How to Write Research Paper?

“What is Research?

Re + Search
 What is Research Paper?
• When we hear the word “Research Paper
• Doesn’t means hunting the ‘treasure 'of others 'thoughts
• Primary or secondary?
• Review of literature
• More than collection of different pieces of information
Then what is research paper?
• Own thinking backed up by other’s ideas , information, information
collected through survey (own data)
• Knowledge –to find best possible information
 What is Management Research Paper?
• Management is Social Science
• With a view add knowledge and learning
Should ask the questions like
• Why am I writing this paper?
• What is my paper trying to say?
• Who is the audience for my paper?
• Is it worth saying ? Is it new message or rehash of an old message
 Why to Write Research Paper?
• Reproduce the work done by others –literature review
• Better understanding of subject- conceptual research /knowledge
• Looking at something from different point of view – explorative
research/descriptive
• Thus,
• – The Researcher has some results that are worth reporting.
• – The Researcher wants to contribute in the progress of scientific thought.
• – The Researcher wants his work to reach a broader audience.
• – The Research will improve the chances of promotion.
• – It is unethical to conduct a study and not report the findings.
 Types of Research paper
• Primarily there are two types:-
• Secondary Research
• Primary Research
Other types of research paper
• View points/primary research
• Technical paper/ evaluates technical product/service/processes (Primary)
• Case study(secondary)
• Literature Review (Secondary)
• General Review/Conceptual (Secondary) (more descriptive)
 Structuring the Research Paper
• Title Page
• All text on the title page is centered vertically and horizontally. The title page has
no page
• number and it is not counted in any page numbering.
• Page Layout
• Left margin: 1½”
• Right margin: 1"
• Top margin: 1"
• Bottom margin: 1"
• Page Numbering
• Pages are numbered at the top right. There should be 1 of white space from the top
of the page number to the top of the paper. Numeric page numbering begins with
the first page.
 Contd….
• Spacing and Justification
• All pages are single sided. Text is double-spaced or 1.5 spaced, except
for long quotations and the bibliography (which are single-spaced).
There is one blank line between a section heading and the text that
follows it. Justify the text.
• Font face and Size
• Any easily readable font is acceptable. The font should be 12 points or
larger. Generally, the same font must be used throughout the
manuscript, except 1) tables and graphs may use a different font, and
2) titles and section headings may use a different font.
 Contd……
• Give strong visual structure to the paper using
• sections and sub-sections (bold)
• bullets
• italics
• laid-out code
• draw pictures, and use them
• Paper Organization
• The general structure of a paper comprises three major sections:
introduction, body, and discussion.
 Topic Selection
• List all ideas/individual or group
• Ask W question
• Write all points
• Consider your own point of view
• Free writing
• Unsuitable topics- Too broad, Subjective, controversial, written for another
purpose, too technical, Subjects which you don’t understand
• Opens the way to dialogue with others
• Do Selection of topic – your Interest area, Most important in current situation
• Significance-- Theoretical value-- Practical value– Timeliness--External review
• Manageability-- Expertise, time, resources-- Free from personal bias
 Abstract
• Style (Future tense/Past tense) and structure
• Purpose
• Design/methodology/approach
• Findings
• Research limitations/implications
• Practical implications (if applicable)
• Social implications (if applicable)
• Value/Originality of work
• Keywords
 Guidelines for Writing Abstract
• Sending Abstract before work done, it is always written in future tense
• As a summary of work done, it is always written in past tense
• The abstract should reflect only what appears in the original paper but
not refer figure or table
• Focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a
sentence or two, if absolutely necessary
• An abstract must be consistent with what is reported in the paper
• Correct spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper reporting
of quantities (proper units, significant figures) are just as important in
an abstract as they are anywhere else.
• Abstracts should contain no more than 250 words or as per the
requirements of the publisher. Write concisely and clearly.
 Abstract-Example
The current study evaluates the employee perception of quality work life and analyses its
relationship with Job satisfaction and Organizational commitment (Problem statement)
among the teachers of
private professional Institutions in Gwalior City (M.P.). In fact quality work life is being
promoted by many organizations as a strategic tool to attract good employees towards their
institutions. (Motivation) The results of the study unveil that quality of work life is
important construct (Concluson)which has strong positive impact on organizational
commitment. (Practical implication) The results also indicate that employee satisfaction is
not effected by quality of work life. (Social Implications)
Respondents for the current study were drawn from all the professional Institutions located
at Gwalior. The sample size for the study was 150 respondents. MANOVA was applied
for evaluating the effect of Quality work life on employee satisfaction and organizational
commitment.(Design/methodology)
Key words- Quality of work life, Employee satisfaction, Organizational commitment
 Introduction
• Three phases of an introduction can be identified
a. Establish a territory
i. Bring out the importance of the subject and/or
ii. Make general statements about the subject and/or
iii. Present an overview on current research on the subject.
b. Establish a niche
i. Oppose an existing assumption or
ii. Reveal a research gap or
iii. Formulate a research question or problem or
iv. Continue a tradition.
c. Occupy the niche
Outline your own intent behind work, important characteristics of the own
work, outline important results and give brief outlook of structure of your
paper
 Introduction
• Describe the importance (significance) of the study - why was this
worth doing in the first place? Provide a broad context.
• Defend the model - why did you use this particular organism or
system? What are its advantages? The researcher might comment on
its suitability from a theoretical point of view as well as indicate
practical reasons for using it.
• Provide a rationale. State the specific hypothesis(es) or objective(s),
and describe the reasoning to select them.
• Very briefly describe the research design and how it accomplished the
stated objectives.
 Introduction
• Style (Past tense except when referring established facts)
• Organize the ideas, making one major point with each paragraph.
• Present background information only as needed in order to support a
position. The reader does not want to read everything the researcher
knows about a subject.
• State the hypothesis/objective precisely - do not oversimplify.
• As always, pay attention to spelling, clarity and appropriateness of
sentences and phrases.
 Literature Review

• Where to start?
• Taking notes
• Organizing information
• Writing the review
• Edit and rewrite
 Mechanics of Literature Review
Barr, Rao et al (1997, Pp38) “suggest that in alliance formation too,
managers' (informal) interpretations of concepts in their organizations could
influence the (formal) interpretation of the alliance itself. The cycle of
interpretation, action and interpretation shapes the belief system in the
organization”.

The informal structure is also known to researchers themselves since the

Hawthorne studies (bingers and rate-busters) and the behavioural
interventions of organization scientists like Dowling(1978) and Argyris and
Schon (1978). Employees in organizations tend to carry subjective
interpretations of their organizations in their minds (Mintzberg, 1979, p468).
 Footnotes /End points
• Instead of writing source assign reference number eg. 2 and provide
references at the end of the chapter
Reference
1. Cooper D. R., Schindler P. S. (2003), “Business Research Methods”,
Tata McGrawHill., 2nd edition Pp 356-358
2. Levin R. I., Rubin D. S. (2002), “Statistics for Management”,
Pearson Education Asia. Pp 450-460
• If you want to give more explanation about the point mark * or # and
provide footnote at the end of the chapter
 References
• Name and Year System: References are cited by their respective
authors and the year of publication, e.g., “Chuck and Norris (2003)
define .....”.
• Alphabet-Number System: This system lists the references in
alphabetical order and cites them by their respective number in
parentheses or (square) brackets, e.g., “As reported in ….. 2]”
• APA Style
 Research Methodology For Secondary
Research
• Area of Investigation/Research questions
• Data Sources used /What methodology was employed in obtaining the
data
Considerations – purpose, process, people involved in original survey
and conclusions drawn by them

• Methods used for evaluation of data –Concepts, theories and models

used for narrating data.
• How you have remolded the data?
 Research Methodology For Primary Research
Usually begins with short introductory paragraph that restate the purpose and
research questions. Keep the wording of research questions consistent through
out the research paper.
• Objectives /Statement of Problems
• Ask W questions Eg. A research paper on organizational conflict
• What are the causes of organizational conflict?
• When organization conflict takes place?
• What are the effects of organizational conflicts? (like attrition, absenteeism)
• How it affects on organizational performance?
• What is the role of HR in OC? What is the role of employee in OC?
• Is it related to power? Culture? Organizational policies? Change?
• Is there any redressal machinery? How it works?
• What will be probable solutions for solving the issue (organizational conflict)?
 Hypothesis
• Set first the Null hypothesis – need not be negative
• Null hypothesis is the hypothesis which you want to reject, denoted as
Ho
• Alternative hypothesis is the hypothesis which become true when null
hypothesis is rejected and denoted by H1
• Hypothesis is nothing but your strong assumption. Start the process
with null i.e. Take the statement against your assumption or belief and
try to nullify it.
• It is based on common psychology eg. In court also burden of proof
lay upon applicant. In this case , instead of finding proof for our
statement, it is better to nullify the opponent’s pleading giving proofs.
 Population and sampling
• Define population first Examples are: The population for this study is
defined as all adult customers who make a purchase in our stores during the
sampling time frame”, or
“...all home owners in the city of Mumbai”, or
• “...all potential consumers of product”.
While the population can usually be defined by a single statement, the
sampling procedure needs to be described in extensive detail. Sampling
method,
Don’t omit any details. This is extremely important because the reader of the
paper must decide if the sample will sufficiently represent the population.
 Other Contents
• Instruments- structured or unstructured questionnaire, observations
(manual/machine) etc. (appendix)
• Procedure and time frame- It requires when you present the research paper
in conference. The procedure you followed and time a given for each topic
• Analysis Plan- Be specific and state about the variables
(dependent/independent) , decision making criteria (critical alpha level),
other statistical methods like correlation-regression analysis, hypothesis
testing tests etc.
• Validity and Reliability- face validity, content validity and construct validity
(scale and measurement). Reliability denotes replication (same results over
number of times)
• Assumptions- eg. Sample represent population, instrument has validity
• Scope and limitations- Precisely list the limitations, write a limitations in a
such way that it will not create negative impact.
 Guidelines for Writing Research
Methodology
• Report the methodology
• Details of each procedure included in the methodology
• Do not use ‘I’(First person), use third person passive voice. For
example, sampling is stratified in three strata such as Large Scale,
Medium scale and small scale ( by us)/
• Ensure you have included sampling frame, description of sample,
software used, tool used for collecting data, tools used for analyzing
data, sample size, sample element, demographic information,
descriptive statistics, type of research design
 Results and Discussion and Conclusions
• Results
• Discussion
• Findings
• Conclusion
 Results
• Display the result in table forms ( If the tables are multiple and large
present them under the annexure)
• If possible draw graph and interpret the table and graph immediately
following the tables and graph.
• Any statistical analysis like correlation regression analysis, Z test, t
test, etc. for hypothesis testing do below the result table .
• Use summary of statistical tests to show all the results together.
 Discussion
• Counterpart of the introduction
• Focus is on discussion and not on details of results
• Comparison of results with previously published studies
• Conclusions drawn and evidences considered
• Proposed follow up
Guidelines
• Organize discussion from specific to general statement
• Use same terms, verbs used in research questions /introduction
• Begin by restating the hypothesis and answers ( supported by results)
• Describe the patterns, principles and relationships shown by major findings
• Discuss conflicting results
• Discuss unexpected findings
• Implications and recommendations
 Conclusions
• State the study’s major findings
• • Explain the meaning and importance of the findings
• • Relate the findings to those of similar studies
• • Consider alternative explanations of the findings
• • State the clinical relevance of the findings
• • Acknowledge the study’s limitations
• • Make suggestions for further research
 Bibliography
• Drucker, P.E. 1974. Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. New
York: Harper and Row : 466-467.
Here you will find
• Name of the Author,
• Year of Publication
• Name of the Job (title of article, title of book, Title of journal if journal vol.
no. Date of publication etc)
• Edition no. eg. 2nd edition
• Location
• Referred pages
 Electronic Journals
• Author, A. A. (1996). Title of electronic text [E-text type]. Location of
document
• Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of electronic journal
article. Title of electronic journal [On-line serial], Volume number
(Issue number). Email address and request message
 Journal Articles
• Author, A. A. (1996). Title of journal article. Title of journal, volume
number, first page-last page.
• Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of journal article: Subtitle
of journal article. Title of journal, volume number, first page-last page.
• Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (1996). Title of journal
article. Title of journal: Subtitle of journal, volume number (issue
number), first pagelast page.
 Books
• Author, A. A. (1996). Title of the article. Title of book (pp. 1-25).
City: Publisher.
• Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (1996). Title of the article. In E. E.
Editor, Title of book: Subtitle of book (2nd. ed., pp. 1-25). City, ST:
Publisher.
Avoid Plagiarism-Documenting the Sources