How to Write an Excellent Research Paper

Posted by paul walker on November 25th, 2022

Research papers play an important role in your higher educational career. They are a mandatory part of your course and they can be pretty nerve wracking if you don’t know how to deal with them. In this article, we will discuss about how to write a good research paper, by following the right structure and methods. As mentioned by PenMyPaper, the quality of your research paper largely depends on three different factors, which are: a) following the right structure b) use of valid methodology, and c) using credible sources. Let us now get into the details of writing the research paper.

Following the Structure

The structure of a research paper consists of different sections such as: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Data Analysis and Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation. Let us look at each one of them.

The Introduction

In the introduction section, you provide a brief, yet detailed information of your chosen topic. Its purpose is to familiarize the readers with the subject of your research work. It also helps them to follow what you have presented in your study. Apart from the background information, your Introduction section will also contain the Research Question and Research Objectives. These two sub sections are needed to high the goals of your research. You can also provide an optional sub section of Research Problems, which lights the current social or financial problems that you are trying to solve with your research work. 

The Literature Review  

The literature review covers the aggregation of past research findings, where you refer to the works of other researchers, who has conducted their study in the same field of interest. The experts at ManagementPaper agrees that the easiest way to find literatures is from journal articles, which can easily browse from Google Scholar. Make sure that the collected literatures are credible and are closely related to your work. The review of literatures presents a good idea about what has already been studied in the past, so that it gives a clear context of how your own study will add value to existing body of knowledge.  

The Research Methodology

The methodology of your research highlights the methods and processes of research that you have adopted to achieve your research objectives. This section mostly consists of the data collection and sampling procedures. However, if your institution asks for a full-length research methodology then you can use the Research Onion model. Based on this model, you research methodology can be broken in to the following sections such as: research philosophy, research approach, research choices, research strategy, time horizon, and data collection and sampling. 

Your research methodology should be closely aligned to your chosen research objectives. Always keep in mind that there are no “one rule fits all” approach when it comes to choosing your methodology. As long as you can justify your choice of methods for your study, it should be good enough. You just need to make sure that your chosen methods can seamlessly help in achieving your objectives.

The Data Analysis and Findings

The data collected for your research work needs to analyzed before it can be used to meet the research objectives and answer the research questions. Any data that you have collected needs to analyzed using proper methods such as regression or correlation, depending on your study. The analysis of your data yield usable information which can then be used to test your hypothesis. The hypothesis testing can be conducted by accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis which is formed from the research objectives. While working on your analysis and findings section, you need to make sure that you are able to properly utilize your collected data. 

The Conclusion and Recommendation

The conclusion section covers the gist of your findings. Make sure that you only highlight what you have learnt from the findings of your study. There should be no new information in the conclusion section. In the conclusion you can also add the prospects of future study and the limitations of your existing work. This should help future authors to work on areas that you have not been able to touch on.

The recommendations refer to the suggestions that you can provide based on what has been revealed in your study. The recommendations are usually targeted at a chosen social group, business ventures or the readers in general.  

Final Words

In order to improve the quality of your research paper, always use credible sources whenever needed. Avoid using blogs or Wikipedia, as they are not considered to be a valid source of information in academia. Always follow the given structure and when in doubt never hesitate to consult an expert such as EduHelpHub. All the best and share this article to whoever that may benefit from it.