Qualitative evaluation of content similarity in the context of clinical research

The case of the original reference definitions of 'burnout'

Authors

  • Francesca Dell'Oro Université de Neuchâtel
  • Sandy Carla Marca Unidistance
  • Irina Guseva Canu Unisanté Lausanne

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jalpp.21266

Keywords:

burnout, clinical research, content similarity evaluation, semantics, definitions

Abstract

‘Burnout’ is one of those medical terms that lack a consensual definition, although its definitions may appear very similar. This paper outlines and discusses research carried out to find the shared elements of the original reference definitions of ‘burnout’ used in scientific literature between the 1990s and today, as a preliminary step towards the setting up of a harmonised definition. In order to pinpoint what is common in the original reference definitions of ‘burnout’, we developed and implemented a methodology based on the application of a linguistic – in particular, semantic – analysis. Our methodology may be of interest to researchers in other fields as a way to carry out a preliminary investigation of the definitions in use for a (specialist) term.

Author Biographies

  • Francesca Dell'Oro, Université de Neuchâtel

    Francesca Dell’Oro received her PhD in General and Historical Linguistics from the University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Neuchâtel. Her research interests include the semantic-syntax interface (with a focus on modality), corpus methods, language teaching, diachronic linguistics and medical linguistics. She was recently the editor of an open-access volume, Méthodes et modèles de l’apprentissage des langues anciennes, vivantes et construites, hier et aujourd’hui (Lausanne University, 2020 – https://www.cahiers-clsl.ch/issue/view/79) Address for correspondence: Institut des sciences du langage, Université de Neuchâtel, Pierre-à-Mazel 7, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Email: [email protected]

  • Sandy Carla Marca, Unidistance

    Sandy Carla Marca is currently working on her PhD at the University of Geneva and at Unidistance Suisse, where she conducts a study with electroencephalography about memory and language. She previously trained at Unisanté in epidemiology and meta-analysis methods in the frame of work psychology. Her main interests are research methods on improving well-being in general. Address for correspondence: Unidistance, Schinerstrasse 18, 3900 Brig, Switzerland.

  • Irina Guseva Canu, Unisanté Lausanne

    Irina Guseva Canu is Associate Professor of Occupational Epidemiology at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, Lausanne University. After her initial training in Medicine, she pursued her specialisation in Public Health and Toxicology. She is a scientific expert in national and international consortia on occupational and environmental health and leads several multidisciplinary projects. Address for correspondence: Département Santé, Travail, Environnement, Unisanté, Route de la Corniche 2, CH-1066 Epalinges-Lausanne, Switzerland.

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Published

2023-04-13

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

Equinox Publishing Ltd.

How to Cite

Dell'Oro, F., Marca, S. C., & Guseva Canu, I. (2023). Qualitative evaluation of content similarity in the context of clinical research: The case of the original reference definitions of ’burnout’. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 17(1), 26-49. https://doi.org/10.1558/jalpp.21266