Research Paper
A research paper is an academic document that provides a comprehensive analysis, explanation, or argument derived from an in-depth independent study.
Abstract
The abstract is a short summary of your paper intended to provide the reader a complete, concise understanding of your papers, research, and findings; simply put, we say that it is a mini version of your research paper. In simple terms, it is a concise and broad overview of the main subject of an article. It enables readers to rapidly assess the content of an article.
Readers often make a decision about whether to read the complete article based on the abstract. The abstract is mentioned at the start of the research paper, but it is written after conducting and compiling the entire research. Usually, it starts with a brief description of the topic and then follows research objectives, basic methodology, key findings, and concluding remarks.
Introduction
An introduction of the topic involves defining and describing it in parenthetical citation style. It is a general explanation of a selected topic, and the researcher has to present an overview of the respective topic. It should be informative and engaging for readers.
For this purpose, start your introduction with a thought-provoking statement, surprising facts, and an appealing statement that captures the reader’s attention. Here, the researcher has to relate their topic to society or to any specific issue/problem. It will consist of less than two pages. The statements presented in the introduction should be logically described with citations in your research paper.
Background of the Study
In the background of the study, the researcher has to describe the history or background of the selected topic or the broader context of your selected area. He/she has to relate his/her topic with past events relevant to the topic. It can consist of legislation about the selected topic or a brief overview of the literature.
For this purpose, identify the major studies and their findings related to your research problem. Evaluation of previous literature enables researcher to identify significant gaps in the current knowledge that your study aims to fill.
Review of Literature
It is an evaluation of past studies. Literature review means writing down an overview of each relevant study in a critical and logical manner, which the researcher has consulted and also penned down in separate paragraphs. These studies can be of books, articles, websites etc.
Objectives of the Study
What do you aim to find out? The researcher should know the aspects or dimensions of the study. For this purpose, the researcher has to critically analyze the relevant literature that will reveal the gaps in the selected topic. These gaps are ultimately the aim of the research that you want to cover up. Objective statements should be concise and clear and start with to know, to find out, to analyze, etc.
Research Questions of the Study
Research questions are statements that have to be addressed by the researcher. These are the questions that need to be answered. Research questions and research objectives are annexed to each other, and both are considered the tracks for research. These tracks help researchers be specific and avoid unnecessary aspects. Research questions should be clear, concise, and directly relevant to your study problem.
Rationale and Significance
In the rationale, the researcher has to write down the overall situation of the selected topic and then its general impacts or influences along with gaps prevailing in the selected topic. In the next paragraph or in the separate heading of the “Significance of the study,” the researcher has to pen down how the study will be beneficial or effective. Prove this logically with arguments.
Hypothesis of the Study
A hypothesis is a tentative statement that needs to be tested.” A hypothesis is a statement about an issue based on dependent and independent variables. e.g., People do not send their children to school due to poverty. If a hypothesis is disproved, it will be a null hypothesis. The hypothesis is developed according to the research questions and objectives of the study. Only those variables are abstracted which are practically testable in the research. Moreover, hypothesis are usually part of quantitative studies.
Research Methodology
The researcher has to explain the nature of the study, i.e., qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method, geographical area and individuals/groups selected for collecting data, sampling technique adopted for selecting population, tools of data collection, and which tool is adopted. In research papers, adopted methodologies are usually penned down in paragraphs rather than in subheadings. However, this portion entirely depends on the nature of the study and the type of data collection, i.e., primary or secondary.
Data Analysis and Discussion
Data analysis depends on the nature of the study (i.e., qualitative or quantitative). It could be descriptive or statistical. In the case of a quantitative study, all the collected data is presented in tables and interpreted according to the obtained results. It involves the explanations of applied tests, which gives a reader a clear understanding of the results obtained by various tests. In addition, commonly used tests in social sciences research are the T-test, Chi-square, and Regression line.
However, if the study is qualitative in nature, the results will be presented and interpreted in descriptive form. There is no specific procedure for analyzing qualitative data, but it depends on the nature of the data, the research approach, and the researcher’s understanding.
Conclusion
It is a summary of the results and a review of the literature. The researcher has to describe the key findings of the study in their research paper, and on the basis of these major findings, recommendations are presented.
References
Generally, the APA (American Psychological Association) style is adopted for citations. Usually, in a book or report reference, the title of the study has to be in italics, whereas in a research paper name of the journal has to be in italics. A reference list typically includes the specific information of all the sources that have been mentioned in your article.
