by few researchers vs by a few researchers

Both phrases are correct, but they have different meanings. 'By few researchers' implies that only a small number of researchers were involved, while 'by a few researchers' means that some researchers were involved, without specifying the exact number. The choice between the two depends on the intended meaning.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 2368 views

This phrase is correct but less common. It implies that only a small number of researchers were involved.

"by few researchers "

This phrase is used to indicate that a small or insufficient number of researchers were involved in a particular task or study.

Examples:

The study was conducted by few researchers, which may have impacted the results.
The project was completed by few researchers due to budget constraints.

Show examples from the web [+]

No researchers means no research, few researchers means little research, and many researchers means a great deal of research.
My partner's on a beekeeping message board with a few of their researchers.
Judge opportunity by how few other students and researchers are on hand.
But in the past few months, researchers have also isolated several new broadly neutralizing antibodies from the blood of an HIV infected individual.
This opinion seems to be shared by few in Parliament.
The by-product of an energy source, used by few species because it is harmful to living tissue.
All speakers in this Parliament are entitled to speak in their mother tongue whether that language is spoken by many or by few.
There are many literary works which seldom reach a wider audience because they are written in a language mastered by few.
I should also like to mention a concern which I do not share and which, fortunately, has been mentioned by few, namely religion.
Yet the budget is also full of clever little hidden nooks and crannies, a fact known by few better than by most of those now listening to this debate.
The respect for and defence of our fundamental human rights was the starting point and the achievement of the European Union, but till now the declaration has been accompanied by few concrete legal and practical measures.
In any event, it would appear that in a market which is characterised by few producers worldwide, maintaining the existence of Union production of an important raw material would be fully in line with the objective to ensure sustainable supply of raw materials to the Union market.
A couple of researchers asked a few hundred people to read a scientific article.
Similarly, very few of the project coordinators are researchers from the smaller Member States.
Within "People" it is proposed to introduce "Twinning networks", assuming closer integration of a few partners with a special offer for early stage researchers.
In addition, demographic factors mean that a disproportionate number of researchers will reach retirement age in the next few years.
Women researchers only have higher growth rates than men in less than half of the countries, and for a few countries the percentage of women researchers has decreased.
And then a few years ago, two researchers,
And a few years ago, a wonderful researcher named Kevin Dunbar decided to go around and basically do the Big Brother approach to figuring out where good ideas come from.
According to researchers at the National Agricultural Research Foundation, unless drastic measures are taken to tackle the disease immediately, there will be millions of dead plane trees in Greece within a few decades.

Alternatives:

by only a few researchers
by a small number of researchers

This phrase is correct and more commonly used. It indicates that some researchers were involved, without specifying the exact number.

"by a few researchers "

This phrase is used to indicate that a small group of researchers, without specifying the exact number, were involved in a particular task or study.

Examples:

The research paper was authored by a few researchers from different universities.
The project was carried out by a few researchers who specialize in the field.

Alternatives:

by some researchers
by a small group of researchers

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by few researchers vs by a few researchers