Towards Evaluation in Scientific Reviews (Based on German Linguistics)

Abstract

The present paper considers evaluative aspect of a German linguistic review as a certain type of expert text. Expert evaluation is regarded in the context of its role in collective intersubjective process of verification and critical review of knowledge aimed at implementing it in the scientific scope of the subject. Special focus is put on regulatory character of expert evaluation. When exercising evaluation, reviewers as representatives of the scientific expert community united by its aims and tasks, rely on collectively elaborated and shared criteria of scientific rationality. The article also identifies the key role of institutional, sociocultural and internal verbal context when revealing means of expression of evaluative meanings and axiological contrast of evaluation in the text structure. Major ways of implicit display of evaluation are categorized in the concept of cognitive strategy; typical strategies are illustrated by examples of their context realization. Methods involved in the study (structural and propositional text segmentation, component analysis of lexical units, contextual and linguo-epistemic analysis) being the elements of complex methodology allowed to produce general evaluative profile of scientific reviews in German linguistics