This document provides guidelines for writing a research paper. It outlines the key components of a research paper such as a thesis statement, textual evidence from sources, and a works cited list. It describes the three main steps of the research process as searching, reading, and writing. Important advice is given such as starting early and making multiple copies. Key steps like choosing a subject, finding a topic, and forming a hypothesis are explained. The document also provides formatting guidelines for page layout, headings, the title page, abstract, and references section.

1. Research Guidelines
By
Abas Mohamed Adawe
MSc.Health Economics
— A research paper presents and interprets information gathered through an extensive
study of a subject. An effective research paper contains all of the following:
1. A clearly stated thesis statement
2. Convincing textual evidence from a variety of outside sources, including
direct quotations whose sources are cited
3. A clear organization that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion
4. A works Cited list (References), or Bibliography, that provides a
complete listing of research sources.
— Although you may draw information and ideas from many sources, you are
encouraged to make judgment about the information you discover in the sources.
— The research process comes down to three essential operations.
1. Searching:
o You must search harder than most people realize for a good topic. It is
rare to find a topic merely by thinking about the matter. Then you must
learn how to find information
2. Reading:
o This operation involves more than understanding the materials you are
reading. You must learn how to recognize what information is likely to
be useful to your research goals.
3. Writing:
o Writing consists of organizing intelligently your ideas, and writing style.
— Advice:
o Start early
o Make more than one copy.
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2. Important Steps
— Choose a subject:
o Decide what question the research will answer.
o However, your thoughts first are likely to be very general, only indicating
the direction of your immediate interest.
o The subject must lead to a good topic – one that raises some questions that
have not been answered.
— Find a topic:
o Narrow your subject to a topic that can lead to answering some questions.
o Be prepared to demonstrate your ability to evaluate the information and
ideas that you discover to arrive at a clear well-thought conclusion, which
gives the reader something to think about.
o Once you believe you have a good topic, take time to do some background
reading in the subject area.
— Form a hypothesis:
o To put you in the right direction so you can reach the conclusion.
A hypothesis must be reasonable.
Prepare your list of sources:
o Survey Books, periodicals, internet, government and international
publications, and interviews, etc. These sources will be your bibliography.
o Skim the sources
o Evaluate potential sources
o Read the sources and take notes. There are three ways to take notes
ƒ Paraphrasing: Expressing another person’s idea in your own words.
This will lead to
i. fewer words than the original
ii. Increase understanding
ƒ Summarizing: Consist of a general idea that you have derived from
several details.
ƒ Quoting: If paraphrasing is longer, clumsier, or inaccurate than the
original, then it is better to quote:
i. For support
ii. For beauty and power.
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—

3. — Start writing
o Organize your note cards
o Construct the outline
Writing Format
— General Appearance
o Choose the right standard paper (A4 or letter).
o Type on just one side of each page.
o Font and size: Times New Roman, 12 points
o It is preferred to have all tables and charts in portrait style with Times New
Roman, 11 points
o Text should be double (or 1.5) spaced
o Skip one line between paragraphs.
o Paragraphs should not be indented.
o Start each new section on a new page
o Spacing: Top, bottom: 2.5 cm; right, left: 2.5 cm
o There are no set word limitations; however, I prefer under 5,000 words
(approximately 25 pages). These word counts include notes, references,
appendices, tables/figures/charts etc.
o Page Numbers: down, center, do not include the number in the title page.
—
— Mistakes to avoid
o Placing a heading at the bottom of a page with the following text on the
next page (insert a page break!)
o Dividing a table or figure - confine each figure/table to a single page
o Submitting a paper with pages out of order
o Avoid use of superfluous pictures - include only those figures necessary to
presenting results
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—
— Headings

4. o Major headings are to be centered in a bold font and in capital letter without
underline. They may be numbered, if so desired (which personally I don’t
Like).
o Insert one line above and below each major heading.
— Subheadings
o Subheadings should be in a bold font in lower case with initial capitals.
They should start at the left-hand margin on a separate line.
o Insert one line above but not below each subheading.
— Sub-subheadings (if necessary):
o Sub-subheadings are to be in a bold font. They should be indented and run
in at the beginning of the paragraph.
— Title Page:
o Title should be concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations and formulae.
(Bold, 16 points)
o Your name (Bold, 14 points)
o Your instructor’s name (Bold, 14 points)
o Course No. & Title (Bold, 12 points)
o Year (Bold, 12 points)
o University (Bold, 12 points)
o Leave one line between each of the above
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— Abstract

5. o Abstract is a concise single paragraph summary of completed work or work
In progress. It should summarize the content of the paper.
o Be direct, “reader-friendly”, and informative for non-specialists.
o A concise abstract should briefly state the purpose of the research, general
approach to the problem, the main results, and the important conclusions or
new questions.
o An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to
stand alone, and not refer to any other part of the paper such as a figure or
table
o .Keep the abstract to no more than 200 words, o
Use single line spacing throughout the abstract.
o Do not insert references or equations in the abstract.
o As a summary of work done, it is always written in past tense
o What is reported in an abstract must be consistent with what is reported in
the paper
— Keywords:
o Include up to six keywords that describe your paper for indexing and for
web searches.
— The research paper is generally broken into six (6) specific sections as follows.
Each of these sections should be separated from the others with a subheading
which labels the section.
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1. Introduction:

6. o write the word INTRODUCTION centered in bold capital letters. Skip
one line and begin with the text.
O The purpose of an introduction is to acquaint the reader with the
rationale behind the work, with the intention of defending it. It places
your work in a theoretical context, and enables the reader to understand
and appreciate your objectives.
O The introduction should state clearly the statement of problem (the
motivation and context of the research), the specific hypothesis(es), the
objective of the paper, the importance (significance) of the study as well
as the organization of the paper.
O Your introductions should not exceed three pages (double spaced,
typed).
2. Literature Review and Background Information:
o source: newspaper articles, books and other literature, case studies,
personal research, etc
o The literature review should be limited to the articles, books and other
items that have a direct bearing on the topic being addressed.
o Theoretical papers may devote a full section to the motivation and
potential usefulness of the proposed theoretical framework.
o Empirical papers that do not develop new theories or hypotheses should
be kept short.
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7. 3. Methods:
o This section should give details of the methodology used only if it is
new.
o If it is not new you should highlight it and state the main references and
authority in this methodology.
4. Findings / Observations:
o What did you discover? data, facts ascertained
o Interpretation, analysis of findings, comment; what, if anything, have
you added to the available literature?
5 .Conclusion and Recommendations :
o The conclusion should summarize key findings and state their
importance to the field.
6. References / Bibliography:
o What books, articles, web sites and other resources did you use? List all
sources, even if you did not quote directly from them.
o References refer to specific works that you used and cited in the text of
The article/ paper/ report/ project.
o A bibliography refers to all books, journals or websites which are a not
actually used or cited in the text but are relevant.
o In research papers usually references are listed only but if both are listed,
they should be included as the last pages of the study but references are
first
o All citations in the text should refer to:
- Single Author: the Author's name (without initials, unless there is
ambiguity) and the year of publication;
- Two Authors: both Authors' names and the year of publication;
- Three or more Authors: first Author's name followed by "et al." and the
year of publication.
Examples: "(as demonstrated in Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and
Jones, 1995). Lee et al. (2000) have recently shown"
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8. o In the references list references should be arranged first alphabetically and
then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference
from the same Author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters
“a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication. Examples:
o The reference list should follow the notes at the end of the paper.
o You should make certain that there is a complete reference for every citation
in the text and that the cited dates and the spellings of the authors' names in
the text and references are in agreement. The following are examples of
proper form:
o Journal Articles
Cosset, J. and Suret, J. (1995) "Political risk and benefits of international
portfolio diversification", Journal of International Business Studies,
26(2): 301-318. (note that journal names are not to be abbreviated)
o Books
Donahoe, J.D. (1989) The Privatization Decision, Basic Books: New York.
o Papers
Harley, N.H (1981) "Radon Risk Models", in A.R. Knight and B.Harrad
(eds.) Indoor Air and Human Health, Proceedings of the Seventh Life
Sciences Symposium; 29-31 October 1981; Knoxville, USA. Elsevier:
Amsterdam, pp 69-78.
o Chapters in Edited Books
Teece, D.J. (1987) "Capturing Value from Technological Innovation:
Integration, Strategic Partnering and Licensing Decisions", in R.B. Guile
and H. Brooks (eds.) Technology and global industry: Companies and
Nations in the World Economy, National Academy Press: Washington
DC, pp.19-38.
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9. o Dissertations
Salk, J.E. (1992) 'Shared Management Joint Ventures: Their Developmental
Patterns, Challenges and Possibilities" Unpublished Ph.D Dissertation, Sloan
School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
MA.
o Online documents
Van de Vliert, E. (2002) '"hermoclimate, Culture, and Poverty as Country-
level Roots of Workers' Wages", [www document] http://www.jibs.net
(accessed 13 January 2003).
— Tables and Figures:
o All tables and figures should be included in the text where appropriate.
o Tables should be numbered consecutively 1, 2, 3.
o Figures should be numbered consecutively 1, 2, 3 and be referred to as
Figure 1, etc., in both headings and the text.
o Both should have short titles.
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10. Title Page/Cover Page
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Faculty with Department {Write Here}
Topic Research {Write Here}
ATHESIS SUBMITED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQIUREMENTS OF BACHELOR DEGREE IN……….. /………….
DEPARTMENT
By
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A month Plus Year {Write here}
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