Basic Parts of a Research Paper

In writing a research paper, take careful note of its parts. The research paper has at least nine essential parts although, of course, there may be additional parts depending on the discretion of your instructor. The basic principle to consider in writing research paper is that you should first consider and familiarize yourself with the “works” of others and then try to compare them with your ideas.

1. Title Page

Oftentimes referred to as the ‘cover page,’ this section is where you indicate the title of your research, your name, institutional information and a few other relevant information prescribed by your instructor.

Ex:

Republic of the Philippines

UNIVERSITY OF RIZAL SYSTEM

Angono Campus

Angono, Rizal

AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF

THE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS CREATED

BY THE STUDENTS OF AB ENGLISH

FOR THE SCHOOL

YEAR 2012

by

JUAN C. DELA CRUZ

AB-English I

2. Introduction

Introduce to your reader the “problem” by providing a brief background of your research. Include the basic reasons how and why you came-up with the problem, and the probable solutions that you can offer. In general, the introduction summarizes the purpose of the research paper.

3. Review of Related Literature

This section is where you will be providing all the relevant readings from previous works. Provide brief summaries or descriptions of the works of other authors. Make sure that your research materials are from credible sources such as academic books and peer-reviewed journals. Also, make sure that your reading materials are directly relevant to the topic of your research paper. The literature review typically includes the names of the authors, the titles of their works and the year of the publication of these works.

4. Conceptual Framework

This is a set of coherent ideas or concepts organized in a manner that makes them easy to communicate to others. A framework can help us to explain why we are doing a project in a particular way. It can also help us to understand and use the ideas of others who have done similar things.

We can use a framework like a travel map. We can read a map, because others before us have come up with common symbols to mark streets, lakes, highways, cities, mountains, rivers, etc...The scale on a map tells us how far apart different places are, so we will get an idea how long it might take us to get from one point to the next. A map also shows us that there may be many different paths that can be taken to get to the same place.

A framework can help us decide and explain the route we are taking: why would we use certain methods and not others to get to a certain point. People might have tried a similar path before and have had different experiences using one road versus another. Or, there may be paths that have never been explored. With a conceptual framework, we can explain why we would try this or that path, based on the experiences of others, and on what we ourselves would like to explore or discover.

5. Methodology

This section is where you will be providing the methods that you will be using in your research. Typical methodologies include laboratory experiments, statistical or mathematical calculations/computations, and comparison of existing literature.

5. Analysis of Data

This section is where you will be analyzing the data that you have obtained from the methodological operation that you have chosen. Depending on the type of your research paper, data analysis instruments and operations may vary. Common data analysis methods include but are not limited to SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) which is a form of a qualitative data analysis.

6. Results / Findings / Presentation of Data

This section is where you will be presenting the actual results of the analysis that you have made based on your chosen methodology.

7. Discussion / Implication of Data Analysis

This is where you will be discussing more of the results of your research, its implications on other fields as well as the possible improvements that can be made in order to further develop the concerns of your research. This is also the section where you need to present the importance of your study and how it will be able to contribute to the field.

8. Conclusion

Provide the conclusion to your research paper. While it is important to restate your general thesis in this section, it is also important to include a brief restatement of the other parts of the research paper such as the methodology, data analysis and results.

9. Reference Page / Bibliography

This section is where you list down all the academic materials you have used as sources of information in your research paper. Typical reference formats/styles include but are not limited to APA 5th, Harvard, MLA and Chicago/Turabian.

10. Appendices

This is the last few pages that support your analysis (especially repetitive or lengthy information), validates your conclusions or pursues a related point should be placed in an appendix (plural appendices). Sometimes excerpts from this supporting information (i.e. part of the data set) will be placed in the body of the report but the complete set of information ( i.e. all of the data set) will be included in the appendix. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix include figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, questionnaires, transcripts of interviews, pictures, lengthy derivations of equations, maps, drawings, letters, specification or data sheets, computer program information.

The information included in the appendix must bear directly relate to the research problem or the report's purpose. Each separate appendix should be lettered (Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix B1, Appendix B2, Appendix C, etc). The order they are presented in is dictated by the order they are mentioned in the text of the report.

Content

Often, when a student is told to write a theme, his mind seemingly emptied of all ideas; he cannot discover anything worth writing about. Yet there are the thousands of things in the world to write about. The student who remembers that composition is a wholly natural process in which he has often indulged, and who keeps his eyes open and his mind active, will not be a loss for a subject.

Sources of Material. There are three general sources of material for compositions:

What we experience,
what we study,
what we read.

The student has a wide field of experiences as possible sources of writing material. If he has ever been alone in a sailboat when a storm came up, he can put on paper the record of his experience. He can write of a visit to the Coca-Cola plant, his first dance, an excursion he attended, or a class party where he did not enjoy himself. His life is rich in experience if we develop an “experiencing” nature.

Every intelligent student may derive many ideas from his various studies. Chemistry, general science, history, literature – all have wonderful possibilities for composition. The study of Philippine history might suggest a paper on the Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac, from the point of view of a participant or an eye witness. Or the student might describe Manila during the Japanese occupation or give a vivid account of Rizal’s death in Bagumbayan. Botany shows us flowers, not as Shakespeare saw them, but as marvelous contrivances, the explanation of which will give us useful training in saying exactly what we mean. It is difficult, in short, to think of a branch of study which will not give us many things to talk or write about.

The third source of subject matter is our reading: magazine and newspaper, all sorts of books; in short, what we know as literature. The most obvious and natural source of ideas is life immediately around us and the record of that life in books, magazines and newspapers.

Choosing an Appropriate Subject. Your material may come from your own experience or from your reading. In any case, the material should be of a kind that you can handle. Don’t attempt a subject that is beyond your understanding. If writing to prove profitable and enjoyable, you must at all times exercise care in choosing your subject. The choice of subject will depend upon your general background, your interest, your personal experiences, and the time given you to develop your composition.

Your general background of a subject is the first consideration in your choice of a subject for a composition. In the preparation of an oral or written composition, your first concern should be the selection of a topic or subject that you fully understand. The student may be guided by answering the following questions:

1. With which subject am I most familiar?
2. Can I deal with this subject adequately?
3. Can I make this subject clear and interesting to others?

Interest is the second factor to be considered in the choice of a subject. A writer should consider the nature and probable interests of his readers. Interest is the bridge thrown between writer and reader; it determines the success of the composition. If the reader is interested, he will give your work a chance. If you cannot arouse his interest he will not read your work. To interest the reader, you must put spirit, liveliness, and vigor into what you say.

However, arousing the interest of the reader is not the only requirement of a good subject; the interest of the writer should be considered as well. The writer must deeply interested in his subject so that he may develop it forcefully and enthusiastically. Life is full of interest to any normal college student and what is interesting to him can be made interesting to other people, if told sincerely, simply, and with enough details to make the account vivid.

The third factor in the choice of subject matter is personal experience. All of your experiences in the past can be said, without stretching the point too much, to be a training for the writing which you do now. What you write must come from your own experience. Your material must be the product of your own thinking and observing. What aspect of the subject you select will depend on what you think is significant according to your personal experience in relation to your subject.

Your writing is a part of yourself. It should reflect your personality. This is particularly true of subjective or artistic literature. Only specific papers purposely strive to be impersonal and coldly objective. Allow your own way of thinking and doing to give originality and freshness to your work. Even material obtained from reference books will become more vital and stimulating if allowed to pass through the personality of the writer.

The fourth consideration is the choice of subject matter for a composition is the question of how much time you have to develop the composition. College composition are not intended to be exhaustive; hence the necessity of limiting your subject. Write of one thing at a time. Do not select a subject which is too broad or too general such as, “Professors,” “Cars,” “Students.” It is impossible to write a short composition clearly and forcefully about broad subjects. It is possible, however, for you to derive a properly limited subject from each of these. For example, you may have no difficulty in writing successfully on one or more of the following limited subjects: “My First Day in the University,” “My Favorite Professor,” “A Car Accident,” or “A Student Leader.” By selecting a proper limited subject and presenting specific details of it you will be able to interest your readers; however, you will fail to do so if you carelessly choose a large subject and make only a few vague, general statements about it.