Research paper writing in communication writing & skills by Muzammal Munier Matyana

2. Research Paper writing
by
Muzammal Munier Matyana

3. A research paper is a piece of academic
writing based on its author’s original
research on a particular topic, and the
analysis and interpretation of the
research findings. It can be either a term
paper or a master’s thesis.

4.  The characteristics of research paper and formal
report are same like Style, Structure and approach.
1. The purpose of writing research paper is to make
unknown things known to others.
2. The reading of the research paper is optional but
reading of the report is compulsory.
Following points are important:

5. i. A research paper is the most important form of
expository disclosure.
ii. Most research papers are characterized by the
use of graphics aids, and scientific or technical
vocabulary.
iii. Generally, it contains all those formal elements
which a technical report includes like
introduction, discussion, conclusion and
references etc.
iv. Every research paper is a unified composition
arising out of the study of a particular subject.
v. A research paper is a documented prose work.

6.  A research paper form of written communication must
follow the rules of a valid publication. They are as follow:
1) Title
2) Authors
3) Table of contents
4) List of symbols
5) Acknowledgements
6) Abstracts
7) Introduction
8) Material and Methods
9) Discussion
10) Results
11) Conclusions
12) References & Bibliography

7. The Title of a research paper may be defined as the
possible words that adequately describe the context of
the paper.

8. An effective title:
 Is a clear indication of the context.
 Is neither too short nor too long.
 Contains specific and not general terms.
 Is built on careful syntax.
 Is a label and not a sentence.
 Avoid the use of common abbreviations and
specific notation.

9.  A full name and a full address should be
considered obligatory ,unless the writer of the
research paper wishes to publish anonymously.
 Spelling and the name of the authors should
remain the same in all his publication ,if any
authors did not follow this rules, it becomes the
cause of confusion for readers.

10.  If a paper is written by different authors then their
names and addresses should be given separately.
 In the case of multi-author paper , the author to
whom correspondence concerning the paper is to
be addressed should be indicated by an asterisk(*)
and the footnote , to whom all correspondence is to
be addressed.

11. 3)Table of contents
In this section, we add the contents of the
topics that we did in the project in the number
wise order.
For example:
1)Introduction
1.1……….
1.2…………
1.3…………

12. 3) List of symbols
In the research paper you can use abbreviations that
should be standard. Try to write the full version of the
first place as it is the purpose of the research paper. So
use only abbreviated forms To represent the physical
and chemical quantities units.

13. 4) Acknowledgements:
Acknowledgements and References are the two
additional section of the research paper. These
two section follow the main text.
First, if any individual gives you any
significant technical help, you should
acknowledge it in your laboratory.
Second, In this section you should also
acknowledge the financial assistance such as
grants and contracts. This Section of research
paper require all in its simple courtesy,
appropriate order.

14. The abstract of a research paper has special
significance. It has two main functions:
i. To enable readers identify the basic content of a
document quickly and accurately in order to
determine its relevance to their interests
ii. To meet the requirements of the abstracting
journals.

15.  It should be concise as possible and should not
exceed 3% of the total length of the paper.
 It is self-contained.
 It does not contain any bibliography ,figure, or the
table references.
 It does not contain any obscure abbreviations and
acronyms.
 It is generally written after the paper.

16.  Read the introductory paragraph of the study to identify the
objectives.
 Scan the summary and conclusions at the end and nothing the
main findings of the study.
 Read through the text for information on methodology adopted,
new data, and any other vital information.
 Prepare the draft arranging the various items in the order new
methodology or equipment employed, data of fundamental value,
and major conclusions and correlations derived.
 Modify and trim the paper to get the required size.

17.  In introduction the previous knowledge or
background information is provided to the reader.

18.  It should present first, with all possible clarity,the
nature and the scope of the problem.
 It should review the pertinent literature to orient the
reader.
 It should state the method of investigation and if
necessary.
 It should state the principal results of the investigation
and also the principal conclusions suggested by the
result.

19.  In this section, the author describes the
experimental design, experimental technique, or
theoretical derivation and then provides enough
details so that the competent worker can repeat the
experiment.

20.  This sections forms the core of paper. There are three ways to
describe the results:
1. Choice of data:
2. Choice of form of data presentation:
3. Presentation of data in tabular form:
i. Give the heading to the column.
ii. Avoid presenting any un-relevant material and structural
formulas inside the table.
iii. Avoid making the table complex by giving the extra result.

21.  In this section, we interpret data and highlight the
important features and their causes. Limitations
and any source of error are also mentioned in it. In
this section only interpretation of data is needed.

22.  In this section no extra material should be
introduced. This section includes the conclusion of
the presented data. For the significant findings,
conclusion becomes the necessary part of the
paper. The main function of this section is to make
recommendations based on the result of the study.

23.  By giving the references of the earlier researches,
the reader can find the original source. If you give
reference with complete bibliographic details, the
reader can easily locate the original source.

24.  Cite the work of those individuals whose ideas,
theories or directly influenced your work.
 These works provide background information
,support or dispute your theories or offer
definitions and data. You must credit all those
sources you used to write those paper otherwise
you will be guilty of plagiarism.

25.  APA requires that information be cited in 2 different ways-
within the text and in the reference list at the end of the
paper. The reference list should be a new page, double
spaced and used the hanging indent method(all lines after
the first one are indented).
 For Example:
 In the text author-date method is use.For ex:smith,1990
 In the reference list such as :Name of author,title,name of
publisher,date of publication and location of publication.