, ways of publication • Collaborators choosing institutions, projects, co-authors Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Perspectives ofbibliometrical analysis • Artefacts • Articles, books, conference papers, journals, conferences • Concepts • Words in the titles or texts, terminology, purpose or motivation of a citation Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Methods • Purely scientometric • Publication counting • Citation counting • Imported from other fields of research • Word anaylsis • Text analysis • Network analysis • Questionaires • Interviews • Mix of quantitative and qualitative methods Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Considerations concerning the counting of publications • Limited to data to be gained from bibliographic databases • Publication rates in a period of time • Number of authors • Number of publications • Number of document types • Languages of publications • Publishing houses • Distribution of articles in journals and collecive volumes • Author's origin in terms of country or affiliation Developments in coprus-based translation studies
What is a publication? • Publications available for sale • Patents • “gray literature” • Audio-visual media • Articles in online journals • Internet documents • Reviews • Letters to editors • Thesis, dissertations Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Counting methods • Simple or weighted? • All types of publications to be treated equally? • Articles • Monographs • Edited volumes • Proceedings • … • How to deal with co-authorship? Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Word counts in bibliometrical analysis • Words in • Titles • Keywords • abstracts • Terms/categories reflect a very specific perspective of a given body of work • Indexing = external view • Problem of consistency • Indexer effect • Title, abstracts = internal view Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Problem of databases • Coverage • Relevant publications • Selection criteria of database provider • In time Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Databases used for this study • BITRA • TSA (Translations Studies Abstracts, St. Jerome) • TSB (Translation Studies Bibliography, Benjamins) • Abstracts, Keywords • Search query: KW= “corpus” or “corpora” Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Number of publications Obviously publications of 2009 and 2010 not yet covered by databases Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Comparison of keywords in abstracts Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Keywordsdiachronically (TSB) Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Keywords diachronically TSA Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Indexing compared TSB - BITRA Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Indexing diachronic TSB Developments in coprus-based translation studies
Work in progress • Refining query • Interpretation of data • Among the identified problems: • inconsistency of terminology used by scholars (e.g. “parallel”, “comparable” corpus) • Separate contrastive studies publications from translation studies publications Developments in coprus-based translation studies