Analogue of "to the best of our knowledge"

Question

I have seen the following formula when writing an academic article:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that shows how to optimize a non-submodular function for ....

I like this construction in a paper, and I am wondering if there is a way to replace "To the best of our knowledge" by a similar expression that conveys a similar message, i.e. novelty, as far as one can tell from the literature.

AFAIK is used for that purpose quite frequently (: – James Waldby - jwpat7 Apr 25 '12 at 23:31 — James Waldby - jwpat7, Apr 25 '12 at 23:31

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 26 '12 at 00:33

9

When you say "to the best of my/our knowledge," you're saying that "you think your statement is true, because it is based on what you know/believe, but you are not completely sure" [Macmillan].

So any phrase that expresses that lack of complete certainty that fits the context will do. In the context of an academic paper, you might say:

We believe that this is the first work that shows how to optimize a non-submodular function...

answered Apr 26 '12 at 00:33

Gnawme

40,887

+1, as "We believe" is an excellent replacement to the phrase in OP in scientific settings. – Ilonpilaaja Sep 21 '20 at 12:19

Ian · Answer 2 · 2012-04-25T23:42:31.697

7

What about "As far as I/we know" or "As far as I/we can tell"

edited Apr 25 '12 at 23:42

answered Apr 25 '12 at 23:20

Ian

394

1

In conversation, "as far as we can tell" would be fine. I'd avoid that form in an academic paper, however. – J.R. Apr 25 '12 at 23:46
5

This is more of a variation, but I have heard it as *"To the extent of our knowledge"* – Ian Apr 26 '12 at 00:04

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 25 '12 at 23:20

2

You may use as far as we know.

answered Apr 25 '12 at 23:20

Analogue of "to the best of our knowledge"

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