Multidimensional analysis

Abstract

Multidimensional analysis (MDA) uses a multivariate statistical approach to group a number of linguistic features based on their co-occurrence. MDA allows genre researchers to identify constellations of pervasive linguistic features that can be associated with specific genre conventions. This chapter introduces how MDA can inform genre analyses and highlights some of the challenges in adopting this type of approach. In addition, this chapter illustrates the use of MDA in genre research with a discussion of five studies that adopt this approach to describe the linguistic characteristics of grant proposals, undergraduate assignments, research articles, and stand-alone literature reviews. The chapter concludes with a discussion of specific areas for which MDA can be used to further our understanding of different genres.

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