Handy Research Phrases (Culled from the Internet, dating at least to the late 1990’s)
What researchers SAY in publications and seminars and what they MEAN…
“It has long been known...” meaning: I didn’t look up the original references.
“A definite trend is evident... " meaning: These data are practically meaningless.
“Of great theoretical and practical importance...” meaning: Interesting to me.
“Typical results are shown...” meaning: The best results are shown.
“While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions...” meaning: An unsuccessful experiment, but I still hope to get it published.
“It is believed that...” meaning: I think.
“Correct within an order of magnitude...” meaning: Wrong.
“The most reliable results are those obtained by...” meaning: He was my graduate student.
I remember that there were more of these. Does anybody remember them?