Note by James R. Martin, Ph.D., CMA
Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida
Research Methods Main Page | Advice
for Ph.D. Students and New Faculty
Understanding Research Literature from Ingram's comments in Issues in Accounting Education Spring 1987.
10 common Phrases and their Meanings:
1. It has long been known that - I haven't bothered to look up the original reference, but..
2. Of great theoretical and practical importance - It is interesting to me that..
3. While it has not been possible to provide definite answers to these questions - The experiment didn't work, but I figured I would try to get a publication out of it anyway.
4. Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study - The results of the others didn't make sense.
5. It is suggested that; it is believed that; it may be that - I think.
6. It is generally believed that - A couple of other guys think so too.
7. It is clear that much additional work will be required before - I don't understand it.
8. A theory to account for these results has not been formulated - Nobody else understands it either.
9. Correct within an order of magnitude - Wrong.
10. Thanks are due to X for assistance with the experiments and to Y for valuable discussion - X did the work and Y explained what it meant.