COMMON VERBS IN TECHNICAL RESEARCH REPORTING
You will find below some examples of verbs which appear to be commonly used in writing up research:
DESCRIBING THE AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
DESCRIBING THE PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
 
 
DESCRIBING THE AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
In English, there is a tendency to PERSONIFY the study:
| 
        This study sets out to quantify the
        performance of various centrifuges for the separation of fat globules in
        suspension (intro) | 
    
| The current review focuses on the use of new methods for the measurement of heat transfer through windows. (intro) | 
| In this research, we investigate the use of fluxes in a modern iron-smelting furnace. (intro) | 
| The present work studies the selection of anti-virus software in small companies in Scandinavia. (intro) | 
| 
        This work attempted to establish a
        correlation between the chemical composition of pulp and quality of the
        finished product. | 
    
We do, however, also find examples of the pattern “the aim is to (verb)…..”:
| The objective of this report in the series was to investigate the chemistry of the liquor produced during pulping of recycled newsprint. (intro) | 
| The purpose of the study was to establish the boundary conditions for calculating thermal stresses in diswashers. (intro) | 
| The experimental goal was to visualize the mechanisms of fluid penetration. | 
 
| This paper presents a selection of data from an investigation on heat transfer. | 
| 
        This paper  demonstrates how thermal stress in
        dishwashers can be controlled. | 
    
| 
        In the remainder of this note, we  restrict our
        attention to PID control.  | 
    
| 
        In this section, some recent advances in the field 
        are reviewed. | 
    
| The present paper is concerned with the heat transfer between component parts. | 
| To understand several observed phenomena, we consider the structure of a paper web. | 
| Publications in the recent literature indicate that both standard and heavily-adapted techniques are widely used. | 
| Collins and DuBartell (1997) have shown that accurate values can be obtained by simulating the process in the laboratory. | 
| Skärevik [8] presented the most thorough and complete review of recent innovations in the field. | 
| Wallington [6] observed that the third model performed best in more extreme conditions. | 
| Dehmann [13] investigated the phenomenon using a series of experiments involving pressure measurements. | 
| In [4], Kessner explored the adhesive properties of kaolin. | 
| 
         
         See also REPORTING VERBS 
  | 
    
| Samples were taken simultaneously from the inner and outer streams. | 
| 
        A
        set of trials was performed on a casting ladle. | 
    
| 
        Data
        was obtained by taking digital photographs at 1-second intervals. | 
    
| 
        For
        each case, a flow chart of activity was developed. | 
    
| 
        Pressures
        were calculated using the Antoine equation. | 
    
| 
        A
        large amount of data was collected over a range of conditions. | 
    
| 
        Experiments
        were performed with the nozzle diameter set at 30mm. | 
    
| 
        Experiments
        were conducted with with a row of tightly packed tubes
        representing the wall of a boiler.  | 
    
| 
        Calculations
        were made of the heat transfer from the radiator to the plastic
        valve components.  | 
    
| 
        Pretreatment
        and cooking were carried out in a multi-unit stainless steel
        vessel. | 
    
| 
        In
        the first set of experiments, a standard fermentation vessel was
        employed. | 
    
| 
        The
        process was modelled using the Stepney-Redman technique. | 
    
| 
        The
        feedback controllers were tuned before the experiment started. | 
    
| 
        Fig.
        1 shows the flow pattern within a centrifuge. | 
    
| 
        Figure
        2 shows the relationship between the temperature and the pressure. | 
    
| 
        Table
        1 gives the measurements of the chlorine levels in the pool.  | 
    
| 
        Table
        4 lists the temperatures recorded during successive tests. | 
    
| 
        The
        experimental findings are summarized in the table below. | 
    
| 
        The
        source of the leak is illustrated in Fig. 3.  | 
    
| 
        The
        flow pattern was as depicted in the upper half of Fig. 4.  | 
    
| 
        Figure
        5 suggests that recycling of plastics has gone through three
        distinct phases.  | 
    
| 
        Fig.
        6 plots the values taken during shear strength tests.  | 
    
| The results show that the expression given in Equation (8) accurately describes the temperature-pressure relationship. | 
| These results show that the process can be controlled directly from the cab of the crane. | 
| Using the modified approach resulted in improved control performance compared to the traditional approach. | 
| The chlorine-free samples were found to perform best. | 
| It was found that the highest values were obtained from the contaminated samples. | 
| 
        The
        results suggest that the higher yield is derived mainly from
        addition of fluxes. | 
    
| The data demonstrate that the pretreatment prior to pulping enhances pulp quality. | 
| 
        The
        result indicates that acid treatment results in greater
        cost-effectiveness.  | 
    
| 
        The
        result demonstrates the possibility of employing a lower water
        pressure during rinsing. | 
        
| From laboratory experiments, we were able to determine that soaking in a saline solution is a viable solution. | 
| The reduced shear strength of the components may be attributed to the brittleness which increases as a function of age. | 
| 
        However,
        it can be deduced that the flow within the pipe is a function of
        the operating pressure and the viscosity of the liquid. | 
    
| 
        These
        results reinforce the need for tight monitoring when variables
        are manipulated. | 
    
| 
        The
        results obtained from the field studies were generally consistent
        with previous simulation studies. | 
    
| 
        The
        technique presented is limited in its effectiveness by the
        fact that it improves on earlier techniques along one dimension only. | 
    
| 
        From
        the experimental results we can conclude that leaching is the
        main mechanism for the changes in the pH levels.  | 
    
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© S.McAnsh 2003