8 IMPORTANT STEPS FOR WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER Research paper writing involves excessive technical language usage; concise writing for a scientific audience and follows a standard form and structure of the targeted Journal/Publication/Style Guide. It follows a structure that remains the same even if there is a change in the paper form (Structure of a research paper comprises three core parts: introduction, body, and discussion) A research paper gives a perspective or makes an argument that is important to the chosen area of research, and summarizes the answers to your research questions. 1. Choose a topic A Good Research Topic fulfills the FINER criteria: Feasible (answerable with a robust method) Interesting Novel Ethical Relevant 2. Find information Look for information online as well as printed materials to make articles more evidence-based. Critically read and evaluate, and save the source and the content of any relevant information. Remember that an article without bibliographical information is useless because you cannot cite its source. For those who need help, there are ​ research paper editing companies that edit your paper as per the requirements of your style guide (such as AMA, APA and ACS). 3. State your hypothesis Try and write your thesis statement down in one sentence because the main portion of your essay will include arguments to support and defend this belief. 4. Make a temporary outline An outline will help you to consider your whole topic carefully and to organize it logically before you start writing. 5. Organize your thoughts Effective communication of your thoughts, ideas, insights, and research finding to others requires you to organize, analyze, synthesize, and digest the gathered information. Organize your ideas in a linear, understandable format and include only relevant information. Use your own words and document all ideas borrowed or quoted to avoid plagiarism. 6. Write down your first draft Read several research papers, note down the papers to refer, jot down your ideas and prepare a rough sketch. 7. Revise your draft Keep a checklist in place, you can use the checklist mentioned below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence? Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples? Any run-on or unfinished sentences? Any unnecessary or repetitious words? Varying lengths of sentences? Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next? Any spelling or grammatical errors?
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Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation? Are all my citations accurate and in the correct format? Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of "don't"? Did I use third person as much as possible? Avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose“ Have I made my points clear and interesting but remained objective? Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?
8. Type your final draft Manuscripts that are successfully submitted to a journal for publication have three main components -A fresh robust idea, Efficient execution of the work, and Systematic presentation of the work. It is important to present your work in a research paper format. Non- Native speakers can seek help from research paper editing companies for formatting their manuscript as per target journal.