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I am writing for a scientific journal. I wish to express

The findings are only valid if the data spans at least 5 days, and the sample has not corrupted within that period of time.

I wish to find one clean word to be the substitute for the bold phrase. Something similar to therein?

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    I'd rephrase: ". . . if the data spans at least five days, during which the sample has not corrupted." (I also might prefer "been corrupted" there.)
    – Robusto
    Jul 30, 2015 at 11:03
  • @Robusto Thanks for the advice! In fact, I wish to emphasize the logic and. That sorta explains why I chose not to put the second condition into a clause. Given this, do you still feel it better to rephrase it? Jul 30, 2015 at 11:07
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    You're using "span" as a verb I guess! It should agree with "data".
    – Sankarane
    Jul 30, 2015 at 11:08
  • Has not corrupted what?
    – tchrist
    Jul 30, 2015 at 13:45

5 Answers 5

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Well clearly the word you need is 'therewhile'.

Unfortunately it is out of date and rarely used. The only current usage I can find is in patent law.

a second predetermined distance above an empty receptacle in said second array, said die being held within said intermediate receptacle therewhile, whereby said die falls said first predetermined distance from said initial array to said intermediate receptacle http://pminer.org/patent.do?m=viewPatent&id=344094

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  • Nice one. In retrospect the existence of such a word does not surprise me. But its appearance more recently than in the annals of a Dickensian law firm does.
    – Alan K
    Jul 30, 2015 at 11:14
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    Therein (spatial) is up-to-date and used. Therewhile (temporal) should be too. Shame on us for not using it. +1
    – Avon
    Jul 30, 2015 at 11:33
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Throughout, in the sense of:

From beginning to end of (an event or period of time):

would seem to apply, but I wouldn't use it. The problem with a one word solution like that (and particularly that one, which is the only one that comes to my mind at the moment) is that it would lead to ambiguity. Is it the sample that has corrupted "throughout", or does "throughout" refer to the period that the sample existed?

To improve the succinctness without losing meaning or introducing ambiguity, I'd simply drop the "of time" expression. After all, in this context could "that period" be anything other than a period of time?

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The findings are valid only if the data span at least 5 days, and the sample has not corrupted within that period.

The findings remain valid provided the data span at least 5 days, and the sample stays uncorrupted during that period.

To me, "data" is always plural and uses a plural form of the verb. Also, the word "time" is redundant since "5 days" refers to it and there's "that period", which says it precisely. You may consider replacing the numeral 5 by "five" in formal writing. But I know it's commonly used in the computer-related messages.

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  • I haven't suggested an alternative for the phrase, because I believe the language needs to be current, simple and clear for all. A rarely used term might sound pedantic or complex where the clarity of the message is what matters.
    – Sankarane
    Jul 30, 2015 at 12:03
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Here is a suggestion for rewriting the sentence, using the term throughout, as supplied by @Alan K

I have kept your sentence structure and linked to definitions for other words I've included.

For resultant data to be valid, the experiment/trial must run for a minimum of five consecutive days and the sample remain uncorrupted throughout.

Source: ODO

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This may not be "sciencey" enough for a formal science paper, but I think that "meanwhile" conveys this meaning well enough. It is defined by Merriam-Webster as "during the intervening time".

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