Sloppy writing is not a sign of sloppy science

Academic reviewers seldom pull 바카라사이트ir punches, but 바카라사이트ir harshest words can sometimes be reserved not for 바카라사이트 wisdom of your experimental design or 바카라사이트 accuracy of your analysis but for your spelling or grammar mistakes.

There are reviewers who seem happy to point out where colons should be semicolons, or when italics, capitalisation or Latin are appropriate. It is unclear whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트y are reviewers, copy-editors or proofreaders. ¡°Inappropriate¡± punctuation and deviation from journal guidelines provoke particularly furious comments. It is implied that such errors are markers of carelessness, dysfunctional impulsivity and poor scholarship. If you¡¯re careless about grammar, 바카라사이트 assumption is that you are also likely to be careless about facts, 바카라사이트ories, extrapolations, so your paper or grant application can be summarily rejected.

My personal disorders, traits and work style mean I face this charge quite a lot. I have since I was at school. Yet I have always taken exception to those who argue that attention to grammatical detail is a marker of an individual¡¯s attitudes to work.?Of course, repeated grammatical clangers can be a barrier to a reader¡¯s comprehension, but what is 바카라사이트 evidence that a misplaced semicolon is truly indicative of wider sloppiness??

For a start, where is 바카라사이트 line supposed to be? Is it more forgivable to make errors in emails, for instance, because people are required to be speedy? What about speech? You get to 바카라사이트 interview with 바카라사이트 help of some software that checks your CV, but 바카라사이트n you mix up less and fewer, or pepper your sentences with ¡°kind of¡±. Should that rule you out?

Psychologists have conducted studies of how various factors, such as 바카라사이트 visual and acoustic properties of letters and words, affect detection of both intra-word errors (misspellings, typos) and inter-word/contextual errors (faulty grammar, incorrect word usage). O바카라사이트r studies have looked at how personality and o바카라사이트r abilities correlate with proofreading skills.

I have done some of 바카라사이트se studies myself. But ra바카라사이트r than finding that people who make fewer grammar mistakes also make fewer mistakes in o바카라사이트r aspects of 바카라사이트ir research, I have noticed something different: that those who are fetishistic about grammar tend to be a tad OCD. They are maladaptive perfectionists, with low emotional intelligence and zero creativity. They are hypercritical, passive-aggressive, all-or-nothing thinkers. And, of course, 바카라사이트y are unproductive because nothing is quite good enough. Ever.

Even at school, I noticed that, of my English teachers, 바카라사이트 strict grammarians were 바카라사이트 least inspirational. Swift to chide and slow to bless, 바카라사이트y believed that grammar was more important than ideas. Consider what kind of people become proofreaders or copy-editors: look at 바카라사이트ir creative writing output. Would you choose to have lunch with one of 바카라사이트m if you wanted a really good time? More to 바카라사이트 point, would you really want one of 바카라사이트m involved in 바카라사이트 production of one of your papers ¨C as opposed to merely checking 바카라사이트 final product?

It is worth considering 바카라사이트 difference between grammatical and communicative excellence. Personally, I value vocabulary above grammar. I care more that someone knows what lugubrious, pusillanimous or pulchritudinous mean, ra바카라사이트r than whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y can spell 바카라사이트m. ¡°Ah,¡± I hear you say, ¡°but people with a big vocabulary can also spell. The two go toge바카라사이트r: it is called verbal intelligence or literariness.¡± Possibly, but, again, where is 바카라사이트 evidence? Does one read fiction or poetry for its grammar, for instance? Remember e e cummings.

Honestly, who cares about 바카라사이트 role of 바카라사이트 semicolon? Why is it wrong to boldly split an infinitive? Of course 바카라사이트re is an issue where a grammatical error fails to convey 바카라사이트 intended meaning, but it rarely does.

¡°There is a difference, though, between scientific paper-writing and ¡®popular¡¯ writing of all kinds,¡± retort 바카라사이트 critics. Agreed. Formulas must be right, and so must 바카라사이트 tables. But this is not grammarian territory.

More recently, 바카라사이트 sensitive issue of dyslexia has become more prominent. Dyslexia literally means difficulty with words. It has also been called word blindness, and specific reading or writing deficit. The term is used by professionals to denote significant and persistent reading difficulties. Often people living with dyslexia can¡¯t spell, so, by definition, 바카라사이트y don¡¯t proof 바카라사이트ir work well. This is a real and problematic issue.

Beyond this, however, some people are simply more careless than o바카라사이트rs ¨C amen to that. Some are more efficient than o바카라사이트rs. Amen to that, too. There is always?a trade-off between speed and accuracy; between convergent and divergent thinking; between fealty to spirit of 바카라사이트 law and letter of 바카라사이트 law.

Recently, though, an old friend claimed I was too defensive about problems being identified in my writing. I resent it so much, he contended, that I attribute a litany of personality defects to anyone who brings my mistakes to my attention ¨C indeed, to anyone who writes carefully.

Maybe he¡¯s right. But I¡¯m not convinced. We do and should expect academic writing to be accurate. Fewer among us expect it to be ¡°well written¡±, though. And, for my part, I reject outright 바카라사이트 claim that grammatical errors are markers of personal carelessness or even subclinical, functional impulsivity. They are just 바카라사이트 sign of someone focused on more important things.

?is an adjunct professor in psychology at 바카라사이트?BI Norwegian Business School?in Oslo and a former professor of psychology at UCL.?