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Analysis of institutional authors

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Article

Using legitimation code theory to investigate English medium lecturers’ knowledge-building practices

Publicated to:Journal of English for Academic Purposes. 65 - 2023-09-01 65(), DOI: 10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101285

Authors: Argüelles-Alvarez, I; Morton, T

Affiliations

Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept English Philol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Linguist Appl Sci & Technol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author

Abstract

This study uses Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to examine the knowledge-building practices of two lecturers teaching computing courses through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) at a Spanish university. LCT is a sociological framework for exploring and improving knowledge practices across academic and other fields of activity. The study uses the LCT dimension of Semantics, which sees knowledge building in terms of condensation of meaning (semantic density) and context-dependence (semantic gravity). Five video-recorded sessions were transcribed and coded using the text annotation software CorpusTool, and the analysis traced variation in semantic density and gravity over the teaching sessions (both within and across the two lecturers’ practices). The findings show that the lecturers dealt with complexity of meaning and context-relatedness in ways which reflected the nature of the content topic and the teaching activity. There was evidence that they used “semantic waves” (movements between higher and lower semantic density and stronger and weaker semantic gravity) to build knowledge cumulatively over the sessions. We identify implications for the professional development of EMI lecturers, arguing that LCT Semantics has the potential to help lecturers see connections between their disciplinary knowledge building practices and the communicative resources used to enact them.

Keywords

knowledge buildinglegitimation code theory (lct)semantic densitysemantic gravitysemanticswavesEducationEnglish medium instruction (emi)Knowledge buildingLegitimation code theory (lct)Semantic densitySemantic gravitySemantics

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal of English for Academic Purposes due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 19/296, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Linguistics. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 14.6, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-20, the following number of citations:

  • Scopus: 7
  • OpenCitations: 4

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-20:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 22.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 22 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: Last Author (MORTON, THOMAS MUNDELL).