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Writing Research Paperby Sehrish Mushtaq

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PREPARING TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER:

Usually, the purpose of a research paper is known before writing it. It can be formulated as a research paper question, a thesis statement or a hypothesis statement.

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Structure of a Research Paper:

The structure of a research paper might seem quite stiff, but it serves a purpose: It will help find information you are looking for easily and also help structure your thoughts and communication.An empiric paper frequently follows this structure:TitleAbstractIntroductionLiterature ReviewMethodologyResultsDiscussionConclusionReferences

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ADDITIONAL PARTS FOR SOME ACADEMIC PAPERS:

The following parts may be acceptable to include in some.Table of Contents (Usually placed right before or right after the abstract)Acknowledgments (Sometimes placed before the abstract and sometimes at the end of a paper)Appendices (Placement: After all the other parts)

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THE INTRODUCTION:

A good introduction generally consists of three distinct parts, starting with:•a general presentation of the research problem.•You should then lay out exactly what you are trying to achieve with this particular research project.•stating your own position.

Ideally, you should try to give each section its own paragraph, but short or long papers will vary.

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1) THE GENERAL PRESENTATION:

Look at the benefits to be gained by the research or why the problem has not been solved. Perhaps nobody has thought about it, or maybe previous research threw up some interesting leads that the previous researchers did not follow up.

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2) PURPOSE AND THE EXACT DIRECTION OF THE PAPER:

The research problem does not have to be a statement, but must at least imply what you are trying to find.Many writers prefer to place the thesis statement or hypothesis here, which is perfectly acceptable, but most include it in the last sentences of the introduction, to give the reader a fuller picture.

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3) A STATEMENT OF INTENT FROM THE WRITER:

In this section, you look to give a background to the research, including any relevant information learned during your literature review. You are also trying to explain why you chose this area of research, attempting to highlight why it is necessary. The second part should state the purpose of the experiment and should include the research problem, as a part of focusing the introduction towards the thesis statement or hypothesis. The third part should give the reader a quick summary of the form that the parts of the research paper are going to take and should include a condensed version of the discussion.

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Literature Review:

Literature’ covers everything relevant that is written on a topic: books, journal articles, newspaper articles, historical records, government reports, theses and dissertations, etc. The important word is 'relevant'. A literature review is a description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic. like other forms of expository writing, has an introduction, body and conclusion, well-formed paragraphs, and a logical structure.

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Literature Review:

A literature review gives an overview of the field of inquiry: what has already been said on the topic, who the key writers are, what the prevailing theories and hypotheses are, what questions are being asked, and what methodologies and methods are appropriate and useful.A critical literature review shows how prevailing ideas fit into your own thesis, and how your thesis agrees or differs from them.

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THE METHOD:

This should be the easiest part of the paper to write, as it is a run-down of the exact design and methodology used to perform the research. There is a big methodological difference between the apparatus based research of the physical sciences and the methods and observation methods of social sciences.In the case of a survey, if you have too many questions to cover in the method, you can always include a copy of the questionnaire in the appendix. In this case, make sure that you refer to it.

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THE RESULTS:

This is probably the most variable part of any research paper, and depends upon the results and aims of the experiment.For quantitative research, it is a presentation of the numerical results and data, whereas for qualitative research it should be a broader discussion of trends, without going into too much detail.For research generating a lot of results, then it is better to include tables or graphs of the analyzed data and leave the raw data in the appendix, so that a researcher can follow up and check your calculations.

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THE RESULTS:

A commentary is essential to linking the results together, rather than displaying isolated and unconnected charts, figures and findings.It can be quite difficulty to find a good balance between the results and the discussion section, because some findings, especially in a quantitative or descriptive experiment, will fall into a grey area. As long as you not repeat yourself to often, then there should be no major problem.

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THE DISCUSSION:

This is where you elaborate upon your findings, and explain what you found, adding your own personal interpretations.Ideally, you should link the discussion back to the introduction, addressing each initial point individually.It is important to try to make sure that every piece of information in your discussion is directly related to the thesis statement

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THE CONCLUSION:

The conclusion is where you build upon your discussion and try to refer your findings to other research and to the world at large.In a short research paper, it may be a paragraph or two, or practically non-existent.Some research papers require a recommendations section, postulating that further directions of the research, as well as highlighting how any flaws affected the results. In this case, you should suggest any improvements that could be made to the research design.

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THE REFERENCE LIST:

No paper is complete without a reference list, documenting all of the sources that you used for your research. This should be laid out according to APA, MLA or other specified format, allowing any interested researcher to follow up on the research.

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APA Writing Style:

In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:Margin. Although formerly, the required measurement for margins is 1 ½ inch, now, it is required that margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) should each just measure one (1) inch.Font Size and Type. Font for text all through out the paper should be 12-pt., Times New Roman.Spacing. Double-space, For spacing after punctuation, space once after commas, colons and semicolons within sentences and space twice after punctuation marks that end sentences.

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APA Writing Style:

Active Voice. Traditionally, the APA writing format requires writing in an impersonal form. That is, refraining from using pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’ in your statements. Now, it has changed. Most disciplines require the active voice. An example of this would be, instead of writing “according to the study,” it should be “according to our study.” This way, papers are made to be as active as possible.

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TITLE PAGE:

The Title Page should contain the title of your paper, your name as its author, your institutional affiliation/s. In case there’s no institutional affiliation, just indicate your city and state or your city and country instead.As mentioned earlier, your title page will serve as your Page 1. It should be typed centered on the page. If it requires more than one line, please be reminded to double-space between all lines. Your name appears double-spaced as well, below the paper title.

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ABSTRACT:

The Abstract of your paper contains a brief summary of the entirety of your research paper. It usually consists of just 150-250 words, typed in block format. The Abstract begins on a new page, Page 2. All numbers in your Abstract should be typed as digits rather than words, except those that begin a sentence.

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TEXT CITATION AND REFERENCES:

Text Citations are important to avoid issues of plagiarism. When documenting source materials, the author/s and date/s of the sources should be cited within the body of the paper. The main principle here is that, all ideas and words of others should be properly and formally acknowledged.The Reference Section lists all the sources you’ve previously cited in the body of your research paper. It states the author/s of the source, the material’s year of publication, the name or title of the source material, as well as its electronic retrieval information, if these were gathered from the Internet.