One of the most challenging parts of research paper writing is structuring. The structure of a research paper depends on the style guide authorized by your professor, supervisor, or college department. There are various style guides or formatting styles in academics. These include:
- MLA format
- APA format
- Chicago format
- Harvard format
Each formatting style has rules and guidelines that go beyond the research paper structure. They include how to format the headings, page layout, font and indentation, citation, and reference page format. However, this post focuses on how to structure a research paper. If you’re writing a research paper for the first time and don’t know the correct structure, keep reading. We’ve got you.
How to Structure a Research Paper
Let’s look at the general format of a research paper. Although the specific structure varies from one formatting style to another, the following sections are the blueprint of any research paper. They include:
- Title Page
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
Let’s find out what each section entails below.
Title Page
The title page is the identifying page that presents essential information about the research paper. This crucial data includes the paper title, authors, major/ department, and affiliated institution.
Abstract
An abstract is a summary of the study, including the idea of the research, purpose, key findings, methods, and conclusion. It is concise and straight to the point. It should provide a complete overview of your research paper such that the reader or supervisor can see the point of your research even without reading the rest of the paper.
Introduction
Would you walk up to a stranger and start telling them about your dog? No? You need to strike up a conversation first and depending on their interests, you can introduce the dog story. In the same breath, you can’t directly dive into a research paper topic without creating rapport with your reader. The introduction establishes context by providing background information. It should be short and precise. An introduction introduces the research topic, presents the research question or hypothesis, and states the thesis statement.
Literature Review
A literature review is a summary or survey of existing scholarly material on the research topic. By reviewing published work on your chosen topic, you can identify similar themes, methodologies, or information gaps that need to be filled. To write a good literature review make sure to cite, compare, connect, contrast, and critique existing scholarly publications on the topic, a phenomenon called the 5 Cs of a literature review.
Methodology
Writing a research paper often entails the collection and analysis of data. How did you collect this data? Sampling? Interviews? Laboratory experiment? Whatever your data collection method looks like, you explain the process under the methodology section.
Results/Findings
What did you find out after doing your research? This information goes to the results section. Don’t beat around the bush in this section. Instead, state the data without a lot of thought, just simple findings with no bias or interpretation. You’ll have time to analyze and interpret it in the discussion section.
Discussion
Now this is where you discuss your findings and how they support your research ideas and assertions. Your results should relate to your thesis statement and research question. Other aspects that go into this section include the limitations of your research, potential bias, potential applications, implications, and explanations for unexpected results.
Conclusion
The conclusion brings your research paper to a close. In a few words, restate your thesis statement, relate it to the findings, and summarize the interpretation/discussion. You can also offer recommendations for future research avenues based on your findings.
Tips for Writing a Research Paper
Now that we’ve discussed how to structure a research paper, I’ll let you on a few tips for writing a research paper. Follow these hacks to write a good research paper:
Read the Guidelines
Professors don’t just test your research, analytical, and critical thinking skills with a research paper. They also test whether you can follow simple rules. As we established earlier, there are various formatting styles and each style has its rules. Read the assignment guidelines to understand the scope of this paper. Pay attention to the following:
- Length (Number of words or pages required)
- Spacing
- Indentation
- Citation style
- Referencing
- Whether to include a title page, cover page, and abstract
- Deadline (when is the paper due?)
Select a Good Topic
The topic you choose determines how challenging your research project will be. Please choose a topic that interests you deeply because you’ll spend a lot of time researching the same. It would be a stinging headache to spend weeks or months on a topic that bores you or one that’s too complex to understand. Remember, you are not doing the paper to prove a point, you are showcasing your research, critical thinking, and analytical skills.
Conduct Preliminary Research on the Topic
Before you dive into the specifics of your research topic, conduct preliminary research on the topic to familiarize yourself and test the waters. The research data will not only shape your assertion and thesis statement but also lay a great foundation for the paper. The following are notable resources to help in your research:
- Library books
- Academic journals
- Online scholarly articles
- Web databases (credible sources like science e-journals and academic publications)
Formulate Your Thesis Statement
With good preliminary research, you already have an idea of what your research question will address. Write a good thesis statement that explicitly tells the reader what your research paper topic is and your claim. The statement consists of one or two sentences that appear at the end of the introduction section.
Create a Roadmap (Outline)
Before you can get into the serious parts of research writing such as in-depth research and presenting the data, you need a roadmap. This outline will help you organize your thoughts and structure the research paper correctly.
Conduct an In-Depth Research
This is the hardest part of writing a research paper. Gather relevant data on the topic to support your thesis statement. If you are performing some experiments, interviewing people, or sampling data, do it meticulously. The goal is to get as much data as you can to support your assertion. Remember to take notes as you conduct your research. If you follow the above hacks, you’re halfway through your research paper project. The remaining part is the actual presentation of the paper which includes writing, organizing data into charts and tables, editing, and proofreading.
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