Specified parts of a research paper won’t make your life as a student a challenge. They make it manageable. The diverse elements of a research paper provide a consistent structure. They make a research project to be more accessible and help you with the scientific method to use. The parts guide your writing process and make it easy for you to focus on essential elements at a time. The structure also gives a vital outline you can depend on to structure your assignment. When you have a bold structure, your research paper becomes easy to understand. It makes you a researcher in the future.
Do you encounter problems in the structure of a research paper? It’s a common occurrence among students in schools. Here, you will get all the essential parts to consider in the writing process.
A research paper structure has eight parts that are essential to tackle. These eight parts include the:
- Title
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Research methods
- Data analysis
- Results
- Conclusions
- Reference page
The title appears on the first page. The top page of your research paper should identify the following:
- Your name
- Title
- Assignment date
- Learning institution.
The top page may have other extra elements depending on the directions given. It’s always good to seek clarification so as not to leave any aspect out. Ask also about the order of all these elements on the top page. At times, you might get a checklist or a template that you can refer to while writing the cover page.
The introduction is at the start of the research paper, where you give the thesis statement. The thesis statement summarizes the things to complete within the research project. They include the problems you are aiming to research and the possible solutions.
The literature review should give a theoretical framework to explain the research process. The expectations are that you provide the sources you studied. The sources have to be credible from an academic standpoint. They include the peer revised journals, books, and other noteworthy publications. Make sure you include the relevant authors’ names that you studied. Use proper formatting and citing style to show your analyzed works. Have also the publication year.
The research method part pinpoints the exact methods you used. Typical methods range from statistical evaluations or laboratory experiments to direct observation. Whatever ways you decide to use, point them out clearly in this section.
The data analysis part of a research paper is vital. It’s the most crucial section from the practical standpoint. You have to analyze the data obtained in the entire research process. Introduce new information that will boost the collective understanding of topics researched. Present the data objectively but not studying it.
In the result section, you do an actual analysis of the data collected in the research process. The study should be in line with the earlier stated methodologies.
In the conclusion part, summarize your paper. Succinctly reiterate the thesis statement, methods, and analyzed data. Bringing all these aspects together will aid you in achieving the research purpose. You will be able to point out the conclusions.
The reference page is the final part. Here, you collect all academic sources with the publications consulted in the research. Then, list the references as per your instructor’s citation format.
Conclusion
The above data places you in a position to tackle a research paper as per your instructor’s advice. In addition, you can check some written examples to help you master the concept.