The following list of phrases and
their definitions might help you understand the mysterious
language of science and medicine. These special phrases
are also applicable to anyone reading a Ph.D. dissertation
or academic paper.
IT HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN"... I
didn't look up the original reference.
"A DEFINITE TREND IS EVIDENT"...
These data are practically meaningless.
"WHILE IT HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE
TO PROVIDE DEFINITE ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS"...
An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get
it published.
"THREE OF THE SAMPLES WERE CHOSEN
FOR DETAILED STUDY"... The other results didn't
make any sense.
"TYPICAL RESULTS ARE SHOWN"...
This is the prettiest graph.
"THESE RESULTS WILL BE IN A
SUBSEQUENT REPORT"... I might get around to this
sometime, if pushed/funded.
"IN MY EXPERIENCE"... Once.
"IN CASE AFTER CASE"...
Twice.
"IN A SERIES OF CASES"...
Thrice.
"IT IS BELIEVED THAT"...
I think.
"IT IS GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT"...
A couple of others think so, too.
"CORRECT WITHIN AN ORDER OF
MAGNITUDE"... Wrong.
"ACCORDING TO STATISTICAL ANALYSIS"...
Rumor has it.
"A statistically oriented projectION
OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THESE FINDINGS"... A wild
guess.
"A CAREFUL ANALYSIS OF OBTAINABLE
DATA"... Three pages of notes were obliterated
when I knocked over a glass of beer.
"IT IS CLEAR THAT MUCH ADDITIONAL
WORK WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING
OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURS"... I don't understand
it.
"AFTER ADDITIONAL STUDY BY MY
COLLEAGUES"... They don't understand it either.
"THANKS ARE DUE TO JOE BLOTZ FOR ASSISTANCE WITH
THE EXPERIMENT AND TO CINDY ADAMS FOR VALUABLE discussIONS"...
Mr. Blotz did the work and Ms. Adams explained to me
what it meant.
"A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT AREA FOR
EXPLORATORY STUDY"... A totally useless topic selected
by my committee.
"IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY
WILL STIMULATE FURTHER INVESTIGATION IN THIS FIELD"...
I quit.
