A systematic literature review on word selection criteria in corpus-based wordlists development

The significance of academic word lists has consistently been underscored by scholars, particularly following the establishment of the AWL by Coxhead in 2000. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a systematic literature review on the criteria for word selection that are crucial in the process of developing word lists. This study systematically reviewed and analyzed the selection criteria used by scholars in the creation of word lists, particularly academic word lists, and the parameters involved in each type of criterion. This systematic review searched five databases for studies published between 2000 and 2024 that developed word lists based on corpus-based methods. Ultimately, 54 studies met the established criteria, identifying nine main word selection criteria: frequency, range, specialized occurrence, dispersion, expert judgment, dictionary checking, keyness, discipline measure, and ratio. Additionally, the review discussed the aspects scholars consider when choosing each criterion, the parameters involved, and the specific threshold settings. This provides a clearer methodological reference for future research on word list creation, particularly academic word lists. The review also covered major controversies and future research directions in word list development, such as the definition and delineation of various types of vocabulary, the ambiguity caused by different meanings of vocabulary across disciplines, and word counting units.