Basics of writing a research paper for beginners

1. Writing
a
Research Paper
R.C. Gupta
NIMS
Jaipur

2. Research papers
The research papers should present
our own work and our own thinking
We report the results of our research
in the form of research papers
This is how we share our research
with others

3. Don’t copy data or writings of others
Some ground rules
Don’t publish the same results more
than once
Don’t manipulate or manufacture data

4. Peer-reviewed journals
Such papers are read widely, and have a
long shelf-life
They are accepted for publication only
after approval by referee(s)
Papers sent to these journals are reviewed
by independent experts (referees)

6. Present
papers in
conferences
A new researcher usually begins with
a thesis/dissertation
Those with talent and inclination will
go on to:
Publish
review
articles
Publish
papers in
journals

7. A
thesis
or a
dissertation
is a:
• Combination of a review
article and a research paper
• Training in research
methodology and literature
search
• Means of learning the art of
scientific communication

8. Anatomy of a Research Paper
Are All Apples Red?
Rang Lal
Abstract:
We examined the colours of
several apples. Though most were
red, some were not.
Introduction:
An age-old question is: are all
apples red? Rubor (1993) thought
so but Polychrome (1999) differed.
We decided to resolve this
controversy.
Methods:
We went to the local fruit market
and bought one of every kind of
apples available. We took them
home and examined their colours.
Results:
We found that four
apples were red,
two were green
and one was yellow.
Discussion:
Since we found one yellow apple
and two green apples, it can be
concluded that all apples are not
red. We concur with the findings
of Polychrome (1999).
References:
1. Rubor A (1993) Journal of Fruit
Sciences. 4(3): 121-5
2. Polychrome A (1999) Apple
Technology Today. 7(3): 5-8.
Appl and Orang, Volume 3, Issue 4 (2003) p.8
Fig. 1

9. The major sections in
research papers are:
Introduction
Material and methods
Results
Discussion

10. Two additional sections are:
References or Bibliography
Abstract or Summary
Note: The format may vary slightly in
different journals

11. • Title
• Abstract
• Key words
Main text (IMRAD)
− Introduction
− Methods
− Results
− And
− Discussion
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References
General structure of a research article
Make them easy for indexing
and searching (informative,
attractive and effective)
Journal space is not
unlimited.
Make your article as concise
as possible.

12. Why did
I start?
The answers to these four questions
will form the body of the paper
Before writing the paper, the author
should ask himself:
What does
it mean?
What did
I find?
What did
I do?

13. Why did
I start?
What does
it mean?
What did
I find?
What did
I do?
Introduction
Material and methods
Results
Discussion

14. Where do I
begin … how
do I begin?
Writing a research paper

15. Experienced writers usually begin by
jotting down their thoughts as they come
Later, these thoughts are expanded and
are assembled together

16. New writers can begin by making
reservoirs
Take six sets of sheets (or Word files),
and label them as different sections
Introduction

17. Reservoirs
Title
References
Discussion
Results
Material and
methods
Introduction
Put the ideas and data as they come in
the appropriate reservoirs

18. Where to begin?
One can start with the easiest section
Material means subjects/animals, reagents/
drugs, instruments etc. used in the study
Material and methods is generally the
easiest section to write

19. Describe the type of sample (the study
population and controls)
Describe the inclusion and exclusion
criteria
Describe the sample size (number of
subjects)

20. Sample size should be large enough to
permit valid statistical analysis
As sample size increases, the probability
of chance variation decreases
Also describe the instruments, reagents,
drugs etc. used in the study

21. Describe the experimental methods used
in the study e.g. laboratory techniques
Describe the statistical method(s) used
to analyse the data
In research papers, only references to
published sources are required
In dissertations, a detailed description is
required

22. What next?
Results is the second easiest section
Include photographs, if relevant
Use tables, charts etc. to show data
Describe the results obtained in the study

23. Tables are a very common tool for
showing data
Footnotes should be restricted to the
minimum
Each table should have a number, a
legend and should be self-contained
Arrange them in a logical sequence

24. Histograms can also be used to present
results
Refer to tables, charts etc. in the text
like: Table 3 shows that ...
Give a brief description of the results in
the text
Histograms are used more commonly in
dissertations

25. Serum PHI
Range
(Bodansky Units)
Mean ± SD
Control women 10 – 38 23.4 ± 6.6
Primovlar (3 months) 40 – 86 59.6 ± 18.4*
Primovlar (6 months) 40 – 243 101.7 ± 56.7*
Primovlar (9 months) 61 – 275 151.2 ± 64.1*
Table 3 - Serum phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) in
control women (n=28) and in women taking Primovlar
for three, six and nine months (n=26)
* p < 0.001 (as compared to the control women)
A sample table

26. A sample histogram
Serum PHI
(Bodansky
Units)
Primovlar
(9 months)
Primovlar
(6 months)
Primovlar
(3 months)
Control
group
Figure 3 – Serum phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) in
control women (n=28) and in women taking Primovlar for
three, six and nine months (n=26)

27. The difficult part
Discussion is the most difficult yet a vital
part of the paper (or dissertation)
In Discussion, you present the conclusion
and support it with arguments/ evidence
You have reached a certain conclusion
on the basis of your results

28. Think critically and ask yourself, “Can my
results have a different interpretation?”
If yes, search literature
If not, ask yourself, “Can I find additional
evidence in published literature?”
If not, do you have enough evidence to
convince readers about your conclusion

29. Next
Does a survey of
literature reveal a
gap in knowledge?
Introduction may be the next section to
write
Introduction should explain why your
study was worth undertaking:
Does a controversy
need to be
resolved?

30. Does advent of new technology warrant
a second look at a problem?
Cite relevant publications to show the
existence of the problem
Are you developing a new and superior
technique or product?

31. By now, the paper is almost ready
To wind up
Abstract should highlight the important
points
Write an Abstract or Summary in 150-
200 words

33. Highlight the significance of the work
Describe key results in a few sentences
Then outline the work done briefly
First define the objective of the study

34. Since literature on serum lipids in pregnant
women in rural India is scanty, we investigated
serum lipids in pregnant women in a rural area.
Serum lipids were measured in sixty pregnant
women and sixty non-pregnant controls from a
rural area. Serum triglycerides, total cholesterol
and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were
significantly higher in pregnant women as
compared to controls (p<0.001). Since elevated
serum lipids can cause problems in later life,
such studies on bigger samples in different rural
areas of the country are warranted.
A Sample Abstract

35. Remember that:
A majority of the databases store only
abstracts
Some will go on to read the full paper if
the abstract interests them
A majority of the readers will read only
the abstract

36. The abstract should be informative yet
concise
If the journal requires a structured
abstract, write a structured abstract

37. Introduction: This study was undertaken to assess
the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in obese
and non-obese rural subjects.
Methods: Three hundred rural subjects of both sexes
aged 20-70 years were investigated for MS according
to NCEP ATP III criteria.
Results: Prevalence of MS was 12.6% in the total
study population, 28.5% in obese persons and 7.1%
in non-obese persons. Chi-square test showed that
the difference between obese and non-obese persons
was highly significant (p<0.001).
Conclusion: MS is not uncommon in rural subjects,
and obese persons are more likely to develop MS
than non-obese persons.
A Structured Abstract

38. Title is the face of the paper
Face of the paper
The title should be attractive, effective,
informative, pertinent and brief
A reader will first see the title and then
decide whether to read on

39. The main thrust of the paper condensed
in one sentence will be the title
The title conceived at the start may
need to be changed later

40. Examples of titles

41. References/Literature Cited/Bibliography
You have to follow the policy of the
journal
By now, you have a collection of all the
references cited in the paper
References are generally numbered in
the order of their appearance in the paper
Some journals require an alphabetical
order or a chronological order

42. Every reference cited in the text should
appear in the bibliography
Check the accuracy of the references
from original publications or a database
Every reference included in the
bibliography should appear in the text

43. There are a number of styles for writing
references
Styles of writing references
The same reference can be written in
different ways

44. Verma, S. K., Rao, Y. N. and Sharma, N. K. :
Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Rajasthan.
Indian J. Med. Res., 2002, 17, 288
Verma, S.K., Rao, Y.N. and Sharma, N.K.
(2002) Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in
Rajasthan. Indian J. Med. Res. 17, 288-292
Verma SK, Rao YN, Sharma NK. Prevalence
of diabetes mellitus in Rajasthan. Indian J
Med Res. 2002; 17: 288-92
Journal articles may be written as:

45. Galen RS: Abstract models in practice of
medicine. In Logic and Economics of Clinical
Laboratory Use. ES Benson and M Rubin
(Eds). Elsevier, New York, 1985, pp 41-46
Reference from a book may be written as:
Werner AK: Methods in enzymology, 4th ed.
Harper & Row, New York, 1968, pp 195-197
Reference from an edited book may be
written as:

46. Papers accepted for publication may be
written as:
Jain SK: Errors in laboratory results. Indian J
Med Res (in press)

47. References may be cited in the text in one
of the following ways:
In 1953, DNA was shown to exist as a
double helix (17).
However, DNA was actually found to be
double-helical.17
Watson and Crick (1953) described the
double-helical structure of DNA.

48. If there are more than 2 authors, write
the name of first author followed by et al:
Finlay et al (1989) showed that p53
gene is actually an anti-oncogene

49. The style of writing references should
conform to the policy of the journal
In medical and natural sciences, the style
used commonly is Vancouver style
Harvard style is in common use in social
sciences, natural sciences and technology
APA style and Chicago style are common
in social sciences, arts and humanities

50. APA style ‒
Chicago style ‒
Philip Goldswain, “Design of State Theatre
Centre," Architecture Australia 100, (2011): 54
Borman, W. C. & White, L. A. (1993). Role of
experience in counselling. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 78, 443-449

51. Carlson, A & Pope, BM 2009, ‘A survey of how
libraries are expanding’, The Serials Librarian,
vol. 57, pp. 380-398
Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ
transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl
J Med. 2002; 347: 284-7
Vancouver style ‒
Harvard style ‒

52. In a dissertation:
Or follow any uniform style throughout
Follow the policy of the university

53. All those who have contributed
significantly in the study and writing of
the paper should be included as authors
Authorship
Obtain consent from all authors before
inclusion of their names in the paper
The first author should be the person
who has done the experimental work

54. Acknowledgments
Acknowledge the financial grants received
from funding agencies
If an external entity has allowed you free
use of their facilities, acknowledge it
Acknowledge help received in the form of
free drugs, chemicals etc. for the study

55. Review of literature
Additional section in a thesis/dissertation
Show the existence of the problem
Describe recent work comprehensively
Cover important milestones
Begin with historical perspective

56. Things to keep in mind while writing
Write the paper in simple prose
Revise the manuscript if necessary
Get the first draft examined by seniors
Keep the paper as short as possible
Pay attention to spellings and grammar
Avoid verbosity and flowery language

57. Choose the most appropriate journal
Re-format the paper according to the
“Instructions to the authors”
Read the “Instructions to the authors” in
a recent issue of the journal
Take advice from experienced colleagues
Some more tips

58. Send the manuscript to the editor with a
covering letter
Revise and resubmit the paper if advised
to do so by the referee
If the paper is rejected, do not despair;
try another journal
State that it is an unpublished work and
has not been submitted elsewhere
Publication