Problem words — Show

The word show is an informal, imprecise, and over-used word in reporting results. The phrase our data/results show is informal and ambiguous. Show in this sense can mean indicate, suggest, prove or demonstrate. When referencing tables and figures, show is imprecise and over-used.

Two Senses of Show

Here, show is used in the indicative sense, i.e. to literally point to where the data is:

Table 1 shows the most common causes of gastroenteritis.

In the following sentence, show is used in the informative sense, i.e. to highlight a specific aspect of the data:

Table 1 shows that viral infections are the most common cause of gastroenteritis.

Alternatives to show

Show is informal, imprecise, and over-used. What are some alternatives? Which are synonymous, i.e. which can be use in the indicative sense, which in the informative sense, and which can be used in both senses?

Indicative Both Informative
X X X
Y Y Y
Z Z Z
Table 1: Alternatives to the verb show