Academic Vocabulary
Learn the English words used in research and academic writing: findings, assumption, framework, methodology, and more.
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Terms in this deck
- evidencefacts or data that support a research finding or argument
- findingsthe results or conclusions of a research study
- outcomethe result of an action, process, or study
- assumptionsomething believed to be true without proof
- frameworka basic structure that supports a theory, plan, or system
- assessmentthe careful evaluation or judgment of something
- hypothesisan idea proposed as a starting point for further investigation
- methodologythe system of methods used in a piece of research
- citationa reference to a source used in academic writing
- peer reviewthe evaluation of academic work by other experts in the field
- abstracta short summary of a research paper
- thesisa long piece of writing on a subject, presented for a degree
- correlationa relationship or connection between two things
- variablea factor that can change or vary in an experiment
- empiricalbased on observation or experience rather than theory
- qualitativerelating to descriptions and qualities rather than numbers
- quantitativerelating to numbers and measurable data
- scholara person who studies a subject deeply and is an expert in it
- disciplinea particular area or branch of academic study
- plagiarismcopying someone else's work and presenting it as your own
- credibledeserving of trust or belief, especially about a source
- rigorousthorough, careful, and exact, especially in research or analysis
- validateto check that something is accurate or well-founded
- generalizeto form a general conclusion from specific instances
- contradictto state the opposite of, or disagree with, a fact or statement
- corroborateto confirm or support a statement with more evidence
- paraphraseto reword someone else's ideas in your own words
- synthesizeto combine information from multiple sources into one clear idea
- literature reviewa summary of existing research on a topic
- bibliographya list of sources used in a piece of academic writing
- dissertationa long piece of research writing, usually for an advanced degree
- facultythe teaching staff of a university or department
- undergraduatea student studying for their first university degree
- seminara small class where a topic is discussed in depth
- curriculumthe subjects and content taught in a course or program
- syllabusa document outlining the topics covered in a course
- scholarshipmoney given to a student to help pay for their studies
- grantmoney given by an organization to fund research or a project
- peer-reviewedchecked and approved by other experts before being published
- cohorta group of people who share a common characteristic being studied
- sample sizethe number of people or items included in a study
- control groupthe group in an experiment that doesn't receive the treatment being tested
- replicateto repeat a study to see if the results are the same
- interdisciplinarycombining two or more academic fields
- case studya detailed analysis of one specific example or situation
- pilot studya small preliminary study done before the main research
How to study this deck
This vocabulary is essential for reading articles, writing essays and presenting at university or in exams like IELTS and TOEFL. Study by research stage: idea (hypothesis, assumption), method (methodology, variable) and results (findings, outcome, correlation). Use it when writing summaries and comments about what you read.
The trickiest words
- thesis: it is both a long academic paper and the central argument of an essay. The plural is "theses".
- findings: they are the results of a study. Almost always plural.
- abstract: as a noun it is a short summary of a paper; as an adjective it means not concrete.
Examples in context
The evidence supports her hypothesis.
The teacher gave a written assessment of each student.
She spent a year writing her thesis.
She is a respected scholar in linguistics.
You can't generalize from such a small sample.
The thesis begins with a literature review.
The curriculum was updated this year.
The sample size was too small to be reliable.
Mini dialogue
- A: What is your hypothesis?
- B: That study time has a positive correlation with grades.
- A: How did you test it?
- B: With a simple methodology. The findings support my assumption.