“Methods”

1. General description of the experiment. (1-2 sentences) 2. Detailed description of the materials and equipments used. 3. Detailed description of experimental procedures. 4. Description of samples includes: general facts, principles of sampling, particular

conditions. 5. Experimental conditions: temperatures, voltage, radiation, lighting. 6. Justification of the specified materials, equipments, and methods. 7. Elaboration on the adopted data analyses. (Divisions accord with guidelines from various journals.)

1. General description.

2. Characteristics of the adopted samples.

3. Experimental procedure.

4. Methods for testing.

5. Data/statistics analyses.

**Tenses Matter: 1. PAST TENSE is used to describe the conducted experiments (methods & procedures). 2. If PRESENT TENSE is used, the description must be: -- facts unaffected by time; -- generally adopted procedures or standards; -- “theses oriented”: referring to the present paper. Specifically: (I). When referring to the conducted experiment: e.g. The experiment was conducted at a large university in the Midwest. The 72 subjects were randomly divided into three groups. (II). When referring to the generally adopted procedures: e.g. In this type of procedure, subjects are randomly assigned to one of several groups. Subjects in all groups perform the same tasks. (III). When referring to parts of one’s (others’) papers: e.g. The tests for the control and “excessive” indentation groups are shown

in Figure 3.

1. Using “We” as subjects: describing one’s syntheses or offering suggestions/explanations. (Regulations on the usage vary among

journals.) 2. Passive voice are preferred in most scientific papers (“Methods”).

Sample sentences: We immersed the samples in an ultrasonic bath for 3 minutes in acetone

followed by 10 minutes in distilled water. The samples were immersed in an ultrasonic bath for 3 minutes in acetone

followed by 10 minutes in distilled water. (preferred style) To evaluate the influence of nitrogen and carbon monoxide on SiO2

sputtering, we performed two experiments in which these gases were introduced through the leak valve during sputtering.

To evaluate the influence of nitrogen and carbon monoxide on SiO2 sputtering, two experiments were performed in which these gases were introduced through the leak valve during sputtering. (preferred style)

(HOWEVER): For the second trial, the apparatus was covered by a sheet of plastic. It was

believed that this modification would reduce the amount of scattering. (correct but stiff)

For the second trial, the apparatus was covered by a sheet of plastic. We believed this modification would reduce the amount of scattering. (preferred)

For the second trial, the apparatus was covered by a sheet of plastic to reduce the amount of scattering. (preferred)

1. Spatial Sequence: top-down, front-back, and left-right.

2. Order of functionality (temporal—given its fixed sequence)

3. Combining adopted materials with experimental procedures:

Present Tense implies: general, not specialized incidents. e.g. A twin-lens reflex camera is actually a combination of

two separate camera boxes. The viewing box is used only for viewing and focusing. The following example: 1st sentence– past deeds;

2nd/3rd sentences– tools not exclusive to this experiment.

Past tense: tailor-made or specialized equipments in the experiment. (Found only in this very experiment)

1. Present tense (generally/typically/usually) Students in these programs typically have three hours of instruction

per day in French. Enrollment in the course generally consists mainly of computer science

and engineering students. Most employees at this level are young and comparatively

inexperienced. 2. Past tense (specialized condition) The sample consisted of 350 grade 7 students from four school districts

in a large Western city. The average age of the first group of subjects were 22, and the

average age of the second group was 40. All of the salesmen in the sample had at least two years of experience

in their current job. 3. Past perfect (occurred before the set period in the PAST) At the time of the experiment, the students had already been exposed

to Pascal for four weeks, and each student had written at least two programs.

At the time of testing, the fris bridge had been in use for five years.

Passive voice is commonly used in “Methodology” chapters to refer to the experimental deeds by the researcher(s).

e.g. The subjects were randomly divided into three groups. The samples were immersed in an ultrasonic bath for 3

minutes in acetone.

PositivePositive voice is used to refer to the “functions,” “(re-) actions,” or operations by the equipments or materials.

e.g. The apparatus measured both instantaneous elastic deformation and subsequent stress relaxation.

The lasers transmitted upstream signals on pre-assigned optical wavelengths.

If passive voice is used to describe the actions of equipments, prepositional phrases (by…) must be added to indicate the agent (doer).