Clarification Please...
February 2003

Those who have to read research papers will appreciate the comedy of some of these useful research phrases:

A Glossary of Useful Research Phrases:

"It has long been known that..." = I didn't look up the original reference

"A definite trend is evident". = These data are practically meaningless.

"...of great theoretical importance". = Interesting to me.

"Time and time again..." = I've seen two cases of this.

"In case after case after case..." = I've seen three cases of this.

"Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study". = The others made no sense.

"While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions..." = The experiment was unsuccessful, but I still hope to get it published.

"Typical results are shown". = The best results are shown.

"The most reliable results are those obtained by Jones". = He was my grad assistant.

"It is believed that..." = I think...

"It is generally believed that..." = A couple of other people think so too.

"Correct within the order of magnitude" = Wrong

"A statistically oriented projection of the findings..." = A wild guess.

"It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding of the phenomenon is possible". = I don't understand it.

"A careful analysis of obtainable data..." = Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer. And my personal favourite:

"A highly significant area of exploratory study..." = A totally useless topic suggested by my thesis committee.

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