Questions tagged [scientific-language]
The scientific-language tag has no usage guidance.
61
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Looking for a word for animals that defecate anywhere
There is a word for animals like horses and cows that defecate wherever they happen to be when the need strikes them, versus animals like dogs and cats that seek out one place or another to do their ...
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2
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58
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Can "consider" always replace "take into account" in scientific writing?
Consider these two instructions to a science problem:
Calculate the velocity. Consider the effect of air resistance.
Calculate the velocity. Take into account the effect of air resistance.
For me, ...
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7
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Verb for "Placing undue weight on a specific factor when making a decision"
As a behavioral scientist, I often write about biases in decision making, where people place too much / too little weight on a specific property of the options (relative to other factors or a certain ...
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Usage of "you" in scientific papers
According to numerous questions (e.g Is it recommended to use "we" in research papers?), one should use "we" instead of "I" while writing a scientific paper.
However, it'...
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Singular and Plurals in Academic Research
In academic/scientific research, should I use the names of fruits in the singular or plural? For example:
There was a significant increase in the frequency of sweet potato consumption (+18.8%), eggs (...
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49
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Adjective that explains a variable (e.g. curve in a diagram) is growing slightly exponential
I am writing some sentences describing the diagram below. From my perspective, the GDP resembles a bit like a curve (exponentially growing) rather than roughly a straight line.
Is there a particular ...
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3
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125
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How should we describe the largest group in a set when its share accounts for less than 50%?
General idea
What is the best way to describe a group that has the largest share of something but doesn't have more than 50%? I'm tempted to use the word "most", but I mentally associate it ...
- 141
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1
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56
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Should one avoid hyphenating prefixed words in scientific papers?
I have noticed that many papers and books (in the engineering and mathematical fields, at least) have a preference for avoiding hyphenated prefixes. For instance, they usually write:
preprocessing
...
- 123
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Why a "100% chance" of rain? [closed]
A 100% chance means it is certain, so it is not really 'chance' in that case. Someone I know said that rain is always uncertain, so why not say a 99% chance then?
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Using "task force" in an international academic context
I am currently setting up a working group within an international scientific association. The working group gathers American, Japanese, Chinese, New Zealander, and a few European research fellows.
I ...
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113
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What is a product called that everyone gets no matter what? [duplicate]
What are things/products called that everyone needs and that people keep using or find a way of using, no matter how much you restrict their use (for example legally, environmentally, culturally etc ...
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121
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Less formal term for "dimensions" for something that can be measured in units
In scientific/engineering writing and calculations we use terms that are considered "dimensions" and for each "dimension" we have to have "units" when we describe them.
...
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103
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Is there a word stronger than "promote" but weaker than "enforce" in a technical context? Maybe "force"?
Context: Scientific paper targeting at computer scientists, engineers and mathematicians
I am searching for a word similar to "promote", "push", "force", "enforce&...
- 101
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1
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57
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Is "that of" used here correctly?
I wonder if "that of" used in the following question doesn't create grammatical error. If it does, then I also wonder the corrected form or alternatives.
The statement:
The running time ...
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59
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Single medical term for "taking a pulse"
I have been searching for a technical/medical term to use in place of "taking a pulse". I see some texts use "palpatory measurements" in place of the colloquial "taking a ...
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Articles usage and human organs [duplicate]
As far as I know, usage of general concepts allows the usage of a zero article. But what about the organs, such as liver, lungs, or brain? Is it acceptable to use them without an article in academic ...
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126
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Opposite of invariant
I look for the opposite of "invariant" in the context of scientific language.
If you look at this example sentence:
[...] Although it is translationally and rotationally invariant,
it is ...
- 113
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28
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Gauss vs Gauss' vs Gauss's? [duplicate]
Which of the three should be used? Gauss law vs Gauss' law vs Gauss's law? The middle one seems most correct but does that make the others incorrect? Or is it a matter of preference. Also, how do the ...
- 354
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3
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258
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Use of "paper" / "study" / ... in scientific publications
In my research paper I used the phrase "this paper" to refer to the one I am writing and sometimes I write "the [other] paper" to refer to some other paper. The editor replaced &...
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75
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Is "we contribute ..." bad style in scientific writing?
In my paper I am writing a couple of times
We contribute ...
for example
First, we contribute a new definition for the problem and then a formula for xy.
My editor has removed all the "...
- 331
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59
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Is there a "more formal" (or ideally, actual medical/research term?) for being "clucky" / "broody"?
It's a phenomenon that if a woman, A, spends time around a woman, B, who is either pregnant or has a young baby (B is perhaps a sister, friend), sometimes woman A finds herself with "a desire to ...
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35
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How to quote a list (for a scientific thesis)?
I would like to quote a list verbatim.
Let's say this is the list, and it's originally from a book:
Mathematics is essential in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, finance, ...
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1
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56
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Let us suppose vs Suppose [closed]
When should we use "Let us suppose", and when "Suppose" in science academic articles?
Example 1:
Suppose the electric field lines in a region of space are straight lines.
or
...
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4
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204
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The use of the term "agreeability" when comparing two results
I'm writing a scientific paper about two obtained results: an experimental result and a numerical one. Because the two agree well with each other, I may use the term "agreeability" to ...
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354
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What is the true etymology of "algebra"?
This is more of a question for Arabic stack exchange if there was such a thing, but anyways:
The OED suggests as the etymology of the term "algebra"
Etymology: < post-classical Latin ...
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51
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how to avoid repetition in comparing two things in a line graph
I have a problem with repetition for describing this graph. This graph represents the strong ground motion acceleration (vertical axes) over the period (the horizontal axes) for different return ...
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1
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53
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using article "the" before three scientific methods
I dove into similar questions but didn't find the exact question.
I am writing my paper and I know that "the" should be used before methods, but how could it be when there are 3 methods ...
2
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1
answer
43
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For X a Y, something is true
Often in mathematical writing I read (and write) constructions such as
For G a finite group, the character algebra is defined as ...
For X and Y sets, a function from X to Y is ...
The general ...
- 121
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1
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302
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A word that includes plants and fungi, but not animals
I am working on a project which includes information about plants and fungi. It would be very helpful for me if there a word that means plants-and-fungi, but I'm not sure there is. "Flora" ...
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293
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Term for describing auditory memory similar to 'eidetic' (for visual memory)
Is there a similar term for eidetic memory, but for sound?
An eidetic memory is the ability to remember things in exact detail, as if you can see them in your mind:
Cambridge
The measure of eidetic ...
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1
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53
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how to describe a set of strings with various types of format [closed]
In my scientific experiment, the measurement of equipment may appear as follows 1’’-2’’, 3”:4”, [1”, 2”], or (1”:2”), etc.
I would like to describe this fact in an article. What is the best way to ...
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2
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64
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Terminology for an "optical RGB image" in relation to more complex imagery like hyperspectral imagery?
I am currently writing the literature review portion of my dissertation and I find that I am being quite wordy when attempting to describe what a layman would conceptualize as an "image". ...
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What is the correct way to write out the scientific symbol µeV, microelectronvolts or microelectron-volts?
How should µeV be written out? Is it microelectronvolts? or microelectron-volts?
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To what extent should figure legends within scientific literature describe trends in their figures?
How far should figure legends go in describing the trends within the figure (within a biology paper)?
I've seen some conflicting information on this and I'm unsure if legends need to fully describe ...
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4
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"yields" vs "yields that" in math context
I have learned that a commonly mistake in math papers is the phrase
by ... we have that ... instead it would be correct to just leave the that.
Now I am wondering how to correctly use yield. In ...
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2
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358
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Number vs. no. vs. # in scientific papers?
This is kinda an extension to: this question.
I am writing a scientific paper and have a numbered list. Now, when I want to refer to that list I want to say something like: "This issue is closely ...
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Noun + Past Participle Usage
DCR(Dark Current Rate) represents the base noise level of a SPAD caused by parasitic avalanches happening in the dark due to thermal noise and band-to-band tunnelling effects.
I don't understand why ...
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1
answer
42
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Is the usage "multiple logistic regression analysis" correct?
I encountered a manuscript where the author writes:
Risk associations for metabolic syndrome and diabetes were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analyses..."
In this case, is the ...
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2
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141
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Can the word 'slab' be used to mean 'range'? For example, distance slab and weight slab (in technical specifications), income tax slab
In Merriam-Webster dictionary, none of the meaning of 'slab' is 'range'. But slab is also used to mean range in India. For example, limit X1 for weight slab 10-20kg, limit X2 for slab 20-30 kg.
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'Such' in place of a demonstrative pronoun. Such a configuration or such configuration?
I read some explanations about the use of 'such' as a determiner, but I still could not figure this out. If, in scientific/formal writing, I want to use 'such' instead of 'this' to specify a ...
2
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1
answer
3k
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Convention of writing percentage range
I am writing to inquire the convention of writing the following percentage range in academic writing:
We reduce the extra cost from 99.9% to 12%--24% (depending on different configuration schemes).
...
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197
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Is "get stuck" a proper term in academic writing?
I am writing to inquire the usage of "get stuck" in academic writing. Here is my draft:
this design could get stuck in a bad local minima and therefore is not desired.
I use Google Scholar to ...
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Taxonomy - how to describe something as plantlike?
So I'm writing a story that features Chimeras or hybrid creatures, and I'm wondering what I would call a plant based creature. For other things like a spider creature or bird creature I would call it ...
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Phrases for qualitative comparison
Suppose we have find a relation between two quantities X and Y. When we say "The more Y, the more X" is it implied that the relation between Y and X is linear?
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"As we want to" in scientific writing
I am writing a scientific journal article at the moment (biophysics).
I am using the phrase "As we want to" in a sentence:
"As we want to focus on the assembly process, we implicitly average over all ...
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37
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Relation of the etymology of «epilepsy» and «cataplexy» to their meaning
I want to know the exact meaning of these 2 words (they are a medical words ... I know their scientific meaning, I need the relation of their etymology to their meaning) the prefix and the suffix of ...
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2
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A better word/phrase to describe "a more..." in a scientific paper
I am writing a scientific paper on how a cancer staging system may be improved. However, I am a non-native English speaker, and I am concerned that my current title reflects that too much.
Please, ...
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2
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885
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Does "corroborate" in a scientific context imply confirmation rather "either confirmation or rejection" of findings from previous studies?
I am a non-native English speaker writing a scientific paper.
I have question concerning the word corroborate. In my native language, one might say that a research project aim to corroborate ...
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scientific way to say wash your hands
What would be a scientific way to tell people to wash their hands? In a way that it wouldn't sound like simply washing hands but more like a newly discovered method against corona virus.
I'm thinking ...
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118
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Mathematical Jargon when choosing for determinacy
What is the usual expression a mathematician uses when he has to make a choice in order limit an over-determined structure, in order to continue his argument?
For instance, when a structure is over-...
