This document provides guidance on structuring a scholarly research paper for a Master's project. It outlines the typical sections of a research paper, including an introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and references. The literature review summarizes and synthesizes previous research to provide context. The methods section describes how the study was conducted. The results section presents the findings without interpretation. The discussion section interprets the results and relates them back to the literature review.

1. MMC 6950_Fall B 2018 Professor Heather Radi-Bermudez
Structuring a Scholarly Research Paper (Project B) – GSC
Program
A Master’s Project B combines both primary and secondary
research. Primary
research means you are conducting your own study, experiment,
or investigation. The
information you are gaining is original with you. Secondary
research means you are
studying the works of others. The information comes from
published books, articles, and
other sources. In Project B, your secondary research is your
literature review, and your
primary research is described in your methods and your results.
PARTS OF A RESEARCH PAPER
1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Literature Review
5. Methods
6. Results
7. Discussion
8. References
9. Appendices (if applicable)

2. 1. Title Page (APA Style)
Select an academic-style title that previews the content of the
paper. Readers use such
academic titles to select articles and to get a quick sense of
what an article is about.
Academic titles can state the research question, summarize the
thesis or purpose, or be
written as a two-part title with a colon. The title page should
contain the title of the
paper, the author's name, and the institutional affiliation.
Include the page header flush
left with the page number flush right at the top of the page.
Please note that on the title
page, your page header should look like this-> Running head:
TITLE OF YOUR
PAPER. Type your title in upper and lowercase letters centered
in the upper half of the
page. APA recommends that your title be no more than 12
words in length and that it
should not contain abbreviations or words that serve no
purpose. Your title may take up
one or two lines. All text on the title page, and throughout your
paper, should be double-
spaced. Beneath the title, type the author's name: first name,
middle initial(s), and last
name. Beneath the author's name, type the institutional
affiliation, which should indicate
the location where the author(s) conducted the research. Please
look online for samples
of APA style title pages.
2. Abstract
This is a brief (75-120 words) comprehensive summary of the
paper, which allows the
reader to survey the contents of the paper quickly. The abstract
should address the

3. background, purpose of study (i.e. the research questions or
hypotheses), methods
used, results and conclusion. Model the abstract of your paper
after the abstracts of the
research articles you have read in peer reviewed journals.
3. Introduction
All documents must be able to stand on their own by including
an introduction to orient
MMC 6950_Fall B 2018 Professor Heather Radi-Bermudez
the reader. The purpose of the introduction is to establish a
context (general
background information), preview the content of the paper, and
frame the significance of
the research. You may tell why this problem has been a problem
or why you think this
particular slant or angle to the problem is important. You can
also mention what benefits
are to be gained from solving this problem or exploring this
topic from your perspective.
A well-written introduction provides a blueprint for the entire
paper.
4. Literature Review
The purpose of a literature review is to sketch the background
on the research problem
(hypotheses or research questions) and give readers a context to
show them the
present research inquiry fits into the scholarly conversation
currently ongoing in that
subject area. A literature review discusses published

4. information in a particular subject
area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area
within a certain time
period.
A literature review is not a simple summary of sources; rather,
it has an organizational
pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. It might give
a new interpretation of
old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it
might trace the intellectual
progression of the field, including major debates. The lit review
uses a general-to-
specific movement in its organization, establishing the thesis
and setting the context for
the research. The literature review supports the study
hypotheses or research
questions (RQs), and ends with a clear statement of the
hypotheses and/or RQs. The
rest of the paper will be organized around these hypotheses or
RQs.
Use subheadings to separate your literature into relevant
themes. Possible themes are:
discussion of general topics to frame the study (e.g. depictions
of minorities in music
videos, green advertising, etc.), discussion of specific variables
(e.g. brand loyalty,
consumer need for uniqueness, creativity, etc.), or discussion of
theories guiding the
research (e.g. social learning, diffusion of innovations,
elaboration likelihood model,
etc.). Remember that the focus of a literature review is to
summarize and synthesize
the arguments and ideas of others. There are no opinions in the
literature review, only a

5. synthesis of others’ work. The tone and style of your literature
review should be
modeled after the literature review sections of the peer-
reviewed research articles you
have read.
5. Methods
The methods section of your research paper describes in detail
how the study was
conducted. You must describe how you selected the sample for
your study. You should
include descriptions of any materials you used -- questionnaires,
code sheets, or
interview questions -- to generate data. This section also details
the procedures
involved in collecting and analyzing the data. This section is
written in past tense,
because when the final paper is written the study has been
completed. Typical
subheadings in a methods section include: Participants,
Measures and Procedures:
he
participants and
describes how the sample was selected.
Cites the source of
MMC 6950_Fall B 2018 Professor Heather Radi-Bermudez
each measure used and describes the measure completely.

6. conducted. Be very
clear and concise so that another researcher would know exactly
what to do in
order to replicate the study and obtain similar results. Clearly
describe the steps
involved in both data collection and data analysis.
6. Results
This section simply presents and reports your findings based on
the data you have
collected. How you present the results of your research depends
on what kind of
research you did, and whether your study tested hypotheses or
responded to research
questions. Quantitative information, data that can be measured,
can be presented
systematically and economically in tables, charts, and graphs.
Qualitative information,
which includes brief descriptions, explanations, or quotes, can
also be presented in
prose tables. This kind of descriptive or explanatory
information, however, is often
presented in paragraphs or even lists.
The results section should be organized by research question or
hypothesis. You
should include some commentary to explain to your reader what
your findings are and
how to read them, but do not include an evaluation or
interpretation of the data (that
belongs in the Discussion section).
There are specific conventions for creating tables, charts, and
graphs. In general, you

7. should use these only when you are sure they will help readers
understand the findings
– avoid tables and graphs that may confuse the reader. It is not
necessary to repeat
everything in the tables in an accompanying explanation.
Rather, the accompanying
text should explain to the reader what is contained in the tables,
without repeating it.
Always number your tables and figures, and refer to them by
number in the text. The
rule of thumb for presenting a table or graphic is to first
introduce it, show it, and then
explain it (without repeating all the information contained in
the table or graphic).
7. Discussion
Your discussion section should comment on what you have
learned from your research.
It should be organized so that it relates directly to your research
questions and
hypothesis, and related back to your literature review. You want
to avoid introducing
new ideas here or discussing tangential issues not directly
related to your study. This is
the only part of the research paper where personal opinion or
speculation beyond what
is in the data is allowed. This is your opportunity to elaborate
on the significance of your
research, and comment on how it fits into the current scholarly
conversation on your
topic. The discussion section typically includes “Limitations”
and “Recommendations.”
Under the “Recommendations” subheading, you may
recommend a course of action,
make a prediction, propose a solution to a problem, offer a

8. judgment, or speculate on
the implications and consequences of your ideas. The
limitations section comments on
any limitations of the study (and every study has them) that the
reader should consider
when assessing the validity of the findings. Do not end your
paper with limitations.
Wrap up the discussion section with a brief conclusion that
recaps the most important
findings and the contribution of the research.
MMC 6950_Fall B 2018 Professor Heather Radi-Bermudez
8. References
This section lists references to all secondary research
throughout the text. This list
must be organized alphabetically by author and formatted in
APA style. Citing your
references in the text and documenting them appropriately in
the reference is critical to
maintain academic integrity. The references page will list only
sources actually cited in
the paper.
9. Appendices
The appendix is the place to put a copy of the research
instrument, sample consent
forms, recruitment fliers, etc.