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Critical literary research
Methodology 1 course (DXH_MET1)
Martin Guzi, 2023

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Outline
1.Critical literature review
2.Citation format
3.Citation signals
4.Literature search
5.
5.

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What is critical literature review?
"Critical" does not mean "negative".

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What is literature review?
̶An overview of published and unpublished materials which help answer fundamental questions.
̶
1.What are the current theoretical or policy issues and
debates related to your topic?
2.
2.What is the current state of knowledge about
these issues and problems?

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A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a
particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary,
and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated.
Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while
researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a
larger field of study.
Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. Fourth edition.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

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Think about the literature review as a creative challenge.
A useful analogy for the literature review is trying to get an octopus into a jar (link).
Describe past research. Describe the current research. Position your research in the current
research.
Literature review is the most difficult part of academic writing. What is the academic debate on
the topic? What are the most important studies I shall amplify (ask supervisor)? How to organize
studies in the review (by argument, chronologically, thematically)?
Literatur review is not a "shopping list". It should help you to make a voice.

What is Critical Reading?
Reading for facts = non-critical
Reading for interpretation = critical
To the critical reader, any single text provides but one portrayal of the facts, one individual’s
“take” on the subject matter. Critical readers thus recognize not only what a text says, but also
how that text portrays the subject matter. They recognize the various ways in which each and every
text is the unique creation of a unique author.
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What a Text Says, Does, and Means:
Reaching for an Interpretation
Three steps or modes of analysis are reflected in three types of reading and discussion:
What a text says – restatement
What a text does – description
What a text means – interpretation
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What a Text Says, Does, and Means:
Reaching for an Interpretation
You can distinguish each mode of analysis by the subject matter of the discussion:
What a text says – restatement – talks about the same topic as the original text
What a text does – description – discusses aspects of the discussion itself
What a text means – interpretation — analyzes the text and asserts a meaning for the text as a
whole
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What is a Critical Literature Review?
The aim of a literature review is to show that the writer has studied existing work in the field
with insight.
It is not enough merely to show what others in your field have discovered. You need to synthesize,
analyze and evaluate the relevant  work of others critically.

Read academic papers critically
•What is the motivation for the research? Why should we care about this research (why is it
important)?
•What is the identification strategy that helps to answer research questions?
(e.g. experiment design; change in legislation; cross-country differences; an exogenous shock)
•What is a key part of the research that allows authors
to claim what they claim?
•What are the main findings? Are these surprising or rather expected? What implications do authors
claim these findings have?
•How is this research new?
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Begin by moving from a more general, wider view of the research area to the specific area you wish
to focus on
‘Previous literature has looked at/concentrated on ...’
‘Previous work has focused on …’
‘Early research investigated …’
‘Substantial work has been carried out on …’
‘Work done by … (was) built on …’
‘Recent work has concentrated on …’
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Academic Phrasebank
https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

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Avoid the laundry list literature review
̶
̶The laundry list is often called
‘He said, she said”
̶
̶
̶Williams (1985) discovered... Stevens (1988) conducted similar experiments and find that … Later
Randle (1991) concluded that…
̶
̶By focusing on writers rather than the substantive issue under discussion, you may end up listing
and then trying to draw things together. Your goal is not to summarise who said what but on
interpretations of the term.
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The purpose of a literature review is to:
̶Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being
studied.
̶Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
̶Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
̶Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
̶Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
̶Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
̶Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
̶Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

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̶Writing Strategies for Social Science: Tips from 30 Years of Practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63eOYfYnUiQ
̶

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https://patthomson.net/2017/09/11/avoiding-the-laundry-list-literature-review/
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Example
Clarifying the concept of neoliberalism is not an easy task. The term neoliberalism is often used
as a synonym for capitalism or the inequalities of the economy more generally (Ferguson 2010). Some
scholars use the term very loosely, drawing connections between unrelated life events to suggest
that a clandestine power is ‘pulling the strings’ (Bell and Green, 2016, after Latour, 2005).
Neoliberalism is also almost always derogatory when used to refer to economic/political policy
(Fish, 2009) which produces austerity through the rationality of markets, entrepreneurialism and
competition (De Lissavoy, 2014).  The term is also associated with ‘bureaucratisation’ (Hibou,
2015), processes of rationalisation and professionalization, driven by the quest for neutrality,
objectivity and professionalization, which govern key aspects of everyday life.
Compare with:
How then can the term neoliberalism be understood? Barnett (2005) suggests that it refers to the
discreet alteration of the class-driven reform of the state to benefit free markets. Neoliberalism
is a form of ideologically driven policies and government that supports privatisation, the free
market and increased competition.
Produce an argument – do not simply report summaries of other people’s work, but make one/two
points supported by evidence.

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̶avoid the repetitive use of he says, finds, proposes etc.
̶made the writing more authoritative – remove the author’s own view via ‘therefore’
̶moved some sentences from passive to active voice.
̶highlighted the most important work that the author is using
̶produced an argument – I’m not simply reporting summaries of other people’s work, but have made
two points supported by evidence.
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The following reading strategies can help you to identify the argument of a source
̶Identify the author’s thesis (central claim or purpose) or research question. Both the
introduction and the conclusion can help you with this task.
̶Look for repetition of key terms or ideas, especially those occurring in the thesis. Follow them
through the text and examine what the author does with them.
̶Notice whether and how a theory is used to interpret evidence. Identify the method used to
investigate the problem/s addressed in the text.
̶Notice how the text is laid out and organized. What are the main sections? What is emphasized?
Why? Accounting for why will help you move beyond listing contents and toward accounting for
argument. Look also for paragraphs that summarize the argument.

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In your literature review you might:
̶Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
̶Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
̶Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or
relevant research, or
̶Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has
been researched to date.
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Questions Your Literature Review Should Answer
̶What do we already know about this specific topic?
̶What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main factors or variables?
̶What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors or variables?
̶What are the existing theories?
̶Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our knowledge and understanding?
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̶What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory? What views need to be (further) tested?
̶What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or too limited?
̶Why study (further) the research problem?
̶What contribution can the present study be expected to make?

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https://xkcd.com/285/
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In-Text Citations (APA format)
Wikipedian Protester

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Basic principles
̶Cite only works that you have read
̶Cite primary sources when possible
̶You can use both past and present tense for citations
e.g. Jones (1998) found; Jones (1998) has found; Jones (1998) finds
̶All sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper
(ensure the spelling of author names)
̶Avoid using online sources that cannot be retrieved
̶If an idea or theory is in a textbook and does not carry a specific citation there, then you
probably do not need to cite anyone.
̶BUT empirical work is nearly always specific and must be cited.
̶If in doubt – cite it!
̶
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In-text citations have two formats: parenthetical and narrative
̶Friedman (1991) pointed out that inflation is effectively
a kind of taxation.
̶It could be also said that that inflation is effectively
a kind of taxation (Friedman, 1991).
̶
̶Friedman (1991) pointed out that ”inflation is the one form of taxation
that can be imposed without legislation” (p. 93).
̶It could be also said that “inflation is the one form of taxation
that can be imposed without legislation” (Friedman, 1991, p. 93).
̶
̶
References
     Friedman, M. (1991). Monetarist Economics. Basil Blackwell.
̶
̶
narrative citation
parenthetical citation
with a page number because of a direct quotation
parenthetical citation

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SOURCE: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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Six Steps to Proper Citation
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Use of quotation
̶When you use the work of others as primary data
̶When you want to appeal to their authority
̶When the original is more concise than your summary could be
̶To avoid any ambiguity or misrepresentation of source material
̶When the original version is well known
̶You dispute your source and you want to state her case fairly
̶The words of the source are especially vivid or significant

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Direct quoting from a work
̶Short quotations appear in double quotation marks
̶Long quotations (40+ words) appear in the block quotation format
̶Include the author, year of publication, and page number
̶Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for more pages) before listing the page
number(s). Use en dash for page ranges.
̶For example: (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201)
̶
̶Do not use italics for quotations.
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According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was
their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using
APA style" (p. 199).
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not
offer an explanation as to why.
Mindfulness is defined as "the act of noticing new things, a process that promotes flexible
responding to the demands of the environment" (Pagnini et al., 2016, p.91).

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Place long quotations (40+ words) in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation
marks.
Long quotation
Short quotation
Text highlighting

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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště


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Paraphrasing Sources
Paraphrase as much as possible, rather than quote
̶when you are more interested in content, findings or claims
̶to summarize or acknowledge another author’s ideas
̶when you want to explain difficult material in a way which is easier for your reader to understand
̶
̶You cannot write a paper out of a series of quotations. You must make your own arguments with your
own claims and evidence
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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště
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Paraphrase citations
̶Include the author and date in every in-text citation
̶In parenthetical citations (Author, year) there is a comma between the author and year
̶In narrative citations Author (year), there is the date in parentheses after the author
̶For a work with three or more authors include the name of only the first author plus “et al.” in
every citation. Ex: (Author et al., year)
̶All works in the reference list need to be cited in the text
̶Avoid undercitation = it can lead to plagiarism
̶Avoid overcitation = for longer paraphrases use one citation when introducing the idea and not
repeated the citation
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-checklist.pdf

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Basic In-Text Citation Styles
Author
Parenthetical citation
Narrative citation
One author
(Luna, 2020)
Luna (2020)
One author with a quote
(Luna, 2020, p. 37)
Luna (2020) (p. 37)
Two authors
(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
Salas and D’Agostino (2020)
Three or more authors
(Martin et al., 2020)
Martin et al. (2020)
Group of authors
(OECD, 2020)
OECD (2020)
•In parenthetical citations, use an ampersand (&) between names
(Salas & D’Agostino, 2020)
•In narrative citations, spell out the word “and”
Salas and D’Agostino (2020)
•Works with the same author and same date
(Judge & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012a)
(Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012b)
•If multiple authors within a single reference share the same surname
(Chen & Chen, 2019)

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Parenthetical citation
̶Include citation in the sentence = put the period after the closing parenthesis
Many Americans fail to vote (Hobolt et al., 2006).
̶When citing multiple works in parenthesis, place the citations in alphabetical order, and separate
them with semicolons.
… (Hobolt et al., 2006; Westinghouse, 2017).
̶Multiple sources in narrative citation can appear in any order
Suliman (2018), Gutiérrez (2012), and Medina and Reyes (2019) examined…
̶Arrange works by the same authors by year of publication
(Carraway et al., 2013, 2014, 2019)
̶You can cite specific parts of a source
(Armstrong, 2015, pp. 3–17), (Kovačič & Horvat, 2019, Table 1)

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For decades, organizational stress researchers have focused on how work in general and job
stressors in particular affect workers’ well-being, health, and performance behaviors (Bliese et
al. 2017).
Bliese et al. (2017) noted that “mobile devices enabled employees in many jobs to work ‘anywhere,
anytime’ and stay electronically tethered to work outside formal working hours” (p. 391).
Reference
Bliese, P. D., Edwards, J. R., & Sonnentag, S. (2017). Stress and well-being at work:
A century of empirical trends reflecting theoretical and societal influences. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 102(3), 389–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000109

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References (Bibliography)
̶List of references is placed at the end of a work.
̶Each entry provides the author, date, title, and source of the work.
̶The reference allows readers to identify and retrieve the source.
̶Sources are listed in alphabetical order by the author last name.
̶You should have a reference entry for every source you cite.
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Organizing the list of references
̶Use a citation manager like Zotero or Citace PRO to organize your research and to easily create a
bibliography
̶Always check the reference list for mistakes
̶Use the most recent 7th APA style
•

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References
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press.
Foltýnek, T., Mach, J., Kozmanová, I., Holeček, T., Vorlová, H., Henek Dlabolová, D., Vorel, F.,
Válová, A., Tesaříková Čermáková, K., & Gojná, Z. (2021). How to Avoid Plagiarism: Student
Handbook. Karolinum - Charles University Press.
Giovannetti, G., & Lanati, M. (2016). Migration and Development. A focus on Africa. In Routledge
Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies. Edited by Anna Triandafyllidou (pp. 236–242).
Routledge.
OECD. (1992). The Employment Outlook. OECD.
Stark, O., & Bloom, D. (1985). The New Economics of Labor Migration. The American Economic Review,
75(2), 173–178.
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples
Notice differences:
Book with one author
Book with many authors
Book chapter
OECD report
Journal arcticle

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Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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Definujte zápatí - název prezentace / pracoviště
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Citation and Qualification Signals

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Reporting Verbs
̶Hard sciences have a more detached reporting style
The relevant theory was developed by Bruno.
Stein et al. reported that a typical force..
Paiva and Venturinit presented an alternative formulation…
̶
̶Contrasted with soft sciences:
Baumgarter and Bagozzi (1995) strongly recommend the use of…
Law and Whitley (1989) argued, for instance, that…..
̶
̶Plus use of evaluative adverbial comment
He argues, correctly to my mind, that…
Churchland justifiably rejects this notion….
As Stern and Terrell, correctly assert…
̶
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Hedges
̶Reduce the force of statements
̶Reinforce tentativeness of proposition or an appropriate degree of prudence
...it could plausibly be reported that what seems attractive about it are just…
This suggests that a competition exists….which might account for…
In all probability, the sub-routines would require further development…
̶

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Boosters
̶Increase the force of statements
̶Allow writers to express certainty (or strong probability), mark solidarity with a source or
audience, show conviction in argument
The essential role of interference between coherent wave functions is further strengthened by…
This clearly indicates that attractive interactions alone cannot explain…
̶

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Dimensions of Praise and Criticism
̶Critique specific issues, praise more global features:
̶
Klein’s work is significant, not only for the detailed careful study she presents, but also for the
myriad issues she raises….
In section IV, however, it is not made clear why the competitive inhibition of….
But this claim turns out to be misleading.
It does not give much of an explanation why neural networks are useful, and does not derive any of
the equations
I found the model quite robust at the simplest level of explaining how the banking sector operated,
but less convincing in explaining why the sector collapsed in the face of….
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University Library Catalogue
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Records of all paper books
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The most important publishers
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ezdroje.muni.cz/prehled/index.php?lang=en&fids=7&type=fakulty

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Key economic indicators available
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PressReader
Newspapers and magazines from around the world
120 countries, 60 languages
3 months archive for the most titles

Literature study tips
Notice all interesting items
Read abstract and research result
Write down 2–3 sentences describing outcome
Use a citation manager like Citace PRO
Be disciplined
Evaluate the quality of publications (journals)
Stop reading when you're supposed to start writing
Cite all the ideas taken

Suggested book
Doing economics : what you should have learned
in grad school-but didn’t (2022), Bellemare, Marc
E-book is available as E-Loan
https://katalog.muni.cz/Record/MUB01006507361
Chapter on Writing Papers is available in pdf
https://is.muni.cz/auth/do/econ/sm/akap/akademicky_text_a_proces_jeho_vzniku/Writting_papers_Bellem
are_MIT_2022.pdf
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A picture containing text Description automatically generated

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Author: Martin Guzi (2023)
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Mechanics of Academic Style

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Spelling of plural forms
The plural forms of some words of Latin or Greek origin can be troublesome
Singular:
Appendix
Criterion
Curriculum
Datum
Hypothesis
Phenomenon
̶Correct:    The data indicate
̶Incorrect: The data indicates
̶
̶“data base” has become “database,” and “e-mail” has become “email”
Plural:
Appendices
Criteria
Curricula
Data
Hypotheses
Phenomena

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Capitalization
Capitalize
1.The first word in a complete sentence
2.Names of racial and ethnic groups (“We interviewed 25 Black women”)
3.Nouns Followed by Numerals or Letters (Figure 2.4, Chapter 5)
4.Job Titles and Positions when the title precedes a name
“Executive Director of Marketing Carolina Espinoza….”
Do not capitalize
1.A personal name that begins with a lowercase letter when the name begins a sentence;
alternatively, reword the sentence
“… after the test. van de Vijver et al. (2019) concluded …”
2.Statistical terms (t-test, p-value)
3.A proper noun that begins with a lowercase (iPad, eBay)
4.

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Use of italics
̶Do not use italics for quotations.
̶Use italics
•for words in other languages (the first use of a word)
•for titles of works (book titles, journal names, films, poems)
•to provide emphasis
Ex: The word very is often unnecessarily added to academic writing.
•for scientific and technical terms (names such as Homo sapiens)
•for key terms/phrases
•In the reference list, journal and book titles use italics:
Borjas, G. J. (1995). The Economic Benefits from Immigration. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,
9(2), 3–22.
̶
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/italics-quotations/italics

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Use of Abbreviations
̶Use abbreviations to save space and avoid repetition
̶If you use the abbreviation only one or two times, readers may have difficulty remembering what it
means (better do not abbreviate).
̶There is no limit for the use of abbreviations but do not overuse
̶Text is generally easier to understand when most words are written
̶Define all abbreviations used in all tables and all figures
Compare sentences written with and without abbreviations:
̶“The advantage of the LH was clear from the RT data,
which reflected high FP and FN rates for the RH.”
̶“The advantage of the left hand was clear from the reaction time data, which reflected high
false-positive and false-negative rates for the right hand.”

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Latin Abbreviations
̶Avoid e.g. and i.e., instead use for example and for instance.
̶Avoid etc. (and so forth)
̶Avoid vs or v, instead use versus or against
̶abbreviation “et al.” is a short form of et alia (and others)
It is acceptable when giving in text citations with multiple authors. The full stop should always
be included afterwards to acknowledge the abbreviation. It does not need to be italicised as it is
in common usage.
̶
̶Vis-à-vis is from French and its meaning is “face-to-face”
It is used to compare things, or as synonym for “opposite” or “facing.”
Ex: Upgrading immigrant integration policies reduces the gap in unemployment and thus improves
immigrants’ labor market position vis-à-vis the natives.

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Use Numbers expressed in Numerals
̶Numbers higher than nine can be written in numerals
̶Numbers that represent statistics, percentages, ratios, percentiles
Ex: In January 2022, car production fell by 11.4% to 92,657 vehicles.
̶Time, dates, ages, scores and points on a scale, exact sums of money
Ex: Monday 6 March, 2023, was 2 years old, scored 4 on a 7-point scale,
3 years ago, GDP per capita US$15,027, price increased by $5.
̶Number after a noun vs. Number before a noun
Ex: Table 2, Column 8, but the second table, the eighth column
̶Use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or more
Ex: $200,000 but “about two hundred thousand dollars”
̶Most data can be effectively presented with two decimal digits of accuracy
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Use Numbers Expressed in Words
̶Numbers zero through nine should be written in words
̶Ordinal numbers less than 10th (e.g., fourth, second)
Exceptions for number usage:
̶Any number that begins a sentence, title, or heading (or reword the sentence)
Ex: Twelve students improved, and 12 students did not improve.
̶Common fractions, Ex: Three fourths of the population…
̶Common phrases, Ex: Seven Wonders of the World, Twelve
̶It is acceptable to use either numerals or words depending on the context
Ex: a thousand people or 1,000 people
̶Vague numbers, and less precise large numbers
Ex: half of the population, several thousand, around eight o’clock
̶Rounded numbers, Ex: four hundred, two thousand, six million.
̶
̶

 “The year 1066 saw one of the most famous battles in English history.”

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̶Out of 18 students in the group, 12 were women.
̶One in three engineering students is from China.
̶Twice as many women as men study business law.
̶There was a fivefold increase in the price of oil.
̶The rate of infection halved after 2001.
̶The unemployment rate doubled after 2008.
̶A fifth of all employees leave every year.
̶More than 80 per cent of British students complete their first degree course; in Italy, the figure
is just 35 per cent.
̶The course fees rose from $1,200 to $2,500 in two years.
̶Since 2008, the number of prisoners has risen by 22 per cent.
̶