Comparing ISI and Non-ISI Iranian Medical Research Articles written in English

The main aim of this study was to see if any statistically significant difference existed between ISI and Non-ISI English medical research articles in their application of major moves. To this effect, 36 randomly selected online articles from each group were subjected to analysis using Fryer’s moves analysis framework. These articles were chosen on the basis of ease of accessibility, publication frequency and reputation. To test the hypotheses of this study, a Chi-Square Test of Independence was run to see if there were differences between the numbers of moves employed in each section of ISI articles with those found in non-ISI articles. Overall, findings revealed that articles in both groups had significantly adhered to the major moves specified in the study’s framework. However, detail descriptive data analysis showed significant differences between the two groups in the use of Move11 (State the Limitation). It was found that 72% of the researchers in Type 1(ISI journals) had described the limitations of their studies while only 36 % of the authors in articles of Type 2(Non-ISI journals) had done so. The most striking similarities were seen in Move1 (Present Background Knowledge) and Move 12 (Conclusion). These moves were employed by all the articles in both Types of journals. In addition, two new moves named, Introduce Methods (M3) in the Introduction Section and Sample Selection (M6) in the Method Section were identified during analysis. Though the use of M3 was found to be insignificant (5.5% in ISI, 11 % in Non-ISI), the frequency of M6 use was comparatively significant (69% of articles in the former group and 55% in the latter group). Overall, it was concluded that since articles in both groups had significantly adhered to the major moves specified in the study framework, other underlying criteria besides the application of common moves may exist in choosing articles to be published in Iranian ISI medical journals. These findings contribute to genre research and provide input for further analysis in this context.