You may have heard a collegue use these terms in discussing his or her latest research (or perhaps your major professor). You may have used these terms yourself without understanding their true meaning. Consider this a brief lesson in "academic-speak." The term is followed by the real explanation.
"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…" (A couple of others think so, too.)
"Correct within an Order of Magnitude…" (Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.)
"According to standard statistical analysis…" (Rumor has it.)
"It has long been known…" (I didn't look up the original reference.)
"A definite trend is evident.."' (This data is practically meaningless.)
"Three of the examples were chosen for detailed study…" (The other results didn't make sense.)
"Typical results are shown below…" (This one made the prettiest bar chart.)
"A careful analysis of the obtainable
data would indicate…" (Three pages of critical notes were obliterated
when I knocked over my glass.)
"A statistically-oriented projection of these findings…" (A scientific wild guess.)
"A highly significant area for exploratory study…" (A totally useless topic selected by my academic degree committee)
"Additional study will be required for
a more complete understanding of this phenomenon…" (I didn't understand
this, and probably never will.)
