Parts of a Research Paper

Cards (19)

  • Title
    • summarizes the main idea of the study
    • contains the fewest possible words needed to adequately describe the content of the research paper 
  • Rationale
    • contains the brief yet concise background of the study
    • contains the reason for conducting the study
    • answers the need for conducting the research
    • justifies the significance and novelty (something new or unusual) of the study
  • Theoretical background
    • section upon which the research is anchored
    • introduces and describes the theory or theories that explains why the research problems under study exists
    • demonstrates an understanding of theories and concepts relevant to the topic of the research
    • helps the researcher generalize various aspects of observed phenomenon from simply describing it
  • Review of Related Literature
    • knowledge and findings from existing scholarly, and relevant sources, and publications or studies related to the researcher's chosen topic.
  • State of the Problem
    • enables the researcher to draft the most appropriate research design, the most fitting method, and the most appropriate treatment for the collected data
    • often called the controversy, the main concern, the general prevailing issue
    • where the research questions that make the study more specific and measurable are found.
  • Statement of Hypothesis
    • concentrates on the tentative explanation or an answer to a question about variables, their relationships, and other facts involved in research
    • contains the researcher's inference, proposal, or guess about factual things related to what he or she researches
  • Significance of the Study
    • statement that explains why the research is needed
    • justification of the importance of the research or study and its impact or contribution to new knowledge, and how others will benefit from the study.
  • Scope and Limitations of the Study
    • explains the extent which the research area will be explored in the work; specifies the parameters within which the study will be operating.
  • Limitations are the characteristics that limit the scope and describe the boundaries of the study, such as sample population, geographical location, or population traits.
  • Research design
    • general framework guiding a research project
    • established way or ways of approaching research questions, for example: qualitative or quantitative methods
    • specific outline detailing how the researcher's chosen method will be applied to answer a particular research question
    • allows the researcher to apply the necessary method to gather the necessary data.
  • Research Environment
    • also known as research locale
    • place where the study is conducted
  • Research Instrument
    • measurements tools (questionnaire, interviews or scales) designed to obtain data on a topic of interest from research subjects.
  • Research Procedure
    • steps or activities to be undertaken in order to achieve the objectives of the study
  • Definition of terms
    • section where the researcher assigns meaning to a construct or variable by specifying the activities or operations necessary to measure the construct or the variable
  • Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
    • section that contains the summary of the whole investigation, as well as the established conclusions based on the results of the study.
  • The recommendation is where the researcher makes suggestions about some resolutions as a response to the research problem. it must be consistent with the conclusion.
  • References
    • lists of all the sources the researcher used in the project so readers can easily find what has been cited.
  • APA (American Psychological Association) used in researches related with Education, Psychology, and Sciences.
  • MLA (Modern Language Association) used by the Humanities