V research papers

5.1. Research papers planning and writing

Although there are recommended steps in writing a research paper, the process itself is rarely that neat, rather it is recursive (C.A.Hult 1995, T.H.Miles 1989). The following list is to be understood as only a flexible guide:

1) discovering, narrowing, and focusing a researchable topic - try to find a topic that truly interests you, pose a question to be answered or a problem to be solved;

2) finding, selecting, and reading sources - you will need to look at all avail­able types of sources;

3) grouping, sequencing, and documenting information - adopt a system that will keep your research material organised and easily accessible;

4) writing an outline and a prospectus - consider the following questions: what is the topic, why is it significant, what background material is relevant, what is my thesis or purpose statement, what organisational plan will best support my purpose;

5) writing the introduction - in the introduction you need to present relevant background or contextual material, define terms or concepts when neces­sary, explain the focus of the paper and your specific purpose, state your plan of organisation;

6) writing the body - build your text around points you want to make, inte­grate your sources into your discussion, summarise, analyse, explain, evalu­ate published work rather than merely report it, move up and down the "lad­der of abstraction" from generalisation to varying levels of detail back to generalisation;

7) writing the conclusion - if the argument or point of your paper is com­plex, summary is a very important part of your work. Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration that returns the topic to the context pro­vided by the introduction. Perhaps suggest what about this topic needs fur­ther research;

8) revising the final draft - check overall organisation: logical flow of intro­duction, coherence and depth of discussion in body, effectiveness of conclu­sion. Paragraph level concerns topic sentences, sequence of ideas within paragraphs, use of details to support generalisations, summary sentences where necessary, use of transitions within and between paragraphs. Sen­tence level concerns sentence structure, word choices, punctuation, spelling. Documentation relates to consistent use of one system, citation of all mate­rial not considered common knowledge, appropriate use of endnotes or footnotes, accuracy of list of works cited.

5.1.1. Note on style

To make a paper readable you should:

- Print or type using a 12 point standard font, such as Times, Helvetica, etc.

- Text should be double spaced with margins.

- Number pages consecutively.

- Start each new section on a new page.

- Adhere to recommended page limits.

You should avoid:

- Placing a heading at the bottom of a page with the following text on the next page (insert a page break!).

- Dividing a table or figure - confine each figure/table to a single page.

In all sections of your paper you need to:

- Stay focused on the research topic of the paper.

- Use paragraphs to separate each important point (except for the ab­stract).

- Present your points in logical order.

- Use present tense to report well accepted facts.

- Use past tense to describe specific results.

- Avoid informal wording, addressing the reader directly, using jar­gon, slang terms, or superlatives.

- Avoid use of superfluous pictures - include only those figures nec­essary for presenting results.

- Clearly define technical terms that you use. Refer to a document where the definition is found. All terms are to be used consis­tently throughout the whole thesis.

- Acronyms (abbreviations) shall be spelled out upon the first time they ap­pear in the thesis. It is furthermore recommended to have a list of the used acronyms attached in the appendix of the thesis.

- Check spelling, clarity of sentences and phrases, and proper report­ing of quantities (proper units, significant figures).