Verb Tense and Method

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FOR YOUR THESIS OR DISSERTATION PROPOSAL Because you haven't yet carried out your research, you should write about what you plan to do in the future tense (because you will do the work at some point in the future). For example: A multiple choice questionnaire will be administered to the top managers of fifty information technology companies in the country. Use "will" to make the future tense rather than the more informal "going to." For facts or information that are true and unlikely to change, write about them in the present tense. For example: A multiple choice questionnaire will be used since it offers a way to reduce the time respondents will need to complete it, and therefore to increase the number of completed questionnaires. The fact that the multiple choice questionnaire offers a way to reduce completion time is true whether the questionnaire is administered today or next year (it is always true), so "offers" is used instead of "will offer."

FOR YOUR THESIS OR DISSERTATION Most of your methodology section will be written in the past tense because you are recording what you have done. Notice too that it is usually written in the simple past (the verb tense used for events that are now finished). For example: 1) The sample was weighed. 2) Fish seed were added to the pool. 3) A thermometer recorded changes in external temperature. These sentences are written in the past tense, because an action took place and is now finished. (For example in 1, the sample was weighed on the 18th August, 1996 at 3pm and is not still being weighed - the action of weighing is finished so simple past is used). Notice that although 1, 2 and 3 are all in the simple past, 1 and 2 are passive verbs while 3 is active. (See Passive and Active Voice for more information). For facts or information that are true and unlikely to change, write about them in the present tense. For example: Vietnam was chosen for this study because it has a long coastline. (Present tense is used because we assume that the length of Vietnam's coastline is unlikely to change.) Cornmeal was used to feed the fingerlings because it provides high nutritional content at a relatively low cost. (Present tense is used because we assume that neither the nutritional content nor the cost of corn meal is likely to change.)

Other verb tenses may also be used, for example to describe one event happening during another. Example: Ethyl alcohol was added while the sample was being dried. (past continuous passive) Notice, too the present tense is used to talk about the thesis or dissertation itself and what it contains, shows, etc. For example: Table 3 shows that the main cause of weight increase was nutritional value of the feed. (Table 3 will always show this - it is now a fact that is unlikely to change, and will be true whenever this sentence is read, so present tense is used.) "to" is often used to mean "in order to" "by" is usually followed by a verb ending in -ing See the example below. AN EXAMPLE OF VERB TENSES AND VERB TENSE SHIFTS Look at the text below and see if you can decide why each highlighted tense has been used. Find suggested answers by clicking on the words, then return to the text by using the arrows. Takii, K. and Shimano, S. et al.. In The Current Status of Fish Nutrition in Aquaculture, Takeda, M. And Watanabe, T. (Eds.) Materials and Methods Formulations and proximate compositions of the experimental diets are shown in Table 1. Brown fish meal was used to provide approximately 54% (dry matter basis) crude protein for the control diet 1. In diets 2-4 and 5, approximately 1546% and 31% of the fish meal was isonitrogenously substituted with a soy protein concentrate (SPC), respectively, diets 2-4 were supplemented with the essential amino acids (DL-menthionin, L-lysine, L-histidine, L-valine and L-threonin) to simulate the composition of the control diet 1. Feeding stimulants (L-alanine, Lproline and 5-IMP) were supplemented to each diet. The SPC used in this experiment was DANPRO-A, product of Aarhus Olie Co., Ltd, (Denmark, supplied by Bayer Japan Co., Ltd., which contains a high level of crude protein and a low level of trypsin inhibitors, as a result of the treatments of defatting, ethanol extraction and toasting. Moist pellets were prepared by thoroughly mixing the dry ingredients with oil and cold water and then extruding the dough through a laboratory pelleting machine. Resulting pellets, 3 or 5 mm in diameter, were stored at -20 degrees until use. See the explanations below: are shown in Table 1: simple present (passive). Always use simple present to refer the reader to a table or figure in your text. was used to provide/was isonitrogenously substituted/were supplemented/were prepared/were stored: simple past (passive) - this is the most commonly used tense in a method section because it describes actions that are now finished. Passive Voice because it sounds more objective not to use I (see Active and Passive). used/was/supplied by: simple past. The product was used (an action now finished). In this experiment (now finished) the product was DANPRO-A. The product was supplied (also an action that is now finished). contains: we assume that what the product contains is unlikely to change, therefore we can describe it in the present tense.

Voice in the Method chapter

Verbs can be used in either in the passive voice (The biscuit was eaten by the dog OR The biscuit was eaten) or the active voice (The dog ate the biscuit). What does it matter? Well, using passive or active voice changes the emphasis of a piece of writing. For example: "The biscuit was eaten by the dog." This sentence is passive because the main focus of the sentence is on the biscuit, but the biscuit does not do anything instead something is done to the biscuit (by the dog). In fact, we can even leave out the part about who performed the action: The biscuit was eaten. "The dog ate the biscuit." This is active because the main focus of our attention is on the dog, and the dog is the one who does something (it eats the biscuit).

WHY USE PASSIVE VOICE? People reading your thesis or dissertation are going to be far less interested in you than in your work so the emphasis should be on what you did and not on you. Also, by not saying "I weighed the sample" but "The sample was weighed" you make your writing sound more objective.

HOW DO I MAKE THE PASSIVE VOICE? Passive voice is the verb to be followed by a past participle: For example:

Rice is grown in Thailand. (simple present is plus past participle grown) The film is being shown at Future Park Mall. (present continuous is being plus past participleshown) The sample was weighed to find its dry weight. (simple past was plus past participle weighed) The samples were being dried . . . (past continuous were being plus past participle dried) The interviews will be conducted in groups. (future will be plus past participle conducted)

WRITING ABOUT WHAT THE RESEARCHERS HAVE DONE Research writing usually avoids using "I" or "we" (although "we" is becoming more acceptable in co-authored papers). By convention, if the passive voice is used we assume that an action was carried out by the researcher/s, and we don't say directly who did it. For example:

INCORRECT The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0 C to 20 C by the researcher. CORRECT The temperature inside the chamber was increased from 0 C to 20 C. (We assume the researcher increased the temperature.) INCORRECT Four thermocouples were monitored hourly by the researcher. CORRECT Four thermocouples were monitored hourly. (We assume the researcher monitored them.)

WRITING ABOUT WHAT THE EQUIPMENT HAS DONE The active voice is usually used when the equipment has performed an action (i.e. when it is not the researcher/s who have performed the action). For example: A 200hp generator provided power to the piezometers. Control gauges monitored air pressure inside the chamber.

The use of active voice indicates that the researchers were not directly involved in the functioning of the equipment. The passive voice can be used to describe an action involving equipment, but a "by" clause must be included to which equipment performed the action. For example: 5. Power was supplied by 14 generators with capacities ranging from 90 to 300 KW.