  The data paper is an emerging academic genre that focuses on the description
of research data objects. However, there is a lack of empirical knowledge about
this rising genre in quantitative science studies, particularly from the
perspective of its linguistic features. To fill this gap, this research aims to
offer a first quantitative examination of which rhetorical moves-rhetorical
units performing a coherent narrative function-are used in data paper
abstracts, as well as how these moves are used. To this end, we developed a new
classification scheme for rhetorical moves in data paper abstracts by expanding
a well-received system that focuses on English-language research article
abstracts. We used this expanded scheme to classify and analyze rhetorical
moves used in two flagship data journals, Scientific Data and Data in Brief. We
found that data papers exhibit a combination of IMRaD- and data-oriented moves
and that the usage differences between the journals can be largely explained by
journal policies concerning abstract and paper structure. This research offers
a novel examination of how the data paper, a novel data-oriented knowledge
representation, is composed, which greatly contributes to a deeper
understanding of data and data publication in the scholarly communication
system.
