Using tenses consistently
You will use different tenses when describing different situations: established facts, a question needing an answer, describing your methods, reporting your results and what other researchers found and believe (or believed?). It can be confusing when you have a different tense in adjacent sentences or different tenses in the same sentence.
The key to getting tenses correct is to be consistent for different situations, as illustrated in the following abstract (key: present tense, past tense):
In people with randomenteric disease, symptoms improve using substance X. However, in 2016 Sigmund suggested that substance Y could be a better treatment. We performed a controlled trial to determine whether Y is more effective than X. We found that Y reduced symptoms in a greater proportion of people than X (y % vs. x %, p-value). We conclude that Y is more effective than X in treating people with randomenteric disease.
The present tense is used in the following situations:
- established fact
- the question asked (or hypothesis proposed) at the time of the study
- the answer and beliefs as a result of the study at that time.
The past tense is used in the following situations:
- attribution to previous work that is not yet established fact
- to describe your methods (what you did)
- to describe your results (what you found).
Some disciplines may use a different scheme, but the important point is to be consistent for the different circumstances.
Kutumia tenses mara kwa mara: Kutumia tenses tofauti wakati wa kuelezea hali tofauti: ukweli ulioanzishwa, swali linalohitaji jibu, kuelezea mbinu zako, kuripoti matokeo yako na kile watafiti wengine walipata na kuamini. Inaweza kuwa ya kuchanganya wakati una tense tofauti katika sentensi jirani au tenses tofauti katika sentensi moja. "Kifungu cha kupata tenses sahihi ni kuwa thabiti kwa hali tofauti, kama inavyoonyeshwa katika muhtasari ufuatao (kitu muhimu: wakati wa sasa, wakati uliopita): ""Kwa watu walio na ugonjwa wa random enteric, dalili hupungua kwa kutumia dutu X." Hata hivyo, mwaka 2016 Sigmund alidokeza kwamba dutu Y inaweza kuwa matibabu bora. Tulifanya jaribio la kudhibitiwa ili kuamua kama Y ni ufanisi zaidi kuliko X. Kwa mfano, Y inashughulikia dalili za ugonjwa wa akili kwa asilimia kubwa kuliko X (y% vs x% p-value). Kwa hivyo, Y inasaidia zaidi kuliko X katika matibabu ya ugonjwa wa randomized. Wakati wa sasa hutumiwa katika hali zifuatazo: ukweli uliothibitishwa, swali lililoulizwa (au nadharia iliyopendekezwa) wakati wa utafiti, jibu na imani kama matokeo ya utafiti wakati huo. Wakati uliopita hutumiwa katika hali zifuatazo: - sifa ya kazi ya awali ambayo bado haijathibitishwa ukweli - kuelezea mbinu zako (unachofanya) - kuelezea matokeo yako (unachogundua). Baadhi ya taaluma zinaweza kutumia mpango tofauti, lakini uhakika muhimu ni kuwa thabiti kwa ajili ya hali tofauti.