AcademicPhrasebankReferringtoSources

SHARETHISSITE

Oneofthedistinguishingfeaturesofacademicwritingisthatitisinformedbywhatisalreadyknown,
whatworkhasbeendonebefore,and/orwhatideasandmodelshavealreadybeendeveloped.Thus,in
academictexts,writersfrequentlymakereferencetootherstudiesandtotheworkofotherauthors.Itis
importantthatwritersguidetheirreadersthroughthisliterature.ThissectionofAcademicPhrasebank
listssomeofthephrasesthatwritersmayuseforthispurpose.
Anoteontheliteraturereview:Itisthepurposeoftheliteraturereviewsectionofapaperordissertation
toshowthereader,inasystematicway,whatisalreadyknownabouttheresearchtopicasawhole,and
tooutlinethekeyideasandtheoriesthathelpustounderstandthis.Aswellasbeingsystematic,the
reviewshouldbeevaluativeandcriticalofthestudiesorideaswhicharerelevanttothecurrentwork.
Forexample,youmaythinkaparticularstudydidnotinvestigatesomeimportantaspectoftheareayou
areresearching,thattheauthor(s)failedtonoticeaweaknessintheirmethods,orthattheirconclusion
isnotwellsupported(refertoBeingCritical).
Anoteonreferencingstyle:Thewayawriterreferstoothersourcesvariessomewhatacrossdifferent
disciplines.Insomecases,wheretheindividualauthorisimportant,theauthorsnamewillbethemain
subjectofthesentenceinothercases,theauthorsnamemayonlybementionedinbrackets()or
viaanumbernotationsystem(e.g.footnotesandendnotes).Theauthorassubjectstyleisless
commonintheempiricaldisciplines(sciences)andmorecommonlyusedinthehumanities.Different
referencingsystemsareusedindifferentdisciplines.Inthemajorityoftheexamplesgivenhere,the
Harvardintextreferencingsystemhasbeenused.
Anoteonverbtenses:Forgeneralreferencetotheliterature,thepresentperfecttense(have/has+

verb+participle)tendstobeused.Forreferencetospecificstudiescarriedoutinthepast,thesimple
pasttenseismostcommonlyused.Thisisalwaysthecasewhereaspecificdateorpointintimeinthe
pastformsapartofthesentence.Whenreferringtothewordsorideasofwriters,thepresenttenseis
oftenusediftheideasarestillrelevant,eveniftheauthorisnolongeralive.Theexamplesgivenbelow
reflectthesegeneralpatterns,butthesearebynomeansrigid.
Generaldescriptionsoftherelevantliterature
ResearchintoXhasalonghistory.
Theliteraturehasemphasizedtheimportanceof
Differenttheoriesexistintheliteratureregarding
Morerecentattentionhasfocusedontheprovisionof
Therearerelativelyfewhistoricalstudiesintheareaof
AgreatdealofpreviousresearchintoXhasfocusedon
Alargeandgrowingbodyofliteraturehasinvestigated
MuchofthecurrentliteratureonXpaysparticularattentionto
Formanyyears,thisphenomenonwassurprisinglyneglectedby
Thereisalargevolumeofpublishedstudiesdescribingtheroleof
Overthepastdecade,mostresearchinXhasemphasizedtheuseof
Inrecentyears,therehasbeenanincreasingamountofliteratureon
Thegeneralisabilityofmuchpublishedresearchonthisissueisproblematic.
Duringthepast30years,muchmoreinformationhasbecomeavailableon
AconsiderableamountofliteraturehasbeenpublishedonX.Thesestudies
ThefirstseriousdiscussionsandanalysesofXemergedduringthe1970swith
Historically,researchinvestigatingthefactorsassociatedwithXhasfocusedon
WhatweknowaboutXislargelybaseduponempiricalstudiesthatinvestigatehow
Referencetopreviousresearchorscholarship:normallymorethanoneauthor
SeveralrecentstudiesinvestigatingXhavebeencarriedouton
SurveyssuchasthatconductedbySmith(1988)haveshownthat
Traditionally,ithasbeenarguedthat(e.g.Smith,1960OBrien,1972).
EarlyexamplesofresearchintoXinclude(Smith,1982OBrien,1984).
Twentycohortstudyanalyseshaveexaminedtherelationshipbetween
Recentevidencesuggeststhat(Smith,1996Jones,1999Johnson,2001).
SeveralbiographiesofBrownhavebeenpublished.Smith(2013)presents
Anumberofauthorshaveconsideredtheeffectsof(Smith,2003Jones,2004).
Manyhistorianshavearguedthat(e.g.Jones,1987Johnson,1990Smith,1994).
Thereisaconsensusamongsocialscientiststhat(e.g.Jones,1987Johnson,1990
Recently,invitrostudieshaveshownthatXcan(Pateletal.,1997Jonesetal.,1998).
DatafromseveralsourceshaveidentifiedtheincreasedXandYassociatedwithobesity.
Atleast120casecontrolstudiesworldwidehaveexaminedtherelationshipbetween

IthasbeendemonstratedthatahighintakeofXresultsindamageto(Smith,1998).
Inrecentyears,afewauthorshavebegunto(Smith,1996Jones,1999Johnson,2001).
Numerousstudieshaveattemptedtoexplain(forexample,Smith,1996Kelly,1998).
PreviousresearchfindingsintoXhavebeeninconsistentandcontradictory(Smith,1996).
Todate,
Thusfar,
Uptonow,severalstudies
previousstudies
anumberofstudieshaveused
found
reported
shownthat
indicatedthat
linkedXwithY.
suggestedthat
demonstratedthat
testedtheefficacyof
investigatedtheeffectsof
beguntoexaminetheuseof
confirmedtheeffectivenessof
usedlongitudinaldatatoexamine
examinedtheassociationbetween
attemptedtoevaluatetheimpactof
revealedacorrelationbetweenXandY.
analysedtheaccuracyandprecisionof
exploredtherelationshipsbetweenXandY.
highlightedfactorsthatareassociatedwith
IthasbeensuggestedthatlevelsofXareindependentofthesizeoftheY(Smithetal.,1995).
IthasconclusivelybeenshownthatXandYincreaseZ(Smithetal.,1999Jones,2001).
IthasbeendemonstratedthatahighintakeofXresultsindamageto(Smith,1998).
Referencetocurrentstateofknowledge
XisaprincipaldeterminingfactorofY(Smith,2005Jones,2013).
XisoneofthemostintensereactionsfollowingCHD(Lane,2003).
ThereisanunambiguousrelationshipbetweenXandY(Rao,1998).
Xissignificantlyreducedduringthefirstmonthsof(Smith,2000Jones,2006).
XhasbeenfoundtoopposetheantiinflammatoryactionsofYonZ(Alourfi,2004).
GMvarietiesofmaizeareabletocrosspollinatewithnonGMvarieties(Smith,1998OBrien,
Arelationshipexistsbetweenanindividualsworkingmemoryandtheirabilityto(Jones,2002).

Referencetosingleinvestigationsinthepast:researcher(s)assentencesubject
showedthatreducingXto190oCdecreased(seeFigure2).
Smith(1999)

demonstratedthatwhenthemaximumtemperatureisexceeded
foundthataslevelsofliteracyandeducationofthepopulationrise
comparedtherateof
labelledthesesubsetsas
measuredbothcomponentsofthe
usedasurveytoassessthevarious
identifiedparentsofdisabledchildrenas
setupaseriesofvirtualexperimentsusing
examinedtheflowofinternationalstudents

Jonesetal.(2001)

carriedoutanumberofinvestigationsintothe
studiedtheeffectsofXonunprotectednervecells.
analysedthedatafrom72countriesandconcludedthat
interviewed250undergraduatestudentsusingsemistructured
performedasimilarseriesofexperimentsinthe1960stoshowthat
reviewedtheliteraturefromtheperiodandfoundlittleevidenceforthis
conductedaseriesoftrialsinwhichhemixedXwithdifferentquantitiesof
investigatedthedifferentialimpactofformalandnonformaleducationon

Referencetosingleinvestigationsorpublicationsinthepast:timeframeprominent
In1959,aseminalarticlewaspublishedentitled
In1889,Brownperformedabilateralablationofthe
In1859,thepublicationofXhadamajorimpacton
In1965,Jonespublishedhismajorhistoricsurveyof
In1975,Smithetal.publishedapaperinwhichtheydescribed
In1984,Jonesetal.madeseveralaminoacidestersofXandevaluatedthemas
In1981,SmithandcoworkersdemonstratedthatXinducedinvitroresistanceto
In1990,Pateletal.demonstratedthatreplacementofH2Owithheavywaterledto
In1990,AlMasryetal.reportedanewandconvenientsyntheticproceduretoobtain
Thirtyyearslater,Smith(1974)reportedthreecasesofXwhich
Inthe1950s,GunnarMyrdalpointedtosomeofthewaysinwhich
FollowingWorldWar1,Flemingactivelysearchedforantibacterialagents.
Almost20yearsago,Jones(1985)formulatedhisXtheory,centredaround
Referencetosingleinvestigationsinthepast:investigationprominent
Aseminalstudyinthisareaistheworkof
OnestudybySmith(2014)examinedthetrendin

ArecentstudybySmithandJones(2012)involved
Arecentsystematicliteraturereviewconcludedthat
AlongitudinalstudyofXbySmith(2012)reportsthat
PreliminaryworkonXwasundertakenbyAbdulKarim(1992).
AkeystudycomparingXandYisthatofSmith(2010),inwhich
ThefirstsystematicstudyofXwasreportedbyPateletal.in1986.
DetailedexaminationofXbySmithandPatel(1961)showedthat
AnalysisofthegenesinvolvedinXwasfirstcarriedoutbySmithetal.(1983).
AsignificantanalysisanddiscussiononthesubjectwaspresentedbySmith(1988).
ThestudyofthestructuralbehaviourofXwasfirstcarriedoutbyRaoetal.(1986).
AsmallscalestudybySmith(2012)reacheddifferentconclusions,findingnoincreasein
ThestudybyJones(1990)offersprobablythemostcomprehensiveempiricalanalysisof
Smithscomparativestudy(2012)foundthat
Browns(1992)modelofXassumesthreemain
Smithscrosscountryanalysis(2012)showedthat
InananalysisofX,Smithetal.(2012)found
Inafollowupstudy,Smithetal.(2009)foundthat
InaninvestigationintoX,Smithetal.(2012)found
InastudyconductedbySmith(1978),itwasshownthat
Inanothermajorstudy,Zhao(1974)foundthatjustoverhalfofthe
InastudywhichsetouttodetermineX,Smith(2012)foundthat
InarandomisedcontrolledstudyofX,Smith(2012)reportedthat
Inalargelongitudinalstudy,Smithetal.(2012)investigatedtheincidenceofXinY.
Inonewellknownrecentexperiment,limitsonXwerefoundtobe(AlMasry,2013)
Referencetosingleinvestigationsinthepast:researchtopicasmainfocus
TodeterminetheeffectsofX,Zhaoetal.(2005)compared
TobetterunderstandthemechanismsofXanditseffects,AlMasry(2013)analysed
XwasoriginallyisolatedfromYinasoilsamplefrom(Wangetal.,1952).
TheelectronicspectroscopyofXwasfirststudiedbySmithandJonesin1970
XformedthecentralfocusofastudybySmith(2002)inwhichtheauthorfound
XwasfirstdemonstratedexperimentallybyPavlov(Smith,2002).Inhisseminalstudy
TheacidcatalyzedcondensationreactionbetweenXandYwasfirstreportedbySmithin1872
ThewayinwhichtheXgeneisregulatedwasstudiedextensivelybyHoandcolleagues(Hoetal.1995
and1998).
Referencetowhatotherwritersdointheirtext:authorassubject
InChapter2,Smithprovidesuswithanumberofimportant
Inthesubsequentchapter,Smithexaminestheextenttowhich

BydrawingontheconceptofX,Smithhasbeenabletoshowthat
Someanalysts(e.g.Carnoy,2002)haveattemptedtodrawfinedistinctionsbetween
Drawingonanextensiverangeofsources,theauthorssetoutthedifferentwaysinwhich
Otherauthors(seeHarbison,2003Kaplan,2004)questiontheusefulnessofsuchanapproach.
Smith(2000)identifiesX,Y,andZasthemajorcausesof
drawsonanextensiverangeofsourcestoassess
highlightstheneedtobreakthelinkbetweenXandY.
usesexamplesofthesevarioustechniquesasevidencethat
mentionsthespecialsituationofSingaporeasanexampleof
questionswhethermainstreamschoolsarethebestenvironmentfor
drawsourattentiontodistinctivecategoriesofXoftenobservedin
considerswhethercountriesworkwelloncrossborderissuessuchas
discussesthechallengesandstrategiesforfacilitatingandpromoting
providesindepthanalysisoftheworkofAristotleshowingitsrelevanceto
definesevidencebasedmedicineastheconscious,explicitandjudicioususeof
liststhreereasonswhytheEnglishlanguagehasbecomesodominant.Theseare:
tracesthedevelopmentofJapanesehistoryandphilosophyduringthe19thcentury.Inherreviewof,
Inhermajorstudy,
Inheranalysisof,
Inhercasestudyof,
Inherintroductionto,
Inherseminalarticle,
Inherclassiccritiqueof,
Inherinterestinganalysisof,Smith(2012)identifiesfivecharacteristicsofReferencetoanother
writersideasorposition(authorassubject)
AccordingtoSmith(2003),preventativemedicineisfarmorecosteffective,andtherefore
AsnotedbySmith(2003)Xisfarmorecosteffective,andtherefore
Smith(2013)pointsout
argues
maintains
claims
concludes
suggeststhatpreventativemedicineisfarmorecosteffective,andthereforebetteradaptedtothe
developingworld.Smith(2013)arguesfor
offers
proposes
suggestsanexplanatorytheoryforeachtypeofirrationalbelief.Synthesisingsources
Similarly,Nicoladis(2006)foundthatX

Inthesamevein,Smith(1994)inhisbookXYZnotes
ThisviewissupportedbyJones(2000)whowritesthat
SmitharguesthatherdatasupportOBriens(1988)viewthat
AlMasrys(1986)workonXiscomplementedbySmiths(2009)studyof
AlmosteverypaperthathasbeenwrittenonXincludesasectionrelatingto
UnlikeSmith,Jones(2013)arguesthat
IncontrasttoSmith,Jones(2013)arguesthat
AbroaderperspectivehasbeenadoptedbySmith(2013)whoarguesthat
Conversely,Wang(2010)reportednosignificantdifferenceinmortalitybetweenXandY.
Smitharguesthat
break
AlMasry(2003)seesXasSimilarly,Jones(2013)assertsthat
break
Likewise,Wang(2012)holdstheviewthatSomewriters(e.g.Smith,2002)haveattemptedtodraw
finedistinctionsbetween
break
SomeauthorshavemainlybeeninterestedinquestionsconcerningXandY(Smith,2001Jones
break
MuchoftheavailableliteratureonXdealswiththequestionofOthers(seeJones,2003Brown,2004)
questiontheusefulnessof
break
Othershavehighlightedtherelevanceof
break
ButSmith(2008)ismuchmoreconcernedwithZhao(2002)notesthat
break
Smith(2013)foundthatXaccountedfor30%ofY.However,Jennings(2010)studyofYfoundnolink
between
break
Otherresearchers,however,whohavelookedatX,havefoundJones(2010),forexample,Smith
(2010)presentsanXaccount,
break
WhileSmith(2008)focussesonX,whilstJones(2011)
break
Jones(2009)ismoreconcernedwithSomewaysofintroducingquotations
CommentingonX,Smith(2003)argues:
AsCarnoy(2004:215)states:therearemanygoodreasonstobesceptical.
AsSmithargues:Inthepast,thepurposeofeducationwasto(Smith,2000:150).
InthefinalpartoftheThesesonFeuerbach,Marxwrites:Philosophershavehithertoonly

Sachsconcludes:Theideaofdevelopmentstandstodaylikearuinin(Sachs,1992a:156).
AsSmith(2013:320)notes:
argues
writes:
observes:
pointsout:
remindsus:Summarisingtherevieworpartsofthereview
Together,thesestudiesindicatethat
Overall,thesestudieshighlighttheneedfor
Consideringallofthisevidence,itseemsthat
Collectively,thesestudiesoutlineacriticalrolefor
Theevidencepresentedinthissectionsuggeststhat
Thestudiespresentedthusfarprovideevidencethat
Overall,thereseemstobesomeevidencetoindicatethat
Togetherthesestudiesprovideimportantinsightsintothe
Allofthestudiesreviewedheresupportthehypothesisthat
Twoimportantthemesemergefromthestudiesdiscussedsofar:
Inviewofallthathasbeenmentionedsofar,onemaysupposethat