2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Developing a Cross-Cultural Model for Explaining Differences in Argument Structures
| Project/Area Number |
18520418
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Foreign language education
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| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
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Principal Investigator |
SUZUKI Shinobu Hokkaido University, Research Faculty of Media and Communication, Associate Professor (30275507)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | argument structures / communication |
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| Research Abstract |
This project has two major purposes: (a) to find out an effective way of understanding structural features of informal argument and (b) to examine variables that explain differences in the structural features of informal argument. To accomplish the goals, arguments written by college students on controversial issues were collected and analyzed. The following are the major findings of this project.
(1) It was found that Suzuki's argument coding scheme (2005, 2006) is capable of describing informal written arguments with an acceptable reliability of above.8. (2) The following indicators describe argument features successfully: (a) two horizontal micro structural indicators, which include spoke and chain horizontal micro structures, (b) two vertical micro structural indicators, which include serial and compound micro reasoning structures, and c two macro structural indicators, which include climactic-anticlimactic and horizontal-vertical macro structures. (3) For the Japanese sample, the model proposed in this study can explain the relationships between the variables (argumentativeness and involvement) and the use of structural indicators in written arguments. (4) There appears to be relationships between culture, self-construal, and argumentativeness, which may provide a reason why people from different cultures differ in the way they construct argument.
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