Writing a Research Paper

TARGET

General Writing Information

First Step: Organization

• first make up an outline of your paper: several pages containing chapter

headings, sub-headings, some figure titles (to indicate which results go
where) and perhaps some other notes and comments
• this will help you to organize your writing

General Style

• print or type using a 12-point standard font, such as Times, Arial, Geneva,
Bookman, Helvetica, etc.
• text should be double spaced on 8 1/2" x 11" paper with 1 inch margins,
single sided
• number pages consecutively
• start each new section on a new page
• adhere to recommended page limits

Proofreading/Editing

• check your spelling: spellcheckers are useful for initial checking, but don't
catch homonyms (e.g. hear, here)
• make sure that you use complete sentences
• check your grammar: punctuation, sentence structure, subject-verb
agreement (plural or singular), tense consistency, run-on sentences (use
semi-colons instead) etc.
• give it to others to read and comment
• proofread your work a few times
• as well, edit for content
o does it flow logically
o is there any repetition, is it relevant
o style
• avoid qualitative adjectives when describing concepts that are quantifiable
("The water is deep." "Plate convergence is fast." "Our algorithm is
better.") Instead, quantify. ("Water depths exceed 5km.")
• do not use unexplained acronyms; spell out all acronyms the first time that
you use them

•
Mistakes to avoid

• placing a heading at the bottom of a page with the following text on the
next page (insert a page break!)
• dividing a table or figure - confine each figure/table to a single page

Structure of Paragraphs/Paper

• say everything three times

• structure of paper as a whole:
o introduction – what the paper will say
o body – details of the work
o conclusion – what the paper said
• within each chapter or section:
o signposting – what the section will say
o body – the details
o summary – what the section said
• within each paragraph (each paragraph should discuss only one idea)
o introductory sentence – first sentence introduces the idea (linking it
with the previous one)
o body – discusses the topic
o concluding sentence – concludes the idea and links it to the next
one

Content – Quick Overview

Title Page

• title of the research project

• your name
• date
• your position and school information (including address)

Abstract

• single, concise summary paragraph describing the purpose, procedure,

and results of your study

Table of Contents

• list chapter titles and subheadings with page numbers

Acknowledgments
 • list anyone who has helped you with your project

Introduction

• goal – combine information about the setting and the story behind the
project (literature review) that gets the reader engaged in the work’s
context
• include the critical question

Methods

• document specialized materials and general procedures that were

followed

Results

• present and illustrate your findings

• completely objective report of the results

Discussion

• provide an interpretation of your results and support for your conclusions

References

• include references from all articles cited in your paper

• APA style should be followed

Appendices

• surveys, questionnaires, and interview questions used

Content – In-depth Overview

Title Page

• title of your paper

• your name
• date (month and year)
• your position and school information (including address)

Abstract

Includes:
 • rationale behind the study
• purpose of the study - hypothesis, overall question, objective
• focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a
sentence or two, if absolutely necessary
• What did you do? Why did you do your project? What question
were you trying to answer?
• general approach to the problem, pertinent results
• brief description of the methods – How did you do it?
• results, including specific data - if the results are quantitative in
nature, report quantitative data; results of any statistical analysis
should be reported
• What did you learn?
• important conclusions or questions that follow from the experiment(s)
• Why does it matter?

• as a summary of work done, it is always written in past tense

• an abstract should stand on its own, and not refer to any other part of the
paper such as a figure or table
• what you report in an abstract must be consistent with what you reported
in the paper

Table of Contents

• the introduction starts on page 1

o the earlier pages should have roman numerals
• it helps to have the subheadings of each chapter, as well as the chapter
titles
• list all headings and subheadings with page numbers
• indent subheadings
• list page numbers of all figures and tables
o the list should include a short title for each figure and/or table but
not the whole caption

Acknowledgements

• include a ‘thank you’ to anyone who helped you

o technically (including materials, supplies)
o intellectually (assistance, advice)
o financially (for example, departmental support, travel grants)
o providing such essentials as food, education, genes, money, help,
advice, friendship etc. If any of your work is collaborative, you
should make it quite clear who did which sections.
Introduction

The purpose of an introduction is to acquaint the reader with the rationale behind
the work, with the intention of defending it. It places your work in a theoretical
context, and enables the reader to understand and appreciate your objectives.

Be sure to include a hook at the beginning of the introduction. This is a statement

of something sufficiently interesting to motivate your reader to read the rest of the
paper. Is it an important/interesting problem that your paper either solves or
addresses?

1. A statement of the goal of the paper: why the study was undertaken, or
why the paper was written. Do not repeat the abstract. Where did the
problem come from?
2. Sufficient background information to allow the reader to understand the
context and significance of the question you are trying to address. (This is
your literature review.) What is already known about this problem?
• It should cite those who had the idea or ideas first, and should also
cite those who have done the most recent and relevant work.
3. The introduction should be focused on the thesis question(s). This is not a
place to summarize everything you have ever read on a subject.
• You should explain why more work was necessary.
4. A verbal "road map" or verbal "table of contents" guiding the reader to
what lies ahead.
5. Is it obvious where introductory material ("old stuff") ends and your
contribution ("new stuff") begins?

Methods

The objective is to document all specialized materials and general procedures,

so that another individual may use some or all of the methods in another study or
judge the merit of your work. It is not to be a step-by-step description of
everything you did, nor is a methods section a set of instructions.
• most authors use third person passive voice
• avoid informal lists, and use complete sentences
• include information on the design of your study, sample size
• include description of analytical methods and statistical analyses

The methods section should answering the following questions and caveats:

1. Could one accurately replicate the study?

2. Is there enough information provided about any instruments
(questionnaires, surveys etc.) used so that a functionally equivalent
instrument could be used to repeat the experiment?
3. Could one replicate any data analyses that were used?
4. Could one replicate any statistical analyses?

Results

The purpose of a results section is to present and illustrate your findings. Make
this section a completely objective report of the results, and save all
interpretation for the discussion.

• Summarize your findings in text and illustrate them, if appropriate, with

figures and tables.
• Lay out the case as for a jury. Present sufficient details so that others can
draw their own inferences and construct their own explanations.
• Break up your results into logical segments by using subheadings.
• In text, describe each of your results, pointing the reader to observations
that are most relevant.
• Analyze your data, then prepare the analyzed (converted) data in the form
of a figure (graph), table, or in text form.

What to avoid

• Do not discuss or interpret your results, report background information, or

attempt to explain anything.
• Never include raw data or intermediate calculations in a research paper.
• Do not present the same data more than once.
• Text should complement any figures or tables, not repeat the same
information.
• Do not confuse figures with tables - there is a difference.
o A table has vertical columns and horizontal rows with headings for
each
o A figure refers to all other graphic illustrations, such as graphs,
maps, pie charts, diagrams and photographs.

Style

• As always, use past tense when you refer to your results, and put
everything in a logical order.
• In text, refer to each figure as "figure 1," "figure 2," etc. ; number your
tables as well
• Place your figures and tables appropriately within the text of your results
section.
• Is the figure or table self-explanatory?
• Are your axes labeled and are the units indicated?
• Does the figure caption guide the reader's eye to the "take-home lesson"
of the figure?
• Figures should be oriented vertically, in portrait mode, wherever possible.
If you must orient them horizontally, in landscape mode, orient them so
that you can read them from the right, not from the left, where the binding
will be.

Discussion
The objective here is to provide an interpretation of your results and support for
all of your conclusions, using evidence from your experiment and generally
accepted knowledge, if appropriate. The significance of findings should be clearly
described.

• Draw what conclusions you can based upon the results that you have.
• Explain all of your observations as much as possible.
• What are the major patterns in the observations?
• What are the relationships, trends, and generalizations among the results?
• What are the exceptions to these patterns or generalizations?
• What are the likely causes (mechanisms) underlying these patterns
resulting predictions?
• What is the strongest and most important statement that you can make
from your observations?
• Refer back to the problem posed, and describe the conclusions that you
reached from carrying out this investigation.
o Summarize new observations, new interpretations, and new
insights that have resulted from the present work.
• One experiment will not answer an overall question, so keeping the big
picture in mind, where do you go next? The best studies open up new
avenues of research. What questions remain?
o You may suggest future directions, such as how the research might
be modified to accomplish another objective.
o What is the implication of the present results for other unanswered
questions?
• What are the things we now know or understand that we didn't know or
understand before the present work?
• What changes will you make to your teaching from your research?

This section should be rich in references to similar work and background needed
to interpret results.

Break up the section into logical segments by using subheadings.

References

• cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own
• if you make a statement, back it up with your own data or a reference
• all references cited in the text must be listed in this section
• cite single-author references by the surname of the author (followed by
date of the publication in parenthesis)
o ... according to Hays (1994)
o ... population growth is one of the greatest environmental concerns
facing future generations (Hays, 1994).
• cite double-author references by the surnames of both authors (followed
by date of the publication in parenthesis)
 o e.g. Simpson and Hays (1994)
• cite more than double-author references by the surname of the first author
followed by et al. and then the date of the publication
o e.g. Pfirman, Simpson and Hays would be:
 Pfirman et al. (1994)
• do not use footnotes

For further information on APA referecing:

http://www.library.mun.ca/guides/howto/apa.php

Appendices

• log of data sets or specific items from a data set

• assessments
• surveys, questionnaires, interview questions
• letters sent to parents
• lesson plans
• artifacts
• tables (where more than 1-2 pages).
• calculations (where more than 1-2 pages).

Resources:

http://www.delsea.k12.nj.us/Academic/mediaCenter/hs/ActionResearchReport.ht
m

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html#form

www.cs.toronto.edu/~sme/presentations/thesiswriting.pdf

http://www.charleslipson.com/How-to-write-a-thesis.htm

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html

http://www.learnerassociates.net/dissthes/

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/thesis.html

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/paper.html