Chapter 6?The Funnel: Connecting O and C
????????論文的開(kāi)局("Opening", including abstract and introduction)，要由一個(gè)大的問(wèn)題(problem)，逐步具體到一個(gè)小的問(wèn)題("Challenge", that is, a specific question)。方法是通過(guò)介紹密切相關(guān)且邏輯連貫的背景文獻(xiàn)。
? ? ? ? 介紹背景文獻(xiàn)不是做全面的文獻(xiàn)綜述，而是有選擇性地對(duì)那些與所關(guān)心的問(wèn)題密切相關(guān)的前人研究的索引。文獻(xiàn)綜述的主要目的是總結(jié)已知，而論文背景介紹的目的是引出未知。
? ? ? ? 介紹背景不是做文獻(xiàn)堆積（Data-dump）/文獻(xiàn)羅列的工作，而是通過(guò)將前人的工作整理，綜合成一個(gè)具有邏輯連貫性的故事或認(rèn)知框架，發(fā)見(jiàn)已知的邊界（The boundaries of What is Known），進(jìn)而提出認(rèn)知空白/認(rèn)知缺口（"knowledge gap", that is, what is unknown）。其關(guān)鍵在于能否敏銳地覺(jué)察出眾多論文之間的邏輯關(guān)聯(lián)性。“By defining a knowledge gap, unmasking a hole in the wall of knowledge, you?create unexpectedness“，這句話的關(guān)鍵詞是“define”。“define”意指這是一個(gè)人為事件。也就是說(shuō)，所謂“問(wèn)題”，都是人為界定的。通過(guò)將不同的論文貫穿成邏輯連貫的故事框架，你就可以自己去界定哪里有"knowledge gap"。你發(fā)見(jiàn)了一個(gè)gap，就可以提出一個(gè)問(wèn)題。那些沒(méi)有發(fā)見(jiàn)的人，就會(huì)驚呼，“哦，原來(lái)這里也可以是問(wèn)題”？！所以，能否提出一個(gè)讓人信服的科學(xué)問(wèn)題，關(guān)鍵在于有沒(méi)有能力將過(guò)往的論文組織成一個(gè)邏輯連貫但又不完備的故事框架。而這種能力，取決于平時(shí)讀論文時(shí)有沒(méi)有有意識(shí)地去發(fā)見(jiàn)不同論文之間的邏輯關(guān)聯(lián)性。
? ? ? ? 這里順帶討論一下，什么是具有高價(jià)值的論文閱讀的方式呢？簡(jiǎn)言之，如果每讀一篇論文都是在原有的認(rèn)知網(wǎng)絡(luò)中添加一個(gè)具有多重連接的節(jié)點(diǎn)，而不是獨(dú)立地線性地增加絕對(duì)數(shù)目，那么這種閱讀才是具有高價(jià)值的。人類的認(rèn)知源自將不同的要點(diǎn)整合成組織化結(jié)構(gòu)化的體系，否則只能算是獨(dú)立的觀察。除非你自信正在開(kāi)創(chuàng)一個(gè)全新的領(lǐng)域，否則這種在邏輯上，認(rèn)知上的系統(tǒng)性連貫性是研究人員提出令人信服的認(rèn)知空白/認(rèn)知缺口，或科學(xué)問(wèn)題的前提。
以下摘錄兩段精彩議論：
? ? ? ? “Framing the knowledge gap taps into core elements of the SUCCES formula for a sticky story, particularly the U and E elements, unexpectedness and emotion. By defining a knowledge gap, unmasking a hole in the wall of knowledge, you?create unexpectedness: I didn’t realize that we didn’t know that! By closing with a question, you create curiosity: what is the answer? Then you can tell us how you solve the problem and satisfy our curiosity."
? ? ? ? "The vital elements of an Introduction are the opening and the challenge. Those are the “dots” that you must connect by filling in the background and forming the funnel. That material has only one purpose: to show a reader why answering your questions is essential to making progress on the overall problem. By the time readers reach the challenge, they should feel that your questions are the obvious ones, even if they had never thought about them before."
