8/2/2016

HowtoWriteaResearchPaper(withSampleResearchPapers)

HowtoWriteaResearchPaper
FiveMethods:

ChoosingYourTopic

Researching

MakinganOutline

WritingYourPaper

SampleResearchPapersandOutlines

Whenstudyingathigherlevelsofschoolandthroughoutcollege,youwilllikelybeaskedtoprepareresearchpapers.A
researchpapercanbeusedforexploringandidentifyingscientific,technicalandsocialissues.Ifit'syourfirsttimewritinga
researchpaper,itmayseemdaunting,butwithgoodorganizationandfocusofmind,youcanmaketheprocesseasieron
yourself.Thepaperwon'twriteitself,butyoucanplanandpreparewellsothatthewritingpracticallyfallsintoplace.

Method

ChoosingYourTopic

Askyourselfimportantquestions.Althoughyoumaybelimitedbyspecificclassroomorworkrelated
guidelines,choosingyourtopicisthefirstandmostimportantstepinyourresearchpaperproject.Regardlessof
whetheryourtopiccanbeanythingyouwantorhasrigidrequirements,itisimportanttokeepafewquestionsinmind:
Isthereenoughresearchavailableonthistopic?IsthetopicnewanduniqueenoughthatIcanofferfreshopinions?Is
itpertinenttomyclass/occupation?

Picksomethingyoulove.Wheneverpossible,chooseatopicthatyoufeelpassionateabout.Writingabout
somethingyouenjoycertainlyshowsinthefinalproduct,makingitmorelikelythatyouwillbesuccessfulwritinga
paperaboutsomethingyouenjoy.

Stayoriginal.Ifyouarewritingaresearchpaperforaclass,considertheotherstudents.Isitlikelythattheywill
alsobewritingaboutyourtopic?Howcanyoukeepyourpaperuniqueandinterestingifeveryoneiswritingabout
thesamething?

Getadvice.Ifyouarestrugglingtocomeupwithatopicthatfeelsjustright,askyourprofessoror
coworkers/classmatesforadvice.Theywilllikelyhavegreatideasthat,eveniftheyarentoptionsforyouto
choose,caninspireyouwithnewideas.Askingaprofessorforhelpmayseemfrightening,butiftheyareworth
anythingasaprofessor,theywantyoutobesuccessfulwithyourwork,andwilldowhattheycantomakethathappen.

Dontbeafraidtochangeyourtopic.Ifyouchooseatopic,beginresearching,andrealizethatitisnttheright
decisionforyouforsomereason,dontfret!Althoughitrequiresabitmoretime,youhavetheabilitytochange
yourtopicevenafteryoubeginresearchingothers.

Method

Researching

Beginyourresearch.Withatopicselected,thenextstepistobeginresearch.Researchcomesinnumerous
formsincludingwebpages,journalarticles,books,encyclopedias,interviews,andblogposts,amongothers.Take
timetolookforprofessionalresourceswhooffervalidresearchandinsightintoyourtopic.Trytouseaminimumoffive
sourcestovaryyourinformationneverrelyononly12sources.[1]

Lookforempiricalresearch.Wheneverpossible,lookforpeerreviewedempiricalresearch.Thesearearticles
orbookswrittenbyexpertsinyourfieldofinterest,whoseworkhasbeenreadandvouchedforbyotherexperts
inthesamefield.Thesecanbefoundinscientificjournalsorviaanonlinesearch.

Visitthelibrary.Takeatriptoyourlocallibraryoruniversitylibrary.Althoughitmayseemoldfashioned,libraries
arechockfullofhelpfulresearchmaterialsfrombookstonewspapersandmagazinestojournals..Dontbeafraid
toaskthelibrarianforhelpeithertheyaretrainedinresearchandknowwhereeverythingaboutyourtopicislocated.

Lookonline.Usingasearchengineandpickingthetopthreeresultsisntnecessarilythebestmethodof
researchingusecriticalthinkingtothoroughlyreadeverysourceanddetermineifitislegitimate.Websites,blogs,
andforumsonlinearentrequiredtopublishfactsonly,somakesurethattheinformationyoufindistrustworthy.
Typically,websitesthatendwith.edu,.gov,or.orgcontaininformationthatissafetouse.Thatisbecause
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thesewebsitesbelongtoschools,thegovernment,ororganizationsdealingwithyourtopic.
Trychangingyoursearchqueryoftentofinddifferentsearchresultsforyourtopic.Ifnothingseemstobe
comingup,itcouldjustbethatyoursearchqueryisntmatchedwellwiththetitlesofmostarticlesdealingwith
yoursubject.

Useacademicdatabases.Therearespecialsearchenginesandacademicdatabasesavailablethatsearch
throughthousandsofpeerreviewedorscientificallypublishedjournals,magazines,andbooks.Althoughmanyof
theserequireapaidmembershiptouse,ifyouareacurrentstudentincollegeyouhavefreeaccessthroughyour
universitysmembership.
Lookfordatabasesthatcoveryoursubjectonly.Forexample,PsycINFOisanacademicdatabasethatholds
nothingbutworksdonebyauthorsinthefieldofpsychologyandsociology.Thiswillhelpyoutogetamore
tailoredresultsthanaverygeneralsearchwould.[2]
Mostacademicdatabasesgiveyoutheabilitytoaskforveryspecificinformationbypresentingmultiplesearch
queryboxesaswellasarchivescontainingonlyasingletypeofresource(suchasonlyjournalarticlesoronly
newspapers).Takeadvantageofthisabilitytoaskforspecificinformationbyusingasmanyofthequeryboxes
asyoucan.
Visityourschoollibraryandaskthelibrarianforafulllistoftheacademicdatabasestheysubscribeto,aswell
asthepasswordsforeach.

Getcreativewithyourresearch.Ifyoufindonereallyawesomebookorjournalthatfitsyourtopicperfectly,try
lookingintheworkscited/bibliography/referencelistattheendofit.Thisshouldcontainmanymorebooksand
journalsthatareaboutyourtopicaswell.

Method

MakinganOutline

Annotateyourresearch.Onceyouvegatheredallyourresearch,printitout(ifitisanonlinesource)andgather
postitsoranythingyouneedtomarknotesinthebooks/magazinesyouareusing.Thisstepisveryimportant:
readthroughyourresearch,takenotesonwhatyouthinkisimportant,andhighlightkeyfactsandphrases.Write
directlyoncopiesyouvemade,oruseslipsofpapertuckedintopagestomarkplacesofimportance.[3]
Doathoroughjobannotatingtomakeyouroutliningandpaperwritingeasierintheend.Makemarkson
anythingthatyouthinkmightberemotelyimportantorthatcouldbeputtouseinyourpaper.
Asyoumarkoffimportantpiecesintheresearch,addyourowncommentaryandnotesexplainingtoyourself
whereyoumightuseitinyourpaper.Writingdownyourideasasyouhavethemwillmakewritingyourpaper
mucheasierandgiveyousomethingtoreferbackto.

Organizeyournotes.Annotatingyourresearchcantakequiteabitoftime,butneedstobetakenonestep
furtherinordertoaddabitmoreclarityfortheoutliningprocess.Organizeyournotesbycollectingallofyour
highlightedphrasesandideasintocategoriesbasedontopic.Forexample,ifyouarewritingapaperanalyzinga
famousworkofliterature,youcouldorganizeyourresearchintoalistofnotesonthecharacters,alistofreferencesto
certainpointsintheplot,alistofsymbolstheauthorpresents,etcetera.
Trywritingeachquoteoritemthatyoumarkedontoanindividualnotecard.Thatway,youcanrearrangeand
layoutyourcardshoweveryouwouldlike.
Colorcodeyournotestomakeiteasier.Writedownalistofallthenotesyouareusingfromeachindividual
resource,andthenhighlighteachcategoryofinformationinadifferentcolor.Forexample,writeeverything
fromaparticularbookorjournalonasinglesheetofpaperinordertoconsolidatethenotes,andthen
everythingthatisrelatedtocharactershighlightingreen,everythingrelatedtotheplotmarkinorange,et
cetera.

Constructapreliminarybibliography/referencespage.Asyougothroughyournotes,markdowntheauthor,
pagenumber,title,andpublishinginformationforeachresource.Thiswillcomeinhandywhenyoucraftyour
bibliographyorworkscitedpagelaterinthegame.

Identifythegoalofthepaper.Generally,speaking,therearetwotypesofresearchpaper:anargumentative
researchpaperorananalyticresearchpaper.Eachrequiresaslightlydifferentfocusandwritingstylewhich
shouldbeidentifiedpriortostartingaroughdraft.
Anargumentativeresearchpapertakesapositiononacontentiousissueandarguesforonepointofview.The
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issueshouldbedebatablewithalogicalcounterargument.
Ananalyticresearchpaperoffersafreshlookatanimportantissue.Thesubjectmaynotbecontroversial,but
youmustattempttopersuadeyouraudiencethatyourideashavemerit.Thisisnotsimplyaregurgitationof
ideasfromyourresearch,butanofferingofyourownuniqueideasbasedoffofwhatyouhavelearnedthrough
research.

Determineyouraudience.Whowouldbereadingthispaper,shoulditbepublished?Althoughyouwanttowrite
foryourprofessororothersuperior,itisimportantthatthetoneandfocusofyourpaperreflecttheaudiencewho
willbereadingit.Ifyourewritingforacademicpeers,thentheinformationyouincludeshouldreflecttheinformation
youalreadyknowyoudontneedtoexplainbasicideasortheories.Ontheotherhand,ifyouarewritingforan
audiencewhodoesntknowmuchaboutyoursubject,itwillbeimportanttoincludeexplanationsandexamplesofmore
fundamentalideasandtheoriesrelatedtoyourresearch.[4]

Developyourthesis.Thethesisstatementisa12sentencestatementatthebeginningofyourpaperthatstates
themaingoalorargumentofyourpaper.Althoughyoucanalterthewordingofyourthesisstatementforthefinal
draftlater,comingupwiththemaingoalofyouressaymustbedoneinthebeginning.Allofyourbodyparagraphsand
informationwillrevolvearoundyourthesis,somakesurethatyouareclearonwhatyourthesisis.[5]
Aneasywaytodevelopyourthesisistomakeitintoaquestionthatyouressaywillanswer.Whatisthe
primaryquestionorhypothesisthatyouaregoingtogoaboutprovinginyourpaper?Forexample,yourthesis
questionmightbehowdoesculturalacceptancechangethesuccessoftreatmentformentalillness?Thiscan
thendeterminewhatyourthesisiswhateveryouranswertothequestionis,isyourthesisstatement.
Yourthesisshouldexpressthemainideaofyourpaperwithoutlistingallofyourreasonsoroutliningyour
entirepaper.Itshouldbeasimplestatement,ratherthanalistofsupportthatswhattherestofyourpaperis
for!

Determineyourmainpoints.Thebodyofyouressaywillrevolvearoundtheideasthatyoujudgetobemost
important.Gothroughyourresearchandannotationstodeterminewhatpointsarethemostpivotalinyour
argumentorpresentationofinformation.Whatideascanyouwritewholeparagraphsabout?Whichideastoyouhave
plentyoffirmfactsandresearchtobackwithevidence?Writeyourmainpointsdownonpaper,andthenorganizethe
relatedresearchundereach.
Whenyououtlineyourmainideas,puttingtheminaspecificorderisimportant.Placeyourstrongestpointsat
thebeginningandendofyouressay,withmoremediocrepointsplacedinthemiddleorneartheendofyour
essay.
Asinglemainpointdoesnthavetobekepttoasingleparagraph,especiallyifyouarewritingarelativelylong
researchpaper.Mainideascanbespreadoutoverasmanyparagraphsasyoudeemnecessary.

Considerformattingguidelines.Dependingonyourpaperrubric,classguidelines,orformattingguidelines,you
mayhavetoorganizeyourpaperinaspecificway.Forexample,whenwritinginAPAformatyoumustorganize
yourpaperbyheadingsincludingtheintroduction,methods,results,anddiscussion.Theseguidelineswillaltertheway
youcraftyouroutlineandfinalpaper.[6]

Finalizeyouroutline.Withtheaforementionedtipstakenintoconsideration,organizeyourentireoutline.Justify
mainpointstotheleft,andindentsubsectionsandnotesfromyourresearchbeloweach.Theoutlineshouldbean
overviewofyourentirepaperinbulletpoints.Makesuretoincludeintextcitationsattheendofeachpoint,sothatyou
donthavetoconstantlyreferbacktoyourresearchwhenwritingyourfinalpaper.

Method

WritingYourPaper

Writeyourbodyparagraphs.Althoughitmayseemcounterintuitive,writingyourintroductionfirstmaybemore
difficulttoaccomplishthanstartingwiththemeatofyourpaper.Startingbywritingthemainpoints(focusingon
supportingyourthesis)allowsyoutoslightlychangeandmanipulateyourideasandcommentary.
Supporteverystatementyoumakewithevidence.Becausethisisaresearchpaper,thereshouldntbeany
remarksthatyoumakethatcannotbesupportedbyfactsdirectlyfromyourresearch.
Supplyampleexplanationsforyourresearch.Theoppositeofstatingopinionswithoutfacts,isstatingfactswith
nocommentary.Althoughyoucertainlywanttopresentplentyofevidence,makesurethatyourpaperis
uniquelyyourownbyaddingcommentaryinwheneverpossible.
Avoidusingmanylong,directquotes.Althoughyourpaperisbasedonresearch,thepointisforyoutopresent
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yourownideas.Unlessthequoteyouintendonusingisabsolutelynecessary,tryparaphrasingandanalyzing
itinyourownwordsinstead.
Useclearseguesintoadjacentpointsinyourpaper.Youressayshouldflowwell,ratherthanstoppingand
startinginabluntfashion.Makesurethateachofyourbodyparagraphsflowsnicelyintotheoneafterit.

Writetheconclusion.Nowthatyouhavecarefullyworkedthroughyourevidence,writeaconclusionthatbriefly
summarizesyourfindingsforthereaderandprovidesasenseofclosure.Startbybrieflyrestatingthethesis
statement,thenremindthereaderofthepointsyoucoveredoverthecourseofthepaper.Slowlyzoomoutofthetopic
asyouwrite,endingonabroadnotebyemphasizingthelargerimplicationofyourfindings.
Thegoaloftheconclusion,inverysimplifiedterms,istoanswerthequestion,Sowhat?Makesurethereader
feelslike(s)hescomeawaywithsomething.
Itsagoodideatowritetheconclusionbeforetheintroductionforseveralreasons.Firstofall,theconclusionis
easiertowritewhentheevidenceisstillfreshinyourmind.Ontopofthat,itsrecommendedthatyouuseup
yourmostchoicelanguageintheconclusionandthenrewordtheseideaslessstronglyintheintroduction,not
theotherwayaroundthiswillleaveamorelastingimpressiononthereader.

Writetheintroduction.Theintroductionis,inmanyrespects,theconclusionwritteninreverse:startbygenerally
introducingthelargertopic,thenorientthereaderintheareayouvefocusedon,andfinally,supplythethesis
statement.Avoidrepeatingexactphrasesthatyoualreadyusedintheconclusion.

Documentyourpaper.Allresearchessaysmustbedocumentedincertainwaysinordertoavoidplagiarism.
Dependingonthetopicofyourresearchandyourfieldofstudy,youwillhavetousedifferentstylesofformatting.
MLA,APA,andChicagoarethethreemostcommoncitationformatsanddeterminethewayintextcitationsor
footnotesshouldbeused,aswellastheorderofinformationinyourpaper.
MLAformatistypicallyusedforliteraryresearchpapersandusesaworkscitedpageattheend.Thisformat
requiresintextcitations.
APAformatisusedbyresearchersinthesocialsciencesfield,andrequiresintextcitationsaswell.Itendsthe
paperwithareferencespage,andmayalsohavesectionheadersbetweenbodyparagraphs.
Chicagoformattingisusedmainlyforhistoricalresearchpapersandusesfootnotesatthebottomofeachpage
ratherthanintextcitationsandaworkscitedorreferencespage.

Edityourroughdraft.Althoughitistemptingtosimplyreadoveryouressayandusethespellchecktool,editing
yourpapershouldbeabitmoreindepth.Haveatleastone,butpreferablytwoormore,person/peoplelookover
youressay.Havethemeditforbasicgrammaticalandspellingerrorsaswellasthepersuasivenessofyouressayand
theflowandformofyourpaper.
Ifyouedityourownpaper,waitatleastthreedaysbeforereturningtoit.Studiesshowthatyourwritingisstill
freshinyourmindfor23daysafterfinishing,andsoyouaremorelikelytoskimoverbasicmistakesthatyou
wouldotherwisecatch.
Dontignoreeditsbyothersjustbecausetheyrequireabitmorework.Iftheysuggestthatyourewriteasection
ofyourpaper,thereisprobablyavalidreasonfortheirrequest.Takethetimetoedityourpaperthoroughly.

Createthefinaldraft.Whenyouhaveeditedandreeditedyourpaper,formattedyourworkaccordingtothe
subjectmatter,andfinalizedallthemainpoints,youarereadytocreatethefinaldraft.Gothroughyourpaperand
fixallmistakes,rearranginginformationifnecessary.Adjustthefont,linespacing,andmarginstomeetthe
requirementssetbyyourprofessororprofession.Ifnecessary,createanintroductionpageandaworkscitedor
referencespagetobookendyourpaper.Thecompletionofthesetasksfinalizesyourpaper!Makesuretosavethe
paper(inmultipleplaces,forextrasecurity)andprintoutyourfinaldraft.

CommunityQ&A
Doesmakingaresearchpaperrequiremetoinventsomethingneworitisjustaboutgatheringinformation?

wikiHow
Contributor

Itcanbefortheboth,whetheryouinventsomethingnewtoimplementoryougathersomesortofdatabasedvaluable
informationandsynthesizeit.
NotHelpful

Helpful

16

WhataboutcanIwritefortheintroduction?
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wikiHow
Contributor

Theintroductionshouldsetoutwhatyouintendtodiscussandproveintheresearchpaper,andoutlinetheapproaches
pertopicorheadingsection.Itisalsonicetoopenthetopicandleadintoitinaninterestingwaythathelpsthereader
towanttoreadon.
NotHelpful

Helpful

15

HowdoImakeaquestionnaire?
SeeMakeaQuestionnaireforthemethodneeded.
wikiHow
Contributor

NotHelpful

Helpful

WherecanIgoforpublishingaresearchpaper?

wikiHow
Contributor

Youcanpublisharesearchpaperthroughestablishedjournalsoryoucanuseopensourceonlinepublishingsites,
suchasSSRNorResearchgate.Ifyourresearchpaperislongenough,youcouldalsopublishitasasmallbookoran
ebook,anddisseminateitviabooksalessitesandstores.
NotHelpful

Helpful

11

Doyouneedtonumberthesecondandthirdpages?
Ifyouarenumberingthepages,thenyes,thesecondandthirdpagesshouldbenumbered.
wikiHow
Contributor

NotHelpful

Helpful

Howdoweknowwhattopicisbetterthantheotherones?

wikiHow
Contributor

Tobehonestthereisnorulebookorasetofformulaswhichwillgiveyouthebestorbettertopic.Onceyouhavea
numberoftopicsinhandyouneedtoevaluateastowhichtopicinterestsyouandyouraudiencemore.
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Canyouanswerthesereaders'questions?

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Tips
Donotwaituntilthelastminutetodoso
Besuretogetyourassignmentsdoneontime.
Lookfortheimportantthemes,questionsandkeyissueswhenresearching.Trytohomeinonwhatyoureallywantto
exploreratherthanhavingtoomanybroadideasinthepaper.

SourcesandCitations
1.http://www.infoplease.com/homework/t3sourcesofinfo.html
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2.http://www.ebscohost.com/academic
3.http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/552/03/

Showmore...(3)

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