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Unit b: language of results and conclusions in scientific articles (“hedging”)

8.10 Hedging Words — the Language of Results and Conclusions

8.10.1 Results and Conclusions:

The following statements have been taken from a psychology article reporting on an experiment set up to study the reactions of witnesses to an accident. Which of the statements reports a Result (R) of the experiment and which represents a Conclusion (C)? Is there a difference in the language of the reporting?

_ 1. It is not our impression that the non-responders had decided not to act. Rather, they were still in a state of non-decision.

_ 2. Subjects who had met the victim were faster to report his distress than other persons from sixperson groups.

_ 3. The groups ranked the same on speed as they did on response rate.

_ 4. Apparently the ability to visualize a specific distressed individual increases the likelihood of helping him.

_ 5. The situation created an avoidance-avoidancetype conflict. On the one hand, subjects wanted to avoid guilt and shame for not helping; on the other hand, they wanted to avoid making fools of themselves by over-reacting.

_ 6. The behavior of other bystanders and the relationship among them seem to be important.

_ 7. A stranger who has been programmed not to react is the most inhibiting, a neutral stranger next; and a friend the least.

_ 8. Of those who heard the accident while alone in the waiting room, 70 percent offered to help the victim before she left the room.

8.10.2 Language of «Hedging»

Place the following words or expressions on a continuum from UNCERTAIN to CERTAIN

UNCERTAIN____________________________CERTAIN

                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

a. Undoubtedly...                              g. In our opinion...

b. It seems...                                     h. We may conclude that...

c. Surely...                                        i. It may be assumed that...

d. It may be that...                            j. The results are clearly...

e. I am not all that certain that...      k. Possibly...

f. It is not at all certain that...           l. this suggests that...