Evaluating Titles of MA Theses and PhD Dissertations in Applied Linguistics in Kurdistan Region Universities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21271/zjhs.29.SpA.12Keywords:
AL macro subfields MA theses PhD dissertations KRIAbstract
It is widely acknowledged and viewed that Applied Linguistics has yet to be neatly and clearly defined or classified into precise categories. Thus, this study aims at identifying the macro subfields of Applied Linguistics that have been emphasized in the titles of MA theses and PhD dissertations at universities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq between 2007 and 2021, as well as, sorting out the titles into categories based on those identified and/or discovered common macro subfields. Following that, the titles will be examined to determine which subfield has been given more attention.
This paper, first, highlights the history of Applied Linguistics, in which its changes and developments are discussed throughout the years in separate decades starting from 1950 to the present time, in which seminal research and studies of key scholars and pioneers in the field are reviewed. Since the field has been defined differently according to various linguists and evolved across time, it is worth providing those definitions and changes to conclusively showcase the subfields. Additionally, several well-formed and well-researched categorizations of the sub-fields of Applied Linguistics are presented to have grounds to classify MA theses and PhD dissertation titles that have been conducted at the universities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq accordingly.
The findings of this analysis offer a scholarly foundation that assists applied linguists in approaching the discipline’s subfields with a measured and balanced perspective in their future studies. This study will be significant for newly done research in the field of Applied Linguistics in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and provides encyclopedic information and/or basic grounds.
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