Examining the Abstract Components of the Latest ELT M.A. Theses and PhD Dissertations of the Most Accomplished Universities in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the latest abstracts of M.A. theses and PhD dissertations of 10 ELT departments in Turkey so as to observe the latest tendency in the abstract components of the ELT field. The components of a well written abstract are research paradigms, samples, sample size, method, sample type, research design, data collection tools, and data analysis techniques. The abstracts of the latest 10 MA theses and 10 PhD dissertations available in “YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi” (National Thesis Center) were reviewed and analyzed in terms of the availability of these components. These 10 universities were selected from the top achievers determined by University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) in 2020-2021. Criterion sampling was employed. This non-interactive qualitative study utilized descriptive document analysis. A constructivist view was taken to interpret the presence and absence of specific element in the abstracts. MS Excel was the program used for analysis. The results showed that none of the students expressed research paradigms but all expressed data collection tools they used. All PhD students stated who their samples were but type of sampling implemented was not stated. While most of the MA students specified their samples, only a couple specified type of sampling they used. The availability of sample size was exactly the same for both groups. PhD students named research designs more than MA students. Yet, MA students named more sampling strategies, methods, and data analysis in their abstracts.