A research paper is an exposition that investigates what other scholars think or opine about a particular topic of interest. It requires a critical analysis of both primary and secondary sources to formulate a unique perspective about the research topic. Then, the defined perspective is to be invalidated or supported through quantitative and qualitative methods. A research paper ought to have a succinct thesis statement that glues together all the ideas and postulations made by the scholar or writer. Below is the outline for a research paper.
I) Abstract
The abstract typically summarizes five elements : Problem statement, research purpose, methods used, results, and conclusion.
II) Introduction
The introduction includes a problem statement, purpose statement, significance of study, research questions, research hypotheses, and summary of paper structure.
II) Literature Review
This involves a critical appraisal of previous scholarly works in order to formulate a theoretical framework of the study. in this section, only academic sources should to referred to, mostly peer-reviewed journals and books. Discussions under this section should be organized chronologically based on common themes.
III) Methods
This is where the overall research design is discussed and justified, accompanied by detailed account of the sampling method used, procedure used, and data analysis techniques employed (e.g. descriptive and inferential statistics.)
IV) Results
This section presents the most relevant findings that emerged from the data analysis. At this point, no discussion or interpretation of the results is attempted.
V) Discussion and Conclusion
This is the section that unfolds findings in the context of the theoretical framework established in the literature review section. Additionally, the importance and implications of results are discussed, and potential room for future research is recommend here.
