Citation

我平常沒注意的參考文獻引用格式(based on APA style)

1. 兩位作者時, 文章引用and或&前不必加逗點, 但文末列參考文獻時就要, 三位以上也要.
2. 作者有3-5人時, 第一次出現在文章中要全部列出, 之後才用et al.; 但若有6人以上, APA格式是從第一次出現就用et al., 戶外遊憩研究第一次仍全部列出.
3. 作者若為機關, 常見者第一次寫全名, 之後可用縮寫, 但易混淆者應全部都寫全名; 第一次引用時加註縮寫應用中括號, 例如(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2000).
4. 對了, APA有出中文格式唷

academic writing 08 constructing a research paper II (continued)

Results deal with facts, which are descriptive; Discussions deal with points, which are interpretive. The There are also three moves. In a long article, the Discussion sections run the sequence more than once.

1. points to consolidate the research space (obligatory)
2. points to indicate the limitations of your study (optional but common)
3. points to recommend a course of action and/or to identify useful areas of further research (optional and only common in some fields)

In my field (describing and solving social problems with ecological data), move 2 is as important as move 1 because social research is too complex to finish in a single paper. As empirical research filling the gap between theory and practice, move 3 is also necessary. Followings are some useful opening:
beginning with a discussion of the literature, such as someone (year) recovered .... and found that ....
offering a general conclusion, such as from this data, it is clear that ....
reminding the reader of the original purpose, such as the objective of the survey was to ...
giving a summary, such as this report brings together all known records of ....
referring to theory, mentioning the methodology or study site, and discussing the limitation.
Besides, in Results, statements may be quite specific while in abstract, space restrictions may lead to a high level of generality. Discussion is expected between these two levels. It is common to use there "phrases of generality", for example, on the whole or in the main.
In order to avoid the limitation to become the weaknesses in the research, there are some typical formulations:

• It should be noted that this study has been primarily concerned with ...
• This study has addressed only the question of ...
• However, the findings do not imply ...
• The results of this study cannot be taken as evidence for ...

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 08 constructing a research paper II

Finally, it's that last unit. Since Unit 7 has paid attention to writing results, unit 8 therefore focuses on introduction sections and discussion sections.

One of the important functions of introduction sections is creating a research space. There are three moves to follow: establishing a research territory, establishing a niche, and occupying the niche. The obligatory steps are following:

1. Establishing a research territory by introducing and reviewing items of previous research in the area.
2. Establishing a niche by indicating a gap in the previous research, or by extending previous knowledge in some way.
3. Occupying the niche by outlining purposes or stating the nature of the present research.

(There are some more optional steps in each move.)
There are some "skeletal" sentences to give a strong opening:

• Recently, there has been growing interest in ...
• The development of ... is a classic problem in ...
• Knowledge of ... has a great importance for ...
• Many researchers have recently turned to ...
• Numbers of recent studies have focused on ...

One of the other important language focuses is the tenses of citation:

• past: researchers' activities in a single reference
• present perfect: an inquiry or a finding
• present: current knowledge

In occupying the niche, there are two main variants:

• purposive: indicating the main purpose(s). For example: The aim of the present paper is to ...
• descriptive: describing the main feature of research. For example: This paper reports on the results obtained ...

If the author refers to the type of text, such as paper, article, or report, he should use present tense. On the other hand, is the author refers to the type of investigation, such as experiment, study, or survey, he should use past tense.

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 07 constructing a research paper I

There are two chapters talking about constructing a research paper: unit 7 and unit 8.

To begin with, unit 7 introduces how to write a short communication, which is no concern of mine.I focus on a typical organizational patter for my paper, the so-called IMRD (Introduction-Methods-Results-Discussion) format. What I should write and what the book can help me are including:

1. Title
2. Abstract-unit 5 (Summary writing)　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
3. Introduction-unit 2 (General-specific), unit 3 (Problem-solution), unit 6 (Critique)
4. Methods-unit 3 (Process descriptions)
5. Results-unit 4 (highlighting statements; qualifications)
6. Discussion-unit 4 (explanations), unit 6 (literature comparisons)
7. Acknowledgement
8. Reference

Table 21 is very useful because it lists the frequencies of important features in RP sections. For example, the frequency of present tense in introduction and discussion is high, while in methods and results is low. On the other hand, the frequency of past tense in introduction and discussion is mid, while in methods and results is high. Other features are including passive voice, citations, qualifications, and commentary.

The direction begins at methods instead of introduction. In different fields, people have different strategies to develop their methods sections. In many of the social sciences, describing all the detail is very important in methods sections because developing methodology could be one of the main points of an research paper. However, in natural science, engineering and parts of medical research, previous researchers have established many standard procedures and methods, which are widely available. Table 22 provides 8 tips to condense or extend the methods sections based on different requirements.

About result, unit 4 (data commentary) has covered many skills. Therefore, unit 7 emphasizes the organization of results sections.

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 06 writing critiques

顧名思義就是評論性文字的撰寫, 本章分為兩部分, 第一部分是書評, 對研究生來說, 通常只有遇到指定作業是某本書的讀後心得時, 才有可能需要寫"書評"; 比較實用的是第二部分, 也就是針對文章的評論, 小至meeting時報paper, 大至自己的paper要引述前人研究, 都需要掌握這個能力.

在文章的評論上, 可由以下各項切入:

1. 讀者是誰?
2. 本文目的為何?
3. 本文研究問題為何? 評論者可以嘗試以一個yes or no的問題來替文章作者提問
4. 作者得出什麼結論? 或說, 作者會用yes還是no來回答評論者的問題?
5. 作者提出什麼樣的證據來支持自己的結論?
6. 作者的結論是真的有效呢, 抑或只是看似有理?
7. 作者的結論是基於什麼樣的假設所提出?
8. 這篇文章在該領域中是否具有原創性貢獻? 為什麼?

在字彙與句型的運用上, 則具有以下技巧:

1. 假設語氣與事實不符: 簡單地說就是指出這篇文章的不足之處, 例如This article would have been more persuasive if the author had related the findings to previous work of the topic. 或是The author should have provided more data about her sample. 在語氣上, should表達較強烈的意見comment), could則只是提出建議(suggestion), 若用might則是更是更溫和的建議(weak suggestion).
2. 利用具有評估意涵的名詞, 動詞, 形容詞和副詞: 例如成功success (n.) - succeed (v.) - successful (a.) - successfully (ad.), 以及失敗failure (n.) - fail (v.) - unsuccessful (a.) - successfully (ad.); 然而, 在不同學門中, 常用的字彙也不同, 例如在人文科學(如歷史), 常用scholarly或original表示稱許, 而用thin表示不佳, 而在理學(如物理), 常用elegant或economical表示稱許, 而用sloppy表示不佳.
3. 倒裝句: 強調否定或句中的形容詞/副詞, 例如Not only has the author presented some valuable new information, he has also presented it in a very clear and coherent manner. 或是Particularly important was the discovery that many computer viruses have no known source. 等

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 05 writing summaries

Summary在此是指將參考文獻引入自己的文章中, 寫作要點如下:

1. 必須聚焦於全文的重點, 但不必表達出來源文章的每一個章節或段落
2. 必須呈現出全文的精確風格(accurate fashion)
3. 最好濃縮全文的意思後用新的詞語表達, 直接複製全文內的句子效果不佳

寫作技巧簡述如下:

1. 界定引用來源, 例如according to 某人 (某年), 某人's 某年 paper on fluoridation discusses, 某人 (某年) states that等, 常用的動詞如presume, speculate, describe, recommend, claim, assume, contend, propose, theorize, support及examine等, 這些動詞又分為客觀性的和評估性的兩種, 像describe應該就比較客觀, 而support應該就具有評估意味(吧? 我想的); 注意, mention這個動詞非常不正式, 不宜用於summary. 另外, 也可以善用副詞來表達自己的想法, 例如某人wrongly assumes that....
2. 延續性的引用, 在較長的敘述中, 應適度提醒讀者這是引用參考文獻, 而非本研究論點或成果, 例如the author goes on to say that, the article further states that, 某人 also states that, 或in the second half of the paper, 某人 presents.... 另外, 也可以用轉折語, 如additionally, in addition to, also, furthermore, further, moreover等
3. 比較性的引用, 可以顯示出自己對文獻的分析, 最初步的比較就是列出相似處和相異處, 其之, 應能夠顯示出文獻之間的關聯性, 包括重疊的觀點和重要的差異; 顯示相似處的轉折詞如similarly, likewise, in the same fashion等, 顯示相異處的轉折詞如in contrast, unlike, in contrast to, on the other hand, whereas等; 另外, 也可以用動詞來表達, 例如相似處: to be similar to, to resemble, to be comparable to, to correspond to等, 相異處: to differ from, to contrast with, to be different from等.

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 04 data commentary

data commentary的文字必須謹慎拿捏, 不能只有單純地複述數據, 也不能過度解釋遽下結論.

個別而言, data的描述與評論又必須拿捏肯定性及普遍性, 呈現出"confidently uncertain", 以提高研究結果的精確度:

1. probability, 一句話要講到多強烈? 多有信心? 由強到弱可採用下形容詞或副詞: (最強) certain --> almost certain --> very probable/highly likely --> probable/likely --> possible --> unlikely --> very/highly unlikely (最弱)
2. distance, 結果與事實之間可能的距離, 其實也就是作者信心的呈現, 舉例如下: (最強) the factory has benefited form... --> the factory seems to have benefited from... --> the factory appears to have benefited from... --> it seems that the factory has benefited form... --> it has been said that the factory seems to have benefited form....
3. generalization: 把結果普遍化而又不武斷, 例如把Children living in poverty have a history of health problems.改成Children living in poverty tend to have a history of health problems. 或Many children living in poverty have a history of health problems.

若出現不符預期的數據, 應該討論它而不是忽略它, 可以使用以下動詞片語: may be due to, can be attributed to, can probably be accounted for, is probably a consequence of, would seem to stem from等.

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 心得20110809

目前為止上了general-specific和problem-solution兩種文體: general-specific適合作為概念的介紹並引出重點, 我想可以放在前言, 把當今世上亟待解決的狀況聚焦到我的研究問題和研究目的上; problem-solution乍看之下是從提出問題到解決方案的描述, 本來只覺得可以用在摘要的寫作上, 但這種寫法其實也是一種評析, 可以用於文獻回顧, 亦即先前有什麼樣的問題, 人家用什麼樣的研究做出什麼樣的結論, 然後有什麼不足之處.

課本中除了說明各種文體的組成元素(例如general-specific中不可或缺的definition), 也特別列出可能用得上的文法(例如要提出定義可以用refer to等片語), 以language focus的標題插在課文裡, 相較於那些日文翻過來的論文寫作常用語書籍, 要來得積極許多(知其然也知其所以然)^^

academic writing 03 problem-solution texts

相對於general-specific texts, problem-solution texts是提出主張和評估的段落, 對研究生的academic writing來說, 可用以提問或表達對問題(或解決方案)的理解.

標準的problem-solution段落包含4個部分(可能也就是4段文字): situation, problem, solution及evaluation (of the solution(s)), 例如1994年的<英文在學術發表上的角色>一文, 作者的觀點可以由以下4段文字表達:

1. 提及ISI收錄的學術文章有80%以英文書寫, 但集中在工程, 藥學及非臨床心理學等領域(situation)
2. 我們無從瞭解整個學術界中, 英文paper占有多大比例, 尤其在大型資料庫刻意以英文為主要收錄對象的情況下(problem)
3. 作者引用前人研究指出, 在社會科學, 農業等領域中, 英文paper約占40%到50%, 推定英文papero占學術發表的比例在50%到80%之間(situation)
4. 但目前並沒有相關研究可以支持這個結論, 非英文系國家的研究人員仍不知道用母語寫作的paper有多少影響力(evaluation)

事隔10年後, 有另一位作者以同一個主題撰寫另一篇文章, 引用了較新的數據提出新的主張, 其文章結構如下:

1. 1994年有篇文章(即上述例子)提出英文系資料庫的偏誤, 並引用一些小樣本的個別領域研究, 認為英文papero占學術發表的比例在50%到80%之間(situation)
2. 然而那篇文章並未認知道過去30年來, 許多日文及歐陸語系期刊開始改以英文出版(problem)
3. 作者引用前人研究指出許多領域的期刊已全面改用英文出版, 且80%的博士論文係以英文撰寫, 暗示英文paper的比例應超過80% (situation)
4. 但英文優勢的情況也導致一些本土研究刻意以當地語文撰寫, 故仍有待後續研究(evaluation)

一般的研究中, solution都是一個process (解決問題所需的步驟), 有時problem也可以視為process來描述, 特別是在比較傳統的problem-solution文體中, 會比較強調技術性的描寫, 將在academic writing 04中說明.

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

academic writing 02 general-specific texts

A general-specific text is for:

1. an answer to an examination question,
2. an opening paragraph of an assignment, or
3. a back ground (or scene-setting) paragraph to and analysis or discussion

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

其結構如下:

general statement --縮小到--> 支持此一general statement的細節 --縮小到--> 更細節 --擴大到--> broader statement

general statement可能是一個定義, 或一句廣泛的敘述, 雖然以名詞定義起始是常見的文章開頭, 但多適用於教科書, 既然學術論文的讀者都是相關領域的專家, general statement應該要用以描述更複雜的概念; 用於"定義"的句型視需求而定, 可以運用as know as, defined as, 或called等詞, 在提及該名詞(或該概念)的句子裡簡要定義, 也可以用整個－甚至數個－句子來下定義.

why general-specific texts? 在文章中是用來敍述和解釋的段落, 以研究生所撰寫的學術文章而言, 是用以表達自己知道些什麼; 而不是用以提出問題, 主張或評論.

academic writing 01

The composition of academic writing:

audience

purpose

organization

style

flow

presentation

(Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. 2007, Academic Writing for Graduate Students, University of Michigsn Press, Ann Arbor.)

What I should note:

1. organization

最常見的文章組織是problem-solution, 可分為4個部分: description of a situation, identification of a problem, description of a solution, 以及evaluation of the solution

其他可能的組織包括comparison-contrast, cause-effect, 以及classification

2. flow

重點之一是連接詞(包括轉折語氣)的使用, 不是不會, 而是知道得太少, 寫來寫去都是however; 這類用詞可分3類: 連接從屬子句(例如even though, since, whereas等), 開啟獨立句(例如furthermore, as a result, in contrast等), 以及連接單詞(例如in addition to, in spite of, unlike等). 缺少這些連接詞可能不影響文法正確性, 但如妥善運用, 除增加文章流暢度, 亦可適度呈現作者的立場
另一個重點是summary word的使用, 例如The population suddenly increases by about 20,000 this year. This growth can be partly attributed to the students of the new university. 利用"This growth"強調自己所要說明的"概念", 並帶出其後的"原因", 類似的句型如The traditional consumers gather information and then carefully make a purchase. This process has recently been challenged. 同樣用this process來承先啟後, 是提升文章流暢度的技巧之一. 值得注意的是用詞越精準越好, 比如某些情況下, this development或this improvement就比this change或this situation好, 而使用it則是大忌, it可以指一個名詞也可以指整個概念, 甚至是虛主詞, 論文寫作應避免