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ten-forty copies
lay prostrate before
May 20, 2015 10:41
8 yrs ago
9 viewers *
English term

understudied

English Science Medical: Health Care research papers
Can this be used in the sense of ´inadequately studied´?

I am proofreading a paper for a client who regularly writes that her subject field is ´understudied´, and I regularly change it to ´inadequately studied´ or rewrite the sentence and call it insufficient research, depending on how it fits.

In this context, there can be no confusion with theatrical understudies, and no mistaking what is meant. Am I just being pedantic?

In an abstract that borders on too long and every word counts, it is irritating!
Of course, I also have to comply with the style guide... and it has to be real English - the author is not a native, but writes very well on the whole.

I'm grateful for your comments!
Responses
4 +5 under-researched/insufficiently researched
3 +1 cannot be used as "inadequately studied"
4 under-studied

Discussion

Christine Andersen (asker) May 20, 2015:
Phew! Thanks for all the reassurance that I was right!

After changing this so many times, I was beginning to wonder if I had missed something. I do NOT want to be the arrogant Brit declaring something is ´not English´, but actually meaning ´I´ve never seen it before in my neck of the woods.´
When meanwhile the diligent foreigner has looked it up and knows what she is talking about. This one does with regard to terminology, but she sprinkles her texts with Norwegian punctuation and has not got the hang of people/persons/patients or apostrophes...
I have to do some work for my fee :-)
Peter Simon May 20, 2015:
Christine, "understudy" is not only reserved for the theatre, it is mostly a noun there and is used in the sense when someone learns/has learnt the role of another to be able to substitute him/her if necessary. It's an intransitive verb when not a noun. It's not spelt with a hyphen, and the sense is very far from what you need, i.e., not studied/researched it enough in detail - in the science world, and is also a transitive verb, that's why it can be in the passive as "the field is under-researched". So I agree with the others that you shouldn't use 'understudy', not even with a hyphen.
Charles Davis May 20, 2015:
@Christine My vote goes to gallagy's "under-researched". I would avoid "inadequately" because it could be taken to mean "badly" rather than (or as well as) "too little", and I doubt that's what the author means to say (though you never know).

I don't think "under-studied" works even with a hyphen, but that's just my opinion.

I also wonder about "little studied", though I don't think it's worth another answer, and anyway "little" is not exactly the same as "less than it should have been".
Christine Andersen (asker) May 20, 2015:
Terry: Please suggest hyphenation as an answer! I like the hyphen solution :-)
It might also save a moment of irritation with the client, who usually follows my suggestions, at least when she remembers!
It could be a useful face-saving compromise.

But otherwise I tend to find that all references to understudies are in the theatrical sense, or metaphors related to it.
Terry Richards May 20, 2015:
Would it count as one word... ...if you hyphenated it? Under-studied.

Responses

+5
35 mins
Selected

under-researched/insufficiently researched

is what I'd use here. Or "not very extensively researched". But I'd never use "understudied" to mean this.

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/underresearched.65321...

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Note added at 1 day9 hrs (2015-05-21 20:21:16 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to have helped. Sometimes we have to educate our clients:-)
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : I don't think it works even with a hyphen, and "under-researched" is a good solution (fewer letters than "insufficiently"!)
1 hr
Many thanks Charles. I agree with you concerning "inadequately" and "under-studied" doesn't do it for me either as I'd still associate it with theatre
agree zebung : maybe even has not been sufficiently researched (just another variation to consider))
1 hr
Many thanks:-)
agree B D Finch
1 hr
Many thanks:-)
agree Tina Vonhof (X)
3 hrs
Many thanks:-)
agree Peter Simon
3 hrs
Many thanks:-)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "THANKS! I was getting totally blocked... I went for under-researched in the abstract and insufficiently researched later in the discussion."
+1
25 mins

cannot be used as "inadequately studied"

According to the links below, the word "understudied" cannot be used in the sense of "inadequately studied".

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/understudy
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/understudy?s=t
http://www.dictionarycentral.com/definition/understudy.html

Most of the definitions for understudy is used in the theatrical sense, except for "to learn how to do a job by working alongside the present incumbent, so as to be able to take over if he retires or is ill" listed in the third link I provided. HTH
Peer comment(s):
agree Tushar Deep
5 hrs
Thank you very much!
Something went wrong...
1 hr

under-studied

A possible compromise. See discussion above.
Peer comment(s):
neutral B D Finch : I think that a native speaker of English wouldn't naturally express it that way and the Client should be persuaded to take Christine's advice to avoid looking silly.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
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