Ingram, R. W. 1987. Editor's comments. Issues In Accounting Education (Spring): iii.
Note by James R. Martin
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
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10 common Phrases and their Meanings |
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| If the author writes.. | The meaning is ... |
| 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 |
For more research humor see the Journal of Universal Rejection.
