This document provides guidance on writing articles for journals. It discusses the typical IMRaD structure of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections. The introduction section answers the question "why" by describing the problem, explaining why it is important, reviewing past work, and introducing how the current study differs. Methods explains "how" the study was conducted by describing the materials, participants, procedures, and statistical analyses. Results objectively reports the main findings without interpretation. Discussion interprets the results, explains their meaning and importance, discusses limitations, and suggests future work.

1. Penulisan Artikel
Jurnal
Prof. Dr. Md. Nasir Ibrahim
Post-doctoral, Sheffield Hallam University, UK
PhD, University of Tasmania, Australia
MA, McGill University, Canada
B.A. (Hons.), USM, Penang

2. Objectives
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2
3
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3. I
M
D
R
Title
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Abstract
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Referernces
What’s it about? (Brief, informative, and readily searchable
What’s it in the nutshell? (Follow the IMRaD logic and
highlight major findings.)
Why did you do it? (The problem, significance, known,
unknown, and your research questions/hypotheses/objectives
How did you do it? (Not only methods used, but also
justifications for using them). Where did you do it? (Why
here? Relevance to your study?)
Respondent/Subject/Informant/ Participant selected. Type of
analysis?
What did you find? (Summarise findings with headings and
informative figures, don’t discuss, don’t interpret!)
What does it mean, and so what? (Results explained?
Objectives achieved? Limitations? Implications for future
research and application?). Provide interpretations.
What are your major findings and their significance? (Don’t
simply repeat what has been said in Discussion. This may be
part of Discussion.)
Appreciation to the grand/fund giver or lecturer/s
Adopt style of formatting specified by the journal publisher.
Diagrammatic
Representation of
the IMRaD
Structure
Your
Study
Beyond
Your
Study
Beyond
Your
Study

4. 1
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3
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Organology of an article
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Many journals expect the traditional format, known as the IMRaD format (Introduction, Materials and
methods, Results, and Discussion).
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Answers the question W-H-Y.
Interpret the results in detail and
draw out their implications.
Answers the question H-O-W. The materials
and methods section describes what you did
and how you did that.
Report the main findings of your
research. Objectively reported.

5. INTRODUCTION

6. Introduction
6
The introduction answers the question W-H-Y.
1. Describe the problem to solve.
2. Explain why that problem is important.
3. Review what has been done so far to
solve the problem.
4. Introduce the study by pointing out what is
different about it compared to past
research.

7. Example of an Introduction
Natalie LeBlancSara Florence DavidsonJee Yeon RyuRita L.
IrwinRita L. Irwin (2015). Becoming through a/r/tography,
autobiography and stories in motion, International Journal of
Education through Art 11(3)
DOI: 10.1386/eta.11.3.355_1
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A/r/tography is a practice of living enquiry that
combines life-writing with life-creating. It
promotes artistic enquiry as an aesthetic
awareness, one that is open to wonder while
trusting uncertainty. Through attention to
memory, identity, autobiography, reflection,
meditation, storytelling and cultural production,
artists/researchers/teachers/learners expose their
living practices in both evocative and
provocative ways (Irwin 2013).
Describing the problem to solve

8. Example of an Introduction
Natalie LeBlancSara Florence DavidsonJee Yeon RyuRita L.
IrwinRita L. Irwin (2015). Becoming through a/r/tography,
autobiography and stories in motion, International Journal of
Education through Art 11(3)
DOI: 10.1386/eta.11.3.355_1
8
Springgay et al. note that a/r/tography
is an ‘inquiring process that lingers in
the liminal spaces between a (artist),
and r (researcher), and t (teacher)’,
thereby becoming a fluid form of
enquiry that is created through a
rigorous and continuous form of
reflexivity and analysis (2005: 902).
Reviewing what has been
done

9. 9
Utilizing the concept of métissage (see also Irwin
& de Cosson 2004), this article depicts how
a/r/tography not only weaves these (and possible
other) identities together, but also interweaves
theory, practice and poesis, allowing deeper
understandings to emerge over time. It also
demonstrates how a/r/tographers engage in their
own becoming while being in communities of
enquiry where stories are perpetually in motion,
weaving through one another to enlarge, disrupt
and enrich our understandings. In creating our
autobiographies as métissage, we reflect upon
moments of becoming in the presence of one
another: stories of motion in which pedagogical
significance emerges.
Comparing to past research.

10. 10
In a recent article entitled ‘Becoming a/r/tography’, Rita
Irwin describes how her attention has shifted from what an
art education practice might mean to exploring what art
education, as a ‘practice set in motion’ (2013: 198), might
do. This article attempts to enact a practice set in
motion. Utilizing métissage as an artful weaving of
relations (Hasebe-Ludt et al. 2008), we weave together
three narratives, each one recounting the experience of
engaging in an a/r/tographical project in order to explore
how a/r/tography, as a practice-based form of research,
allows important autobiographical explorations with
pedagogical implications. These narratives are supported
by Rita’s contributions initially as an instructor of the
course that led to some of these narratives and later as a
member of a community of enquiry.

11. 11
Becoming a/r/tography may be
witnessed by what an art education
practice set in motion does: it is
always in a state of becoming-
intensity, becoming-event and
becoming-movement. Each of these
practices is evident in our métissage.
After all, becoming-intensity is about
the capacity to affect and be affected
by learning to learn, while
becoming-event is enacted through
the rhizome in which ‘affect
resonates, reverberates, echoes
across time and space within and
beyond the event’ (Irwin 2013: 207).

12. 12
Finally, becoming-movement exemplifies a ‘potentiality
for a plurality of problems’ (Irwin 2013). Each of these
is evident in the métissage enacted here because
becoming is an emergent immersive process that exists
in the liminal multiple lines of flight and multiple
encounters that encourage experimentation and
improvisation. As an emergent process, what happens
when we attend to what our stories contribute? ‘There
can be no being a/r/tography without processes of
becoming-a/r/tography’ (Irwin 2013: 200). What Irwin
refers to as ‘a dynamic process of knowing [that] is
performed across three moments of becoming, one
un/folding into the other, blurring the boundaries of
each’ (2013: 200). This text is a weaving of three
individual stories becoming a/r/tography through
becoming-artist, becoming-researcher and becoming-
teacher.

13. Data and
methods

14. • On what kind of information or
material are you basing your
findings (e.g., interviews,
statistics, documents)?
• explain the rationale behind your
choices of that particular
experiment
• To help the readers follow the study
design or methodology better, visual
elements like the schematic
diagram, flowchart, and table can be
used in this section. They help in
breaking the monotony and making
the absorption of complex
information easy.
• What software or analytic strategies
did you use to come up with your
findings?
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Data and methods
How do you know what you know?

15. Tis section describes
what you did and how
y o u d i d t h a t
TIPS
1. Using past tense to describe your actions.
2. Begin with the choice of the materials. For
example, in agricultural research, it is common
to describe the crop and the specific variety or
hybrid that you chose, as well as the kind and
amount of fertilizers used, pesticides applied (if
any), and so on, as in “The rice variety IR 8 was
chosen for the experiment” or “For the analysis,
ripe fruits of the following six apple varieties
were chosen.”

16. Utilize the Methods
section only to mention
the details of the
methods you chose.
Material &
Method
For e.g. in quantitative method,
describe what the “treatments” were
and how you arranged for appropriate
“controls” so that valid comparisons
can be made between these two sets.

17. You should generally
include:
Material &
Method
1. The overall approach and type of research (e.g.
qualitative, quantitative, experimental,
ethnographic)
2. Methods of collecting data (e.g. interviews, surveys)
3. Details of where, when, and with whom the
research took place
4. Methods of analyzing data (e.g. statistical analysis,
discourse analysis)
5. A discussion of any obstacles faced in conducting
the research and how you overcame them
6. An evaluation or justification of your methods
Your aim is to accurately
report what you did, as well
as convincing the reader that
this was the best approach to
answering your research
questions or objectives.

18. Literature
search
Material &
Method
Authors should cite any sources that helped with
their choice of methods. Authors should indicate
timeframes of past studies and their particular
parameters.

19. S t u d y
participants
Material &
Method
Provide the characteristics, such as geographical
location; their age ranges, sex, and the number of
subjects. Authors should also state that written
informed consent was provided by each subject.
Inclusion/exclusion criteria: Authors should
describe their inclusion and exclusion criteria, how
they were determined, and how many subjects
were eliminated.

20. S t u d y
participants
Material &
Method
Describe how the chosen
group was divided into
subgroups and their
characteristics. Authors should
also describe any specific
equipment used, such as
software or new invention.

21. Procedures
Material &
Method
Describe study design. Any necessary
preparations (e.g., canting, wax, rosin)
and instruments must be explained.
Authors should describe how the subjects
were “manipulated to answer the
experimental question.” Timeframes
should be included to ensure that the
procedures are clear (e.g., “Students
were given training for 14 days”).

22. Statistical
a n a l y s e s
Material &
Method
The type of data, how they were
measured, and which statistical
tests were performed, should be
described. (Note: This is not the
“results” section; any relevant
tables and figures should be
referenced later.) Specific software
used must be cited.

23. RESULTS

24. W h a t ’ s
R e s u l t s
S e c t i o n
RESULTS
The results chapter or
section simply and
objectively reports what you
found, without speculating on
why you found these results.

25. You can structure this section
around sub-questions,
hypotheses, or themes.
25

26. 26
Two types
Quantitative
Research
Qualitative
Research
• In quantitative and experimental research,
the results should be presented separately
before you discuss their meaning.
• In qualitative methods like ethnography,
the presentation of the data will often be
woven together with discussion and
analysis.

27. 1. Concisely state each relevant result,
including relevant descriptive statistics (e.g.
means, standard deviations) and inferential
statistics (e.g. test statistics, p-values).
2. Briefly state how the result relates to the
question or whether the hypothesis was
supported.
3. Include tables and figures if they help the
reader understand your results.
4. Report all results that are relevant to your
research questions, including any that did
not meet your expectations.
5. Don’t include subjective interpretations or
speculation.
27

28. DISCUSSIONS
The discussion interprets the meaning of
the results, puts them in context, and
explains why they matter.

29. 29
When presenting your data, think first about
your results, and what those data mean.
Remember to only use figures to illustrate
your most important points (no padding!), and
to match figures appropriately to your data
set.
Results are written in the past tense;
discussion points are often addressed in the
present tense—a simple rule is to use past
tense whenever describing past experimental
action.
The most intellectually important part of your paper.

30. MEANING,
IMPORTANCE &
RELEVANCE OF RESULTS
30
 Focus on explaining and evaluating what you found,
showing how it relates to your literature review and
research questions, and making an argument in
support of your overall conclusion.
Examples
 The results indicate that…
 The study demonstrates a correlation between…
 This analysis supports the theory that…
 The data suggests that…
Prof. Dr. Nasir | UPSI 30

31. There are many different ways to write this section, but you can focus
your discussion around four key elements:
1
What do the results mean?
2
Why do the results matter?
3
What can’t the results tell us?
31
4
What practical actions or scientific studies should follow?
The discussion section is where you
delve into the meaning, importance
and relevance of your results.

32. 32
What do the results mean?
Identifying Discussing ConsideringExplainingContextualizing
The form of your interpretations will depend on the type of research, but some typical approaches to
interpreting the data include Identifying, Discussing, Contextualizing, Explaining, and Considering. You can
organize your discussion around key themes, hypotheses or research questions, following the same
structure as your results section. You can also begin by highlighting the most significant or unexpected
results.
Identify
correlations,
patterns and
relationships
among the data
Discuss whether
the results met
your
expectations or
supported your
hypotheses
Contextualize
your findings
within previous
research and
theory
Explain
unexpected
results and
evaluating their
significance
Consider
possible
alternative
explanations
and making an
argument for
your position

33. Examples
• In line with the hypothesis…
• Contrary to the hypothesized association…
• The results contradict the claims of Smith
(2007) that…
• The results might suggest that X. However,
based on the findings of similar studies, a
more plausible explanation is Y.
33
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 1999Sage Publications, 2004
Dr. Klaus H. Krippendorff

34. Ask yourself these questions:
1 Do your results agree with previous
research? If so, what do they add to it?
2 Are your findings very different from other
studies? If so, why might this be?
3 Do the results support or challenge
existing theories?
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4 Are there any practical
implications?
Your overall aim is to show
the reader exactly what your
research has contributed and
why they should care.

35. Examples of implications
• These results build on existing evidence of…
• The results do not fit with the theory that…
• The experiment provides a new insight into the relationship between…
• These results should be taken into account when considering how to…
• The data contributes a clearer understanding of…
• While previous research has focused on X, these results demonstrate that Y. Examples
• These results build on existing evidence of…
• The results do not fit with the theory that…
• The experiment provides a new insight into the relationship between…
• These results should be taken into account when considering how to…
• The data contributes a clearer understanding of…
• While previous research has focused on X, these results demonstrate that Y.
30

36. Limitations
36
Even the best research has some limitations, and
acknowledging these is important to demonstrate your
credibility.
Limitations aren’t about listing your errors, but about
providing an accurate picture of what can and cannot be
concluded from your study.
Acknowleding Limitations

37. Limitations
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Factors related to limitations: Research Design, Specific methodological choices or unanticipated
obstacles that emerged during the research process.
research design
You should only mention limitations that are
directly relevant to your research objectives, and
evaluate how much impact they had on
achieving the aims of the research.
Specific methodological choices
If you encountered problems when gathering or
analyzing data, explain how these influenced the
results. If there are potential confounding variables
that you were unable to control, acknowledge the
effect these may have had.

38. 38
Examples
 The generalizability of the results is limited by…
 The reliability of this data is impacted by…
 Due to the lack of data on X, the results cannot
confirm…
 The methodological choices were constrained
by…
 It is beyond the scope of this study to…Title: Handbook of narrative
inquiry : mapping a
methodology
Author(s): D. Jean Clandinin
Publisher: Sage
Year: 2007

39. DISCUSSIONS

40. 40
Based on the discussion of your results
Practical
Implementation and
Examples What to leave out
 Suggestions for
further research can
lead directly from
the limitations.
 Don’t just state that
more studies should
be done – give
concrete ideas for
how future work can
build on areas that
your own research
was unable to
address.
 Further research is
needed to
establish…
 Future studies
should take into
account…
 Don’t introduce new results--
you should only discuss the
data that you have already
reported in the results
chapter.
 Don’t make inflated claims –
avoid over interpretation and
speculation that isn’t
supported by your data.
 Don’t undermine your
research – the discussion of
limitations should aim to
strengthen your credibility,
not emphasize weaknesses
or failures.

41. Checklist:
 Concisely summarized the most important findings.
 Discussed and interpreted the results in relation to
research questions.
 Cited relevant literature to show how my results fit in.
 Clearly explained the significance of my results.
 If relevant, considered alternative explanations of the
results.
 Stated the practical and/or theoretical implications of
results.
 Acknowledged and evaluated the limitations of research.
 Made relevant recommendations for further research or
action. 41

42. Example of
a r t i c l e s
Writing
an article
Prof. Dr. Nasir | UPSI

43. 43
Conclusion
Three purposes:
Previous Work Finding Gap Contributions
1. Trace previous
work on the subject
and set up the
problem.
2. Identify how your
paper addresses a
problem, explaining
what you do to
address the gaps of
literature or problem
of the paper.
3. Note the broader
contributions and
implications of the
piece. The
contributions can be
theoretical, empirical
and/or policy
relevant, although
often the papers
published in top
journals have all three.

45. Faculty of Art, Computing and Creative Industry,
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris,
35900 Tanjong Malim, Perak,
MALAYSIA
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