A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

you just surveyed:Ever since Girolamo Cardano . . . mathematical perspective. contextBut risk communicators have discovered thatordinary people think about risk in ways that are irrational and unrelated to statistically realistic probabilities.What is not understood is whether such nonexpert risk assessment is based on random guesses or whether it hassystematic properties. question restated10.1.3 State the Significance of Your QuestionNow you must show your readers the significance of answering your research question.Imagine a reader asking that most vexing question, So what?, then answer it. Frame yourresponse as a larger cost of not knowing the answer to your research question:Ever since Girolamo Cardano . . . mathematical perspective. contextBut risk communicators have discovered that.. . . What is not understood is whether such nonexpert risk assessment is based on random guesses or whether ithas systematic properties. question restated[So what?] Until we understand how risk is understood by nonexperts, animportant aspect of human reasoning will remain a puzzle: the kind of cognitive processing that seemssystematic but lies outside the range of what is called “rational thinking.” significanceAlternatively, you can phrase the cost as a benefit:Ever since Girolamo Cardano . . . mathematical perspective. contextBut risk communicators have discovered that.. . . What is not understood is whether such nonexpert risk assessment is based on random guesses or whether ithas systematic properties. question restated[So what?] If we could understand how ordinary people make decisionsabout risks in their daily lives, we could better understand a kind of cognitive processing that seems systematicbut lies outside the range of what is called “rational thinking.” significanceYou may struggle to answer that So what? It is a problem that only experience can solve,but the fact is, even experienced researchers can be vexed by it.10.1.4 State Your ClaimOnce you state that something isn't known or understood and why it should be, readers wantto see your claim, the answer to your research question (we abbreviate a good deal in whatfollows):Ever since Girolamo Cardano . . . mathematical perspective. contextBut risk communicators have discovered thatordinary people think about risk in ways that are systematic but irrational and unrelated to statistically realisticprobabilities. question[So what?] Until we understand how risk is understood by nonexperts, an important kind ofhuman reasoning will remain a puzzle: the kind of cognitive processing that seems systematic but lies outside therange of what is called “rational thinking.” significanceIt appears that nonexperts assess risk not by assigningquantitative probabilities to events that might occur, but by visualizing worst-case scenarios, then assigningdegrees of risk according to how vivid and frightening the image is. claimIf you have reason to withhold your claim until the end of your paper, write a sentence toconclude your introduction that uses the key terms from that claim and that frames whatwww.itpub.net