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Research, Writing, & Scholarly Activity

library services and support for research, writing, & scholarly activity

Apps & Tools

Active vs Passive Voice

Active voice promotes engagement and clarity.
Active Voice
subject / verb / object
Team nurses provided diabetes kits to selected patients.
Passive Voice
object / verb / subject
Diabetes kits were provided to selected patients by team nurses.
Passive voice is not always avoidable. Write in the active voice as much as possible.
The Hemingway Editor highlights sentences in the passive voice.

Contractions, Colloquialisms, & Clarity

Do not use contractions.
Couldn't
Could not
Didn't
Did not
Aren't
Are not
Weren't
were not
Can't
Cannot (can not)

The solution can not only clean the site, but also control the microorganism’s growth.

 

Avoid colloquial language.
  • Patient satisfaction increased a little bit.
    • Patient satisfaction increased by only 5%.
  • Nurses looked at each wound.
    • Nurses examined each wound.
  • Samples were sent to the lab.
    • Samples were sent to the laboratory.
  • Avoid a lot and very and other filler words.
    • Be as specific as possible.
Clarity
  • Small wound  
    • quarter-sized wound; wounds measuring < 1 inch in diameter
  • Many, few, some, older, younger, elderly, moderate, adequate 
    • Specific numbers or range
      • Fifty of the 272 patients
      • Adults 65 years and above

Commas & Other Punctuation

Commas
Use commas Example
To separate independent clauses Leaders completed simulation training, and they conducted at least two simulations under the guidance of an experienced instructor.
After an introductory clause or phrase Despite 20 years of advances in ICU care, antipsychotic agents . . .
Between all items in a series (3+) Live music therapy provided by a board-certified music therapist reduces anxiety, decreases pain, and improves the physiological response of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
With dates, addresses, titles, and numbers
  • 3,500 [or 3500]
  • 100,000
  • 6,000,000
  • Jacqueline Sparrow, MSN
  • December 12, 1890
  • 708 Spring Street, Washington, IL
  • IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY).
As directed in citation style formatting guide see specific citation style guide or style requirements of the journal or conference
See also Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) on Commas
Avoid ampersands and abbreviations
 
  • &, etc., e.g., CRF
  • Except common units of measurement known to your audience:   mg/kg,  mL, mmHg
  • Et al. is fine
  • Abbreviations & acronyms are usually acceptable if written out the first time they are used:  Centers for Disease Control (CDC), per os or by mouth (PO), HIPAA
     
Quotations are rarely needed in scholarly writing, and possibly never in an abstract. Paraphrase instead.

Exceptions:

Some descriptive research

  • Phenomenology (lived experience)
  • Focus group reporting

 

Numbers & Statistics

Write out 
Numbers starting a sentence
Sixty patients…
Fifty-five percent of responses...
Numbers zero through ten
unless followed by a specific unit of measurement
3 mL
Numbers when not doing so would be confusing
This study included 16 90-year olds . . . is confusing
This study included sixteen 90-year olds
Use Numerals
numbers (even 0 – 10) followed by a unit of measurement 
5 cm, 2.02 m, 3 mcg
when writing percentages (%), unless starting a sentence
Only 45% of nurses like knitting. Eighty percent of librarians quilt.
precise ages, times, dates, scores, points on a scale, & money
Children under 9 years receive…

https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/numbers/

Reporting Statistics
  • Report to two decimal places unless otherwise instructed
    • SD = 7.56
  • Report statistics that could never exceed 1.0 to three decimal places 
    • p<.001
 
*Publications, conferences, and style guides may have specific guidance on reporting statistics and statistical abbreviations.

Parallel Structure