research paper

Examples of research paper in the following topics:

• Writing While You Research

  • However, in practice, the different phases of writing a paper often overlap.
  • Even if you are not officially at the drafting stage of your paper, that's okay.
  • While the idea is still fresh and clear, take a break from research and start working on your paper's structure or argument.
  • Beginning to construct your paper during the research process helps you identify holes in your argument, weaknesses in your evidence or support, and may reveal a need to change the structure or format of your essay.
  • Explain the use of beginning to write your paper during the research process

• Organizing Your Research Plan

  • To save time and effort, decide on a research plan before you begin.
  • A research paper is an expanded essay that relies on existing discourse to analyze a perspective or construct an argument.
  • Because a research paper includes an extensive information-gathering process in addition to the writing process, it is important to develop a research plan to ensure your final paper will accomplish its goals.
  • If you begin researching without a plan, you could find yourself wasting hours reading sources that will be of little or no help to your paper.
  • And finally, have fun doing the research!

• Discussion and Conclusion

  • The discussion section of a scientific paper analyzes and interprets the results of a study, while the conclusion explains implications for further research.
  • The discussion section of a scientific paper should interpret the results of your research.
  • First, briefly remind your reader of your research question and principal findings by briefly restating these points.
  • You should discuss, somewhere in your paper, the significance of your research for future research, public policy, personal decision-making, or other spheres of influence.
  • The conclusion then reaches beyond the suggestions you made in the body of the paper to emphasize the importance of the results and their potential consequences.

• Conducting Research

  • How you conduct research depends upon the topic you are researching.
  • If you're continuing your paper on 19th century scientific theories of life and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein, you will likely want to use books, essays, and possibly periodicals.
  • If you are starting a new paper whose topic is manufacturing changes in the United States from the 1960s to 1980s, you will likely want to use books, essays, periodicals, government sources, and possibly photographic essays.
  • Applied research is used to solve practical problems.
  • The better you understand your subject matter and the goal of your paper, the more equipped you will be to begin researching using one of the above listed methodologies.

• Saying Why It Matters

  • An integral step in writing a science paper is to explain to your readers why your argument matters.
  • Many more people will read a paper's abstract than the paper itself, so make sure your summary is compelling in its own right .
  • The abstract should stand alone, making it possible for readers to understand the goals and conclusions of your research without reading the whole paper.
  • Most importantly, though, the abstract should make the case for why someone should read further--it is the first place where you will articulate the stakes and consequences of your research.
  • This is your opportunity to make the reader care—make sure you emphasize how applicable your research is to other issues and even other fields.

• Understanding the Academic Context of Your Topic

  • Academic papers rely on the status quo to inform and support the writer's argument.
  • This helps the writer understand how scholars' arguments fit into the wider context of the paper, and it applies even in cases where the majority of research will be used for knowledge rather than citation purposes.
  • As the writer continues her research, she will eventually find sources to incorporate into the paper.
  • As a researcher and writer, you also have the potential to change the status quo through your research and argument.
  • Explain the importance of including a discussion of the status quo in a paper

• APA: Headings

  • This is especially important in papers that present experimental research because they follow the particularly rigid structure of the scientific method.
  • APA style puts forth specific rules for formatting headings (up to five levels) within your paper:
  • So, if you have a paper with two levels of headings, you would use Level 1 formatting for the higher level and Level 2 formatting for the lower level.
  • Similarly, if you have a paper with five levels of headings, you would use Level 1 formatting for the highest level and Level 5 formatting for the lowest level.
  • The introduction of the paper should not be titled “Introduction”; instead, the paper should simply begin with the title of the entire paper.

• Step 2: Researching

  • The point of writing the paper is to explore your own thoughts about a topic. 
  • If you keep this mindset during the research phase, it's far more likely that your final paper will keep the reader engaged.
  • You can also keep an open mind about how you're going to present your paper.
  • There are more complicated methods for longer papers, but generally this works fine for essays.
  • Ideally, you'll code each piece of text you put into your paper so that you always know which reference it's attached to, even if you move it around in the paper.

• Abstract

  • The abstract of a scientific paper is often the only part that the reader sees.
  • A well-written abstract encapsulates the content and tone of the entire paper.
  • State the question or problem you are addressing, and describe any gaps in the existing research.
  • Describe your research process and the approach(es) you used to collect and analyze your data.
  • Describe the impact your research will have on the question, problem, or topic, and include a call for specific areas of further research in the field.

• Step 7: Completing a Final Review

  • Before you turn your paper in, read it over one more time.
  • Just try to get a general sense of what your paper has turned into.
  • The learning comes not only from your research and writing, but also from reflection about the process you went through.
  • How creative is the paper?
  • Is the writing good but the research scanty, or is it heavily cited but disorganized?