Английский язык для магистрантов научная деятельность. English for master students academic activity. Учебное пособие

explained. Authors should describe how the subjects were manipulated to answer the experimental question. Timeframes should be included to ensure that the procedures are clear. The methods used and the protocols followed should be outlined.

Statistical analyses: The type of data, how they were measured, and which statistical tests were performed, should be described. (Note: This is not the “results” section; any relevant tables and figures should be referenced later.) Specific software used must be cited.

What Should not be Included in Your Methods Section?

Common pitfalls can make the manuscript cumbersome to read or might make the readers question the validity of the research. Here some guidelines are provided:

Background information that is not helpful must be avoided.

Authors must avoid providing a lot of detail.

Authors should focus more on how their method was used to meet their objective and less on mechanics.

Any obstacles faced and how they were overcome should be described (often in your “Study Limitations”). This will help validate the results.

Authors must avoid including extensive details or an exhaustive list of equipment that have been used as readers could quickly lose attention. These unnecessary details add nothing to validate the research and do not help the reader understand how the objective was satisfied. A well- thought-out Methods section is one of the most important parts of the manuscript. Authors must make a note to always prepare a draft that lists all parts, allow others to review it, and revise it to remove any superfluous information.

AFTER READING TASKS

Answer the following questions.

1.What is the objective of the methods section of a research paper for scientists?

2.What does the methods section of a research article include?

3.What is the structure of the methods section in a research paper?

4.What should be included in the methods section of a research paper?

5.What should not be included in your methods section?

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ANALYZE

How to describe research methods

A. Read and translate the tip below. Fill in the glossary.

Useful words combinations

We may carry out a procedure or an experiment or a pilot study. (preliminary study)

We use or, more formally, employ a method or a technique or an approach or an instrument or a device. (an object or method used for a special purpose) You can also use or employ any particular type of research methodology. Apparatus (equipment for a lab experiment) is assembled and checked. Apparatus is an uncountable noun but you can talk about a piece of apparatus.

B. Study the table below. Fill in the glossary.

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12mathematical techniques

13to be related in a systematic way

14to prove

15to disprove

16cause-and-effect relationship

17to observe and record some behavior or phenomenon

18natural setting

19time-consuming

20disrupting

21to make inferences from data collected

22to interfere with the subjects or phenomena

23inaccuracies in the data

24in-depth

25an outside observer

26to be representative of the general group or population

Types of research methods

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1. Complete the sentences in these two texts with useful word combinations from parts A and B of the theory part above.

a) Scientists disagree as to whether cold fusion, the controlled power of the hydrogen bomb in the laboratory, is possible. In the past, some believed

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that e________ s ________ under la ________ c ________ using palladium and platinum electrodes could in fact cause heavy hydrogen atoms to fuse into helium and release energy, as the sun does. In carefully controlled experiments, researchers believed they could ma ________ the vi ________

arising from the complexity of the electrodes and other equipment used. In such co ________ со ________ , they argued, cold fusion was possible. However, attempts to r ________ some of the experiments which claimed to be successful failed, and many now believe that cold fusion is in fact theoretically impossible.

b) Some linguists believe that we can best d ________ how language is processed by laboratory experiments. However, laboratory experiments are by definition ar ________and may not r _______ what happens in the real world. Other linguists believe, therefore, that em ________ o ________ is better, and prefer to carry out f ________ studies and c ________ studies of individuals in na ________ se ________ . In this way, i ________ -d

________ data can be c ________ by observers without i ________ with the process in any way, even though this may be a more t ________-c

________ method. However, individual studies in real situations may not be r ________ of the general p ________ of second language learners. In short, both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.

2. Make collocations, using the words given below. Use the necessary elements if needed.

Check, methodology, pilot study, procedure, assemble, technique, experiment, device, piece.

1.Carry out a) …

b)…

c)…

2.a) …

b)… apparatus

c)…

3.Employ / use a)

b)

c)

3. Complete the sentences using the collocations from the previous exercise.

1. It was a new _______ of apparatus so we _______ it first and then

________ it before using it.

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2.The team carried out a ________ ________ before conducting the main ________ to see if the ________ they were using was reliable.

3.The team needed to employ a different ________ for measuring the pressure, so they used a new ________ which they manufactured in their own laboratory.

4.Correct the eight spelling and other vocabulary mistakes in these sentences.

1.It was very difficult to make reliable interferences from the data as we had so little.

2.A correlational study is a good way of seeing if one phenomena is related to another in a system way.

3.The experiment neither proved nor deproved his theory.

4.We had to explain the unusual scores of five of the subjets in the sample, who all had totals well below the norm. It was possible there were unaccuracies in the data.

5.An exterior observer can often unintentionally erupt the behavior of the subjects they are observing.

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APPENDIX 1 Questions for an Exam Interview

When did you get your Bachelor Degree? What faculty did you study at?

Who is your supervisor (scientific adviser)?

Have you already chosen the topic (subject, theme) of your scientific research?

What will be the title of your Master dissertation?

What problems are you going to deal with in your research? What are your scientific interests?

What problem are you especially interested in? What do you intend to prove in your dissertation?

What ideas do you put forward in your scientific work? Have you analyzed practical applications of your work?

What are the professional tasks and problems facing specialists in your narrow field of science?

Have you written any papers connected with the theme of your dissertation?

Have you any publications. Where?

Have you already started writing your thesis?

Have you already collected material for your thesis?

Have you taken part in any scientific (practical) conferences? What report did you deliver there?

What did you manage to do during this study year?

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APPENDIX 2

Speaking & Writing

HOW TO WRITE A SUMMARY

A summary is a brief statement or account of the main points of a piece of writing. A summary is not a rewrite of the original text and does not have to be long. Your purpose in writing the summary is to give the basic ideas of the original reading. What was it about and what did the author want to communicate?

1. Identify the type of work (text, article), title, author, and main point.

In the text (article) “…” the author presents (shows, describes ...) his opinion on the hot topic of living in a technological society.

The text “…” deals with the problem of ... (discusses some problems relating to ..., provides information on ...).

2. Write in the present tense.

At the beginning of the text / article the author characterizes...

(comments on ..., explains ..., analyses ...).

Attention is drawn to the fact that ... . It should be noted that ... .

3. Don't forget to include linking words so your reader can easily follow your thoughts.

Next / Further / Then it is reported / shown that ....

4. Don't copy the article. Instead, paraphrase.

Besides the author explains that ..., gives a detailed analysis of ... (the description of ...). Finally the author comes to the conclusion that ... .

In conclusion ... . At the end of the text / article the author describes ..., emphasizes that ..., points out that …, summarizes that ... .

5. Don't put your own opinions, ideas, or interpretations into the summary.

Your summary should have between 100 and 120 words

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A Presentation Outline

Your presentation should have the following structure:

1. AN INTRODUCTION

This is the most important part of your presentation because the audience will make judgements about you. They will decide in the first few minutes what you are like. They will also decide whether you deserve their attention. Therefore, it is very important that you plan carefully what you want to say in the introduction.

TRY TO DO THESE THINGS IN YOUR INTRODUCTION:

Get the audience’s attention. Introduce yourself.

Explain why you are there. Explain what you hope to achieve.

Build a good relationship with the audience.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

Introduction and welcome

Good morning, ladies and gentleman. My name's John Jones. I'm head

of sales at Acme Services. I would like to thank you for inviting me here

today to talk about...

I would like to thank you all for attending this presentation. I plan to be

brief.

I will only take about fifteen minutes of your time. If you have any

questions, I'd be very happy to answer them at the end. Feel free to interrupt

me if you have any questions during my presentation. (Not recommended

unless your English level is good.)

Explaining the purpose of your presentation.

I'd like to give you a brief presentation about...

The subject of my talk is...

I'm going to talk about...

My topic today is...

My talk is concerned with...

The purpose of my talk is to...

Giving an overview of the presentation.

I'm going to divide this talk into four parts.

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There are a number of points I'd like to make.

Basically, I have three things to say.

This talk is designed to be a springboard for discussion on the topic of...

I'd like to begin by...

Let's begin by...

First of all, I'll discuss...

and then I'll go on to talk about

Then... / Next,... Secondly,... / Thirdly,... Finally,... / Lastly,...

2. THE MAIN BODY

You should use this part of the presentation to explain key information.

Explain your points clearly one at a time so your audience can follow what

you are saying. Remember to keep your points simple and short. Try not to

give too much information, otherwise the audience will not remember your

message.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

Starting a new section.

Moving on now to

Turning now to...

Let's turn now to

So that brings me now to the topic of...

The next area I'd like to focus on next is

Now, we'll move on to...

I'd now like to discuss...

Let's now look at...

Finishing a section.

That's all I have to say about...

So, in this section, we've looked at...

Well, I think I've said enough about.

Analyzing a point in your presentation.

Where does that lead us?

Let's consider this in more detail...

I'd like to elaborate on what I said earlier about

What does this mean for...?

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