Thought this might be helpful for some people

Dictionary of Useful Research Phrases

"It has long been known..." <-> I didn't look up the original reference.

"A definite trend is evident..." <-> These data are practically meaningless.

"Of great theoretical and practical importance..." <-> Interesting to me.

"While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions..." <-> This was an unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published.

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

"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 guys think so, too.

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

"Correct within an order of magnitude." <-> Wrong.

"It is hoped that this study will stimulate more work in this field." <-> This is a lousy paper, but so are the others in this crummy field.

"Thanks are due to Joe Blotz for assistance with the experimental work and to George Frink for valuable discussions." <-> Blotz did the work, and Frink explained to me what it meant.

"A careful analysis of obtainable data..." <-> Three pages of notes were obliterated when I knocked over a glass of beer.

"A statistically oriented projection of the findings..." <-> Wild guess.

"A highly significant area for exploratory study..." <-> A totally useless topic suggested by my committee.

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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal ideas from two persons is research." -Anonymous

[Edited on August 9, 2006 at 7:44 AM. Reason : http://math.bu.edu/people/ag/research.html]

8/9/2006 7:43:45 AM

haha...those are great...

i would wager that we have heard every single one of those in some form from our local whackjob, salisburyboy

8/9/2006 7:45:41 AM

Quote :

""While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions..." <-> This was an unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published. "

I have done this so many times...lol

8/9/2006 8:12:45 AM