Abstract

Research on dictionary use is a relatively new field in lexicography. Among them, the empirical studies which were few before 1990s has gained ground over recent three decades. Using data of 35 articles from International Journal of Lexicography (1987–2017), this study renders an analysis of the empirical research trends in the field of dictionary use. The analysis mainly focuses on the research topics, research methodology, and the changes that have occurred in the field. The results show that while some hot topics (e.g., the effectiveness of dictionary use or of certain dictionary information) have remained popular over the past two decades, some topics, e.g., the exploration of dictionary using process have received an increasing attention, but some others, e.g., the investigation on habits and needs of dictionary use, have witnessed a decrease of interest recently. Furthermore, researchers have improved the methodological standards for recent studies. As for data analysis, more complicated statistic approaches, rather than pure descriptive statistics, have been adopted. Finally, based on the analysis on previous studies, this paper offers suggestions for further research trend.

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