When reading an academic paper, you don’t find it useful when the author points out their contributions? I definitely do. I like to know whether the author asserts ϕ because it’s the consensus in the field, or whether the author asserts ϕ because that’s the conclusion of the data. If I later encounter strong evidence against ϕ then this difference matters — it determines whether I update against that particular author or against the whole field.
Its a matter of taste maybe. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever found it useful (outside refereeing). I was recently reading about how you quantify a particular thing. Instead of providing the equation in a self-contained way (which would have taken 3 lines of maths, and 2 sentences) the paper explained it sideways by first giving someone else’s (wrong) suggestion and then explaining how they have modified that. I really just wanted the right method stated clearly. Providing the whole apparatus of a wrong method then a text explaining what changes will make it right makes it clearer who has discovered what, but its really bad for the useability of the paper.
When reading an academic paper, you don’t find it useful when the author points out their contributions? I definitely do. I like to know whether the author asserts ϕ because it’s the consensus in the field, or whether the author asserts ϕ because that’s the conclusion of the data. If I later encounter strong evidence against ϕ then this difference matters — it determines whether I update against that particular author or against the whole field.
Its a matter of taste maybe. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever found it useful (outside refereeing). I was recently reading about how you quantify a particular thing. Instead of providing the equation in a self-contained way (which would have taken 3 lines of maths, and 2 sentences) the paper explained it sideways by first giving someone else’s (wrong) suggestion and then explaining how they have modified that. I really just wanted the right method stated clearly. Providing the whole apparatus of a wrong method then a text explaining what changes will make it right makes it clearer who has discovered what, but its really bad for the useability of the paper.