How To Write A Paper 2015 1

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Published on Explorable.com (https://explorable.com)
Write a Paper
Table of Contents
1Write a Research Paper
2Writing a Research Paper
3Research Paper Outline
3.1How to Write an Outline
3.2Research Paper Outline Examples
4Research Paper Question

4.1What is a Thesis Statement?
4.2How to Write a Hypothesis
5Parts of a Research Paper

5.1APA Title Page
5.2Writing an Abstract
5.3How to Write an Introduction
5.4Writing Methodology
5.5Writing a Results Section
5.6Writing a Discussion Section
5.7Writing a Conclusion
5.8Writing a Bibliography
6Optional Parts
6.1Table of Contents Format
6.2Writing Acknowledgements
6.3Writing an Appendix
7Research Paper Format

7.1In Text Citation
7.2How to Write Footnotes
7.3How to Format a Table
7.3.1Floating Blocks
7.4Example of a Research Paper

7.5Research Paper Example
7.6MLA Writing Format
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7.6.1MLA Citations
7.7APA Writing Format

7.7.1APA Writing Style
7.7.2APA Citations
8Academic Journals
8.1Peer Review Process
8.1.1Sham Peer Review
8.1.2Advantages of Peer Reviews
8.1.3Disadvantages of Peer Reviews
8.2Publication Bias
8.3Journal Article Submission
8.3.1Scientific Journal Rejection
9Tips on Article Writing

9.1Article Writing Help
9.2Research Paper Topic Ideas
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1 Write a Research Paper
A Guide on How to Write Academic Papers
This guide aims to help you write a research paper.
It contains an overview on writing academic papers such as the term paper, thesis, research
paper or other academic essays written in the format of the research paper.
We have tried to integrate thoughts from the APA-format and the MLA-format.
General Overview
Many students wonder about the writing process itself. The outline of the academic paper is
very similar for most branches of science.
Creating an extended outline may help structure your thoughts, especially for longer papers.
Here are a few samples outlines for research papers.
We have also created a couple of articles with general tips and help on research papers.
When writing a scientific paper, you will need to adjust to the academic format. The APA
writing style is one example of an academic standard frequently used.
By the way, here is another great resources on how to write a research paper.
Preparing to Write a Research Paper

Usually, the purpose of a research paper is known before writing it. It can be formulated as a
research paper question, a thesis statement or a hypothesis statement.
If you do not know what to write about, you will have to look for ideas for research paper topics
.
Structure of a Research Paper

The structure of a research paper might seem quite stiff, but it serves a purpose: It will help
find information you are looking for easily and also help structure your thoughts and
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communication.
Here is an example of a research paper. Here's another sample research paper.
An empiric paper frequently follows this structure:
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Methodology
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Additional Parts for Some Academic Papers

The following parts may be acceptable to include in some scientific standards, but may be
inappropriate for other standards.
Table of Contents (Usually placed right before or right after the abstract)
Acknowledgments (Sometimes placed before the abstract and sometimes at the end of
a paper)
Appendices (Placement: After all the other parts)
Other Technical Issues
When correcting papers, we have been surprised by the many students struggling with
intext citations. Although the standards are somewhat different, citations in the text should not
be too difficult to master. The most used standards for referencing in research papers are
APA-standard and MLA-standard.
Some paper formats allow you to include footnotes in the text, while some do not allow
footnotes.
Authors frequently want to include tables and figures in the text.
Sometimes the format or standard prohibits the authors from entering tables and figures
directly into the text (where you want your table). Sometimes they have to be included after
the main text.
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Standards and Formats
Please observe that most scientific fields (and paper formats) have their own specific rules
and standards of writing.
You will have to check with your faculty or school to know exactly how to write the paper - the
guide is meant as an overview of academic papers in general.
Publish Articles
Publication of your article can be a very time-consuming process.
After writing the academic paper, the researchers submit it to a journal. Typically you start
with the most regarded journal and then work yourself down the list, until a journal accepts the
article.
Scientific journals use peer review process, which is a panel of other researchers (most likely
in the same field) who review the work, to ensure that the quality of the paper.
Publication bias is a well known phenomenon, as the peer review process often rejects "null
results". A journal rejection does not necessarily mean that you do not have a chance to
resubmit the journal though.
Advantages of peer reviews

Disadvantages of peer reviews
How to cite this article:
Oskar Blakstad (Oct 4, 2008). Write a Research Paper. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/write-a-research-paper
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2 Writing a Research Paper
For most areas of science, from biology to physics, writing a research paper is one of
the most important skills.
You can design the greatest experiment on earth but if you cannot write a good report then
nobody will take your results seriously.
The first thing you must do is make sure that you have designed and performed a good
experiment. Once it is finished and you have lots of results, you can present them to the world.
Most science reports should have the same layout:
Title
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Most use this or a similar outline when writing a research paper.
Title
The title must not be too long but must describe exactly what your experiment is about.
For example, "Mold Growth" tells us nothing whereas "The Effect Of Temperature On Mold
Growth" lets everybody know what the experiment is about.
Introduction
In this section it is important to give the reasons why you picked this experiment and show the
background research you did for it.
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You have to assume that somebody reading your experiment may know nothing about the
subject so you must give them a quick summary.
You could let them know a little about 'The Life Cycle of Mold' or 'The History of Pendulums'.
There is one problem; how do you keep your introduction short whilst trying to teach
somebody about your subject?
This is where you use references, sometimes called citations. For every piece of information
included, you should let the reader know where it came from.
Whether from books, magazines, the internet or your teacher, if you include your references,
somebody interested in your subject can easily read them and find out more.
Finally, you should include your hypothesis statement. This is what you are trying to prove or
disprove. For example 'Mold grows quicker at higher temperatures' or 'Expensive brands of
paper towel absorb more water than cheaper ones' are testable hypotheses.
Method
Here you must describe exactly the equipment and methods you used.
What you must remember is that somebody might want to test your results so you must make
sure that they are able to perform exactly the same experiment with exactly the same
equipment.
It is a good idea to include a list of all the equipment you used and step by step instructions on
what you did.
Results
Here you describe what you found. In this section, you should not discuss what your results
mean; only what you found. You must try to be exact and give numbers instead of just
observations.
Use graphs and tables as they are easier for people to understand easily. Be careful not to
put in lots of graphs just for the sake of it. Every graph and table should be clear and referred
to in the text.
Discussion
The discussion is where you interpret your results and try to explain what they mean. This is
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called significance. You should point out whether your hypothesis is proved, disproved or
inconclusive, if you are not sure one way or the other.
If your hypothesis is proved, great, but the world of science does not stay still. Here you
should speculate where science goes next or what experiments you could do next.
For example, in the case of the mold bread experiment, after testing the effect of temperature,
you could check whether the amount of light has an effect on the rate of growth.
If your hypothesis was wrong or unproven, this is not a problem. There is no right and wrong
in science, only answers. Even if your hypothesis was wrong, the world of science has still
learned something.
In the discussion you must describe why the experiment did not give the results you expected.
Maybe your initial hypothesis was wrong, but maybe there were some flaws in your
experimental design or method.
You should describe why it might be wrong or what changes you would make if you were to
repeat the experiment again. Be honest. Nobody is going to punish you for having these
problems, only for not understanding why.
Even great scientists like Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking have had flaws in their
theories so you are in good company if your experiment did not work out exactly how you
planned!
Conclusion
It is always a good idea to write a short summary of the conclusion at the end of the report to
make everything a little clearer to the reader.
Bibliography
It is good practice to list the books, magazines and websites from where you found out your
background research when writing a research paper. This makes sure that somebody who is
interested in your subject can find out a little more.
For a book, you should include the name of the author, the title, the date it was written and the
page numbers of where you found the information.
For magazines you should include the name of the author, the title of the magazine, the issue
number and/or date, and the name of the article.
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For a website you should put the exact website address and the date you looked at it.
Not every science report or article insists that you have a bibliography but if you want to follow
a career as a scientist it is a good idea to get used to it now.
Martyn Shuttleworth (May 23, 2008). Writing a Research Paper. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/writing-a-research-paper
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3 Research Paper Outline
The research paper outline is essential for any article or term paper. The outline may
make a great difference on how your work is interpreted.
Writing a research paper is as important as performing the actual research or experiment itself
and can appear to be a very daunting task.
It does not matter what conclusions you arrived at or how perfect your experimentation was, if
you put no effort into writing a good report then your study will not be taken seriously.
If you break report writing down into its constituent parts, it is not as complex as it seems and
there is no reason to be worried. Scientific reports, for the vast majority of disciplines, are all
structured in the same way; if you follow this structure then you cannot go far wrong.
It is useful to note that every scientific discipline, every university and even supervisors can
have their own preferred methods of constructing reports; with this in mind, do not be afraid to
ask for advice on the best research paper format for your report.
Layout and Length

For most assessed reports you will be told how long it should be, generally by the number of
words.
This is generally only a guide and is not set in stone; in most cases this limit does not include
appendices and citation pages.
If you plan to write for a specific journal, a good advice is to check the research paper outline
of some of the articles to get a better idea on how to write your article. Here are a few outline
samples.
If your report is complex and strays over this limit, there should be no problem, as long as you
have not repeated yourself or filled your work with irrelevant information. It is good practice to
bear in mind that the appendix is there for any information that you feel could be omitted from
the report without affecting the clarity.
Your report can be shorter than the advised word limit if everything that needs to be included
is there. This is preferable than trying to pad out the report in order to fulfill some word count'
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facility on the computer, risking being penalized for irrelevance.
For longer reports, it is useful to break each section down into subsections, to make your
report more reader friendly and easier to navigate.
Basic Structure
The vast majority of scientific reports can be broken down into the following constituent parts.
Title - Author(s)
Abstract
Table of Contents
Introduction
Equipment and Methodology
Results AND Discussion
Conclusions
References and Citations
Appendices
Title and Authors

Although the title is the shortest page of your report, it is often the most difficult to write.
It is important to make clear to a researcher everything that needs saying but without the title
being overlong and unwieldy. It does not have to be the first section written because, in many
cases, the final title will not occur to you until you have finished writing the report.
Nowadays, most research establishments have a database to search titles by keyword so try
to make sure that your title contains these. This is doubly important if your research is likely to
be published on the internet.
The authors section should include your name, as the main writer of the report, alongside the
name of your supervisor. In the case of working as part of a team, you should usually include
the other members of your group here.
Abstract
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The abstract is the most crucial part of the report because anybody searching for your
research on a database or in a journal will usually read only the abstract. Therefore, it must
summarize your research, results and conclusions in less than 200 words.
Sometimes it is good to think of it as a sample of your research rather than a review; it should
inform the researcher that your article contains the information they need.
There are a few ideas on how to write your abstract but the best advice is that you look at
some journals relevant to your research and try to format your abstract in a similar way.
Contents
This section and is merely a breakdown of sections and subsections by page number.
For a short and straightforward paper it may not be necessary to include a contents page.
This is not mandatory for a research paper.
Introduction
This section of your report is where you will document all the painstaking research into the
background of your experiment.
The main thing to bear in mind, when writing the introduction, is that a scientist who is
unfamiliar with your exact subject matter may be reading the article.
It is important, therefore, to try and give a quick and condensed history of the research leading
to your experiment, with correct citations.
You should also give a little background on why you chose to do this particular experiment
and what you expect to find. It is a little old-fashioned' to hypothesis statement at the
beginning of the report but the reader should be aware of exactly what you are trying to prove.
Method
For this portion of your report you must describe the methods used when performing the
experiment. This should include, if relevant, the location and times of sample collection, what
equipment was utilized, and the techniques used.
The idea behind the methodology section is that another researcher can exactly replicate your
experiments without having to guess what equipment and what techniques should be used.
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Scientific articles are peer reviewed and this includes the possibility that other researchers
may try to replicate your results.
There have been many high profile scientific breakthroughs over the years whose results
were unable to be repeated; these experiments were disregarded. For field studies you should
give an exact map reference and time as well as including a map in the appendix.
If you used complex machinery or computer programs in the course of your experiment, to
avoid breaking the flow of your report, you should give only the main information and refer to
the exact technical specifications in the appendix.
Results
These should be a quick synopsis of the facts, figures and statistical tests used to arrive at
your final results.
You should try to avoid cluttering up your report and insert most of your raw data into the
appendix.
It is far better to stick with including only tables and graphs that show clearly the results. Do
not be tempted to insert large numbers of graphs and figures just for the sake of it; each figure
and graph should be mentioned, referred to and discussed in the text.
Try to avoid putting in tables and graphs showing the same information; select the type that
shows your results most clearly. It is usually preferable to use graphs and relegate the tables
to the appendix because it is easier to show trends in graphical format.
Figures and graphs should be clear and occupy at least half a page; you are not a magazine
editor trying to fit a small graph into an article.
All such information must be numbered, as diagrams for graphs and illustrations, and figures
for tables; they should be referred to by this number in the body of the report.
You do not need to put the full breakdown of the calculations used for your statistical tests;
most scientists hate statistics and are only interested in whether your results were significant
or not. Relegate the calculations to the appendix.
The results section of your report should be neutral and you should avoid discussing your
results or how they differed from or compared with what was expected. This information
belongs in the next section.
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Discussion
This is the pivotal section of your hard work in obtaining and analyzing your results.
In your discussion you should seek to discuss your findings, and describe how they compared
and differed from the results you expected. In a nutshell, you are trying to show whether your
hypothesis was proved, not proved or inconclusive.
You must be extremely critical of yourself in this section; you will not get marked down for
mistakes in experiment design or for poor results, only for not recognizing them.
Everybody who has written a dissertation or thesis has had to give a presentation to a room
full of fellow students, scientists and professors and give a quick synopsis. These people will
tear your report apart if you do not recognize its shortcomings and flaws.
Very few experiments are 100 per cent correct in their design and conception so it is not really
important what your results were, only that you understand their significance.
Usually you will have had some promising results and some that did not fit with what you
expected. Discuss why things may have gone wrong and what could be done to refine the
results in future. Suggest what changes in experimental design might improve the results;
there is no right or wrong in science, only progress.
Finally, you can discuss at the end ideas for further research, either refining the experiment or
suggesting new areas. Even if your paper was a one off, somebody may come along and
decide that they find your research interesting and that they would like to continue from where
you left off.
Summary and Conclusion

This is really just a more elaborate version of the abstract.
In a few paragraphs you should summarize your findings. Your abstract will do most of this for
you but, as long as you do not get carried away, especially for longer reports, it can help the
reader absorb your findings a little more.
References
Include all of your direct references here, even if you only found a couple of sentences.
In the case where somebody referred to an original source, reference that too, but if you did
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not manage to get hold of it, try to rewrite so that you will not have to reference (or use
"referred in"-citation).
Acknowledgements
Here it is polite to acknowledge anybody who helped you with this report, although do not go
overboard; it is not an Oscar speech.
Your supervisor is a good start, as well as others who helped. If a landowner gave you
permission to take samples then it is good practice to acknowledge them and give them a
summary of your results, if permitted.
Appendices
Appendices are very useful because they give you a place to dump raw data and calculations.
They must still be laid out correctly; the data must be relevant and referred to in the main
report.
If you have a lot of relevant photographs of sample sites and methods then they belong here.
It is also useful to insert a Google map plan to show from where you took samples.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this will have given you a good oversight into writing that perfect report. It is not as
daunting as it seems and if you do your research and listen to your supervisor then all should
be well and you can get a good grade.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Mar 14, 2008). Research Paper Outline. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-paper-outline
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3.1 How to Write an Outline
For any research paper, it is essential to understand how to write an outline. In many
fields, research papers require an outline, as an integral part of the paper.
Here are a few research paper outline examples.
Even if this is not the case, for longer papers, a good outline helps you to keep track of your
ideas, acting as a road map for a perfect paper.
An outline is a great aid when you are trying to amalgamate and assess the research paper,
because it allows you to see certain links between different areas, whilst making sure that you
do not repeat yourself.
For a short paper, of a couple of thousand words or less, an outline might not be necessary.
For a longer paper, it is essential, or you will become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of
information that you need to assimilate, and write down.
Trying to write a 10 000-word dissertation, without an outline, is an exercise in futility.
Some subjects, typically those using MLA format, demand that you write an outline at the
beginning of the paper.
Others, whilst not requiring an outline, do ask for a table of contents for longer papers, and an
outline makes this process much easier. It allows you to be organized and lay out your
headings properly, allowing the word processor's automatic table of contents tool to do its
work.
For long papers, there is no harm in showing your outline to your supervisor early on in the
process, because they will be able to tell you whether you are going in the right direction.
MLA Recommendations On How to Write an Outline

The easiest way to design an outline is with the MLA standard format, which helps you to
develop a good structure for the outline.
Major headings, such as 'Introduction', 'Method', etc. are given upper-case roman numerals, I,
IIetc.
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These sections are further subdivided, using A, B as a second level, 1, 2 as a third and a, b
and i, ii make up the rest. Obviously, for a short or straightforward paper, you may not need all
of these subheadings.
Your first outline is a working outline, so do not worry too much about going into detail, or
getting everything in exactly the right order.
The initial outline allows you to structure your thoughts and establish how you are going to lay
out the paper. For example, in the literature review part of your paper, the outline will help you
to decide whether to lay it out in a purely chronological order, or address each relevant point
individually.
Whichever layout you use, it will help you to integrate the previous research and provide a
more detailed analysis.
How to Write an Outline - A Few Tips

If you are using Word, or OpenOffice, make sure that the various levels of your outline
(I, A, 1, a, i) correspond to the headings in the Word Processing program - Heading 1,
Heading 2, Heading 3, etc. This will make it much easier to create a table of contents
based upon your outline, at a later date.
You will modify and adjust your outline as you go along, but make sure that you keep
copies of older versions. You may find that you have taken the paper in a direction that
you are not happy with, so can always go back.
Whilst MLA format is regarded as the best guide to how to write an outline, check things
over with your supervisor as they may have their own preferred ideas about how to write
an outline, and it is much easier to get it right from the start rather than have to change
everything retrospectively.
If you follow these instructions to write an outline, then you are a long way towards laying out
the parts of a research paper correctly.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Sep 11, 2009). How to Write an Outline. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/how-to-write-an-outline
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3.2 Research Paper Outline Examples
This is an article with a few research paper outline examples. Creating an outline is the
first thing you should do before you start working on your research paper.
Research Paper Outline Examples
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Once you've already decided what topic you will be writing about, the next thing you should
pay attention to is the scope of your paper or what you will be including in your discussion.
The broader your topic is, the more difficult it is to discuss your topic in full details. This is why
you should establish before hand the scope and limitations of your paper and this will be the
foundation of your research paper outline.
Basically, your outline will constitute three main parts namely the Introduction, the Body and
the Conclusion. But to make sure your paper is complete, consult your instructor for specific
parts he/she wants to be included in your research paper. Sample outlines for research
papers will be given later on. But first, let us discuss the main parts of your paper and what
information each should cover.
Introduction
The Introduction should contain your thesis statement or the topic of your research as well as
the purpose of your study. You may include here the reason why you chose the particular
topic or simply the significance of your research paper's topic. You may also state what type
of approach it is that you'll be using in your paper for the entire discussion of your topic.
Generally, your Introduction should state briefly all the major points of your topic your readers
will be reading about.
Body
The body of your paper is where you will be presenting all your arguments to support your
thesis statement. Please be reminded of the Rule of 3 where you should find 3 supporting
arguments for each position you take. Start with a strong argument, followed by a stronger
one, and end with the strongest argument as your final point.
Conclusion
Conclusion is where you form a summary of all your arguments and state your final stand.
Explain why you've ended up with the said conclusion.
Research Paper Outline Examples

As mentioned earlier, here are some sample outlines for research papers:
Sample #1
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Thesis Topic:A Study on Factors Affecting the Infant Feeding Practices of Mothers in
Las Pinas City
I. Introduction
A. Statement of the Problem
B. Definition of Terms
C. Theoretical Framework
D. Methodology
1. Type of Research
2. Respondents
3. Questionnaire
E. Hypothesis
F. Review of Related Literature
G. Scope and Limitations
H. Significance of the Study
II. Body
A. Background of the Study
1. Benefits of Breastfeeding
2. WHO Recommendations
3. The International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes
4. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
5. The Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of
Breastfeeding
6. National Situationer
7. The Milk Code
8. BFHI in the Philippines
9. Milk Code Violations
10. Formula Feeding
11. Factors Influencing the Decision Regarding Infant Feeding Method
12. Area Situationer
B. Presentation and Analysis of Data
1. Socio-economic Demographic Profile of Mothers
2. Information Regarding Current (Youngest) Infant
3. Current Infant Feeding Practices of Mothers
a. Exclusive Breastfeeding
b. Mixed Feeding
c. Formula Feeding
4. Previous Infant Feeding Practices
5. Maternal Knowledge
6. Correlation Tests
III. Conclusion
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A. Concluding Statement
1. Analytical Summary
2. Thesis Reworded
B. Recommendations
Sample #2
Topic:Asbestos Poisoning
I. Introduction
A. Definition of Asbestos Poisoning
B. Significance of the Study
C. Definition of Terms
II. Body
A. Symptoms of Asbestos Poisoning
B. Effects of Asbestos Poisoning
C. Treatments
III. Conclusion
A. Conclusion
B. Recommendations
1. How to Deal with Asbestos Hazards
Sample #3
Topic: Shakespeare Adapted from AResearchGuide.com.
I. Introduction
II. Body
A. Early Life
1. Family
a. Father
b. Mother
2. Marriage
a. Life of Anne Hathaway
b. Reference in Shakespeare's Poems
B. Works
1. Plays
a. Tragedies
i. Hamlet
ii. Romeo and Juliet
b. Comedies
i. The Tempest
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ii. Much Ado About Nothing
c. Histories
i. King John
ii. Richard III
iii. Henry VIII
2. Sonnets
3. Other Poems
C. His Later Years
1. Last Two Plays
2. Retired to Stratford
a. Death
b. Burial
III. Conclusion
A. Analytical Summary
B. Thesis Reworded
C. Concluding Statement
Explorable.com (Jan 6, 2009). Research Paper Outline Examples. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-paper-outline-examples
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4 Research Paper Question
The Purpose of the Paper
One of the major parts of developing any research paper is defining the research paper
question.
For an experiment-based project, this question naturally leads onto a hypothesis.
For a more review-based paper, such as an essay, it will lead to a thesis statement.
When trying to define the research paper purpose, you should brainstorm a few ideas, which
will help you to develop a research question that is relevant, interesting and novel. Some
ideas are:
What are the most important research questions in my discipline, and are there any
particular areas that are ripe for further exploration?
Will my research lead to a greater understanding, and fill a gap in current knowledge?
Has my literature review turned up a wealth of relevant information in this area?
Am I replicating a previous study? If I am, in what ways am I improving and refining the
research?
Is this research at the cutting edge of science or is it in an area that is fading out of
fashion?
Is my research question going to have a meaningful impact upon the field?
Obviously, for a short-term research project, you do not have to answer yes to all of these
questions or be as rigorous.
For a dissertation or thesis, these are just some of the questions, and for research scientists
submitting a proposal, affirmative answers to these questions are the bare minimum for
receiving a research grant.
Narrowing Down the Research Paper Question

A general research question will usually be based around 'why' or 'how' a certain
phenomenon is happening.
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An example of a good general research statement could be:
'Why are the forest resources declining in the Amazon rainforest?'
This statement is based around a review of the literature, which shows that the Amazon
rainforest coverage is declining rapidly. As a result, you can legitimately use that as a good
starting point, a basic assumption upon which to build your research project.
Whilst many researchers have postulated reasons for this, there is no clear consensus about
what factor, or combination of factors, is contributing to the environmental and ecological
damage. Now you need to narrow down the broad question, ideally moving towards a
hypothesis or thesis question.
For example, looking at the above general question, you could arrive at:
'Is intensive agriculture the major cause of deforestation in the

Amazon?'
'Is the logging industry the major cause of deforestation in the Amazon?'
'Is Global Warming the major cause of deforestation in the Amazon?'
Once you have a good research paper question, you can then begin to generate a testable
hypothesis or research question, and construct your paper around this.
At the end of the research, you will be able to refer your results and discussion back to the
research paper question, adding a little more information to the store of human knowledge.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Oct 18, 2009). Research Paper Question. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-paper-question
26
4.1 What is a Thesis Statement?
One of the most important components of most scientific papers, whether essay or
research paper, is the thesis statement.
A thesis statement is a sentence that states what you want your paper to show, what you
want to convince your readers after having read your thesis.
This is the foundation of the entire work and informs the reader exactly what you wish to
achieve with the paper, what you wish to prove or disprove.
Unless you are documenting research or writing a purely descriptive essay, you will be basing
the paper around this thesis statement, so it needs to be well thought out and described.
What is a Thesis Statement Good For?

If an assignment asks you analyze, argue, compare and contrast, establish a cause or
otherwise interpret, the chances are that you will need to base it around a clearly defined
thesis statement.
This sets out your position, and every part of the paper will need to refer to back to it in some
way.
The Four Step Plan to Writing a Good Thesis Statement

1. Assertive: Your thesis statement must state exactly what you intend to prove with the
paper.
2. Singular: The thesis statement, in most cases, should contain only one idea, keeping
the paper focused.
3. Specificity: The thesis statement should be as specific as possible, whilst making your
stance clear. One sentence is enough for shorter papers.
4. Position: It should be in the introduction, in most cases at the very end.
1. Assertive
Tell the Reader What You Intend to Prove
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Knowing what you are trying to achieve, and committing it to paper, can often be the difficult
part, and writing the actual statement can be one of the most daunting aspects of the essay.
You are trying to make sure that it informs the reader of exactly what you are proposing.
A thesis is not the subject of the paper but an interpretation or point of view.
For example, you may be writing a paper about the effects of adding omega-3 fatty acid
supplements to the diet. That is the subject of the paper.
The thesis would set out what you believe, for example, you may decide to argue the case
that you believe that Omega 3 fatty acids supplements are beneficial to health. You could
equally argue that they have no effect, or that they are harmful.
2. Singular
One Paper = One Concept
For most papers, you want to discuss one concept and elaborate upon that, otherwise the
paper quickly loses direction, never answering a point and thoroughly confusing the reader.
For example, you may have decided to write a paper about gambling addiction. Trying to write
a paper stating that both Pavlovian and Skinner's conditioning influence behavior is difficult.
It is better to pick one of the two types and base an essay around that. You could argue that
operant conditioning is the major factor underlying the addiction, and set out to prove it.
Pavlov would still crop up in the paper, but as part of the background.
3. Specific
Drawing Things Together
Your thesis statement should draw together all of the background contained in your
introduction and turn it into a single statement. It is not a short rerun of the introduction, but a
position.
4. Position
Where Does the Thesis Statement Belong?
A thesis statement should be in the introduction of the paper, taking up a sentence or so. It is
generally in the first paragraph, although some writers prefer to discuss the background and
28
build up to the thesis at the end of the introduction.
This is generally perfectly acceptable, although you should check with your supervisor.
The Thesis Statement - Changeable

In a research paper, it is a little easier to write the thesis statement, because you already
know your hypothesis, and will be basing it around that.
For an essay, you will need to establish your aim, and the overall direction of the paper. Just
because the thesis statement is the foundation of the experiment does not mean that you
need to do it first.
It is usually best to do some background information and skim through the sources before
trying to fashion a statement. This will become your 'working' thesis and, unlike a hypothesis,
it can change and adapt as you write and modify the paper.
A thesis statement is not set in stone, and can be modified and refined as you develop the
essay. As you uncover more information, you may change your view slightly.
In an argumentative essay, for example, where you have to try to rebut arguments, it is not
unknown for the writer to convince themselves that the opposite is true, and completely
change the thesis. This is not a problem, and is all part of the scientific process.
Once you have written your essay, and are ready to proof-read, it is important to check your
work and ensure that it addresses the thesis. Every single paragraph should be related to this
initial statement in some way, or it risks drifting off into irrelevance.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Oct 23, 2009). What is a Thesis Statement?. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/what-is-a-thesis-statement
29
4.2 How to Write a Hypothesis
Often, one of the trickiest parts of designing and writing up any research paper is how
to write a hypothesis.
The entire experiment and research revolves around the research hypothesis (H1) and the
null hypothesis (H0), so making a mistake here could ruin the whole design.
Needless to say, it can all be a little intimidating, and many students find this to be the most
difficult stage of the scientific method.
In fact, it is not as difficult as it looks, and if you have followed the steps of the scientific
process and found an area of research and potential research problem, then you may already
have a few ideas.
It is just about making sure that you are asking the right questions and wording your
hypothesis statements correctly.
The Three-Step Process

Often, it is still quite difficult to isolate a testable hypothesis after all of the research and study.
The best way is to adopt a three-step hypothesis; this will help you to narrow things down, and
is the most foolproof guide to how to write a hypothesis.
Step one is to think of a general hypothesis, including everything that you have observed and
reviewed during the information gathering stage of any research design. This stage is often
called developing the research problem.
An Example of How to Write a Hypothesis

A worker on a fish-farm notices that his trout seem to have more fish lice in the summer, when
the water levels are low, and wants to find out why. His research leads him to believe that the
amount of oxygen is the reason - fish that are oxygen stressed tend to be more susceptible to
disease and parasites.
He proposes a general hypothesis.
30
Water levels affect the amount of lice suffered by rainbow trout.
This is a good general hypothesis, but it gives no guide to how to design the research or
experiment. The hypothesis must be refined to give a little direction.
Rainbow trout suffer more lice when water levels are low.
Now there is some directionality, but the hypothesis is not really testable, so the final stage is
to design an experiment around which research can be designed, a testable hypothesis.
Rainbow trout suffer more lice in low water conditions because there is
less oxygen in the water.
This is a testable hypothesis - he has established variables, and by measuring the amount of
oxygen in the water, eliminating other controlled variables, such as temperature, he can see if
there is a correlation against the number of lice on the fish.
This is an example of how a gradual focusing of research helps to define how to write a
hypothesis.
The Next Stage - What to Do With the Hypothesis

Once you have your hypothesis, the next stage is to design the experiment, allowing a
statistical analysis of data, and allowing you to test your hypothesis.
The statistical analysis will allow you to reject either the null or the alternative hypothesis. If
the alternative is rejected, then you need to go back and refine the initial hypothesis or design
a completely new research program.
This is part of the scientific process, striving for greater accuracy and developing ever more
refined hypotheses.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Aug 1, 2009). How to Write a Hypothesis. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/how-to-write-a-hypothesis
31
5 Parts of a Research Paper
One of the most important aspects of science is writing, ensuring that you get all of the
parts of the research paper in the right order.
You may have finished the best research project on earth but, if you do not make an
interesting and well laid out paper, then nobody is going to take your findings seriously.
The main thing to remember with any research paper is that it is based upon an hourglass
structure. It starts with general information, as you conduct a literature review, and becomes
specific as you nail down a research problem and hypothesis.
Finally, it again becomes more general as you try to apply your findings to the world at
general.
Whilst there are a few differences between the various disciplines, with some fields placing
more of an emphasis upon certain parts than others do, there is a basic underlying structure.
These steps are the building blocks of constructing a good research paper. This section
covers laying out the parts of a research paper, including the various experimental methods
and designs.
The principles for literature review and essay of all types follow the same basic principles.
Abstract
Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Reference List
The Introduction
For many students, writing the introduction is the first part of the process, setting down the
direction of the paper and laying out exactly what the research paper is trying to achieve.
32
For others, the introduction is the last thing written, acting as a quick summary of the paper.
As long as you have planned a good structure for the parts of a research paper, both methods
are equally good and it is a matter of preference.
A good introduction generally consists of three distinct parts, starting with
1. a general presentation of the research problem.

2. You should then lay out exactly what you are trying to achieve with this particular
research project.
3. stating your own position.
Ideally, you should try to give each section its own paragraph, but short or long papers will
vary.
1) The General Presentation
Look at the benefits to be gained by the research or why the problem has not been solved.
Perhaps nobody has thought about it, or maybe previous research threw up some interesting
leads that the previous researchers did not follow up.
Another researcher may have uncovered some interesting trends, but did not manage to
reach the significance level, due to experimental error or small sample sizes.
2) Purpose and the Exact Direction of the Paper
The research problem does not have to be a statement, but must at least imply what you are
trying to find.
Many writers prefer to place the thesis statement or hypothesis here, which is perfectly
acceptable, but most include it in the last sentences of the introduction, to give the reader a
fuller picture.
3) A Statement of Intent From the Writer
The idea is that somebody will be able to gain an overall view of the paper without needing to
read the whole thing. Literature reviews are time-consuming enough, so giving the reader an
idea saves their time.
In this section, you look to give a background to the research, including any relevant
information learned during your literature review. You are also trying to explain why you chose
this area of research, attempting to highlight why it is necessary.The second part should state
the purpose of the experiment and should include the research problem, as a part of focusing
the introduction towards the thesis statement or hypothesis.The third part should give the
33
reader a quick summary of the form that the parts of the research paper are going to take and
should include a condensed version of the discussion.
The Method
This should be the easiest part of the paper to write, as it is a run-down of the exact design
and methodology used to perform the research. Obviously, the exact methodology varies
depending upon the exact field and type of experiment.
There is a big methodological difference between the apparatus based research of the
physical sciences and the methods and observation methods of social sciences. However, the
key is to ensure that another researcher should be able to replicate the experiment exactly,
whilst keeping the section concise.
You can assume that anybody reading your paper is familiar with all of the basic methods, so
try not to explain every last detail. For example, an organic chemist or biochemist will be
familiar with chromatography, so you only need to highlight the type of equipment and should
not explain the process in detail.
In the case of a survey, if you have too many questions to cover in the method, you can
always include a copy of the questionnaire in the appendix. In this case, make sure that you
refer to it.
The Results
This is probably the most variable part of any research paper, and depends upon the results
and aims of the experiment.
For quantitative research, it is a presentation of the numerical results and data, whereas for
qualitative research it should be a broader discussion of trends, without going into too much
detail.
For research generating a lot of results, then it is better to include tables or graphs of the
analyzed data and leave the raw data in the appendix, so that a researcher can follow up and
check your calculations.
A commentary is essential to linking the results together, rather than displaying isolated and
unconnected charts, figures and findings.
34
It can be quite difficulty to find a good balance between the results and the discussion section,
because some findings, especially in a quantitative or descriptive experiment, will fall into a
grey area. As long as you not repeat yourself to often, then there should be no major problem.
It is best to try to find a middle course, where you give a general overview of the data and
then expand upon it in the discussion - you should try to keep your own opinions and
interpretations out of the results section, saving that for the discussion.
The Discussion
This is where you elaborate upon your findings, and explain what you found, adding your own
personal interpretations.
Ideally, you should link the discussion back to the introduction, addressing each initial point
individually.
It is important to try to make sure that every piece of information in your discussion is directly
related to the thesis statement, or you risk clouding your findings. You can expand upon the
topic in the conclusion - remembering the hourglass principle.
The Conclusion
The conclusion is where you build upon your discussion and try to refer your findings to other
research and to the world at large.
In a short research paper, it may be a paragraph or two, or practically non-existent.
In a dissertation, it may well be the most important part of the entire paper - not only does it
describe the results and discussion in detail, it emphasizes the importance of the results in the
field, and ties it in with the previous research.
Some research papers require a recommendations section, postulating that further directions
of the research, as well as highlighting how any flaws affected the results. In this case, you
should suggest any improvements that could be made to the research design.
The Reference List

No paper is complete without a reference list, documenting all of the sources that you used for
your research. This should be laid out according to APA, MLA or other specified format,
allowing any interested researcher to follow up on the research.
35
One habit that is becoming more common, especially with online papers, is to include a
reference to your paper on the final page. Lay this out in MLA, APA and Chicago format,
allowing anybody referencing your paper to copy and paste it.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 5, 2009). Parts of a Research Paper. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/parts-of-a-research-paper
36
5.1 APA Title Page
For most assignments written in APA format, a correctly laid out APA title page is
essential.
APA Title Page. Img by Sean MacEntee
It is very easy to do and takes only a few minutes, so there is no excuse for getting it wrong. It
is the very first part of your paper that anyone will see, so a glaring mistake or shoddy work
will create a bad impression, long before anybody starts to judge the quality of your work.
It is a clich, but people really do judge a book (or research paper!) by its cover.
There is an APA approved standard for title pages but, again, it is important to inquire about
the specific requirements for your department and university. APA, or any other style for that
matter, is only a guide, and most departments have developed their own requirements to suit
their own needs.
Figure 1 shows an example of an APA title page. Please note that, for clarity, the font size is
slightly larger than the recommended 12 pt Times New Roman.
37
Creating an APA Title Page
1) The Title
This is the most important part, and should be center aligned, about halfway down the page.
This is the full title of the research paper, dissertation or thesis.
2) Personal Details
At the bottom of the page, center aligned, should be your name, your institution and the date
of submission.
This is the most variable part of the title page, and you may need to include the name of your
supervisor and also the level of paper - dissertation, thesis, and term paper. Check your
departmental recommendations.
3) The Running Head
This is a shortened version of the title, no more than 50 characters long, and is the header
that you will use at the top of each page. This needs to be left justified.
4) The Page Number
This needs to be made using the header function available in word processing papers. The
running header should be separated from the page number by 5 or 7 spaces, and it will
38
appear on every page throughout the document. It must be right aligned.
APA Title Page Examples
Final Remarks
These simple instructions will give you a good title page that will reflect favorably upon all of
the hard work that you have put into your paper. There is no need to add anything, simply
follow the APA guidelines.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Nov 2, 2009). APA Title Page. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/apa-title-page
39
5.2 Writing an Abstract
For longer research papers, dissertations and theses, writing an abstract is an

essential part of the process, as it summarizes the entire research paper.
The abstract allows a researcher to evaluate quickly the content of your paper, and judge if it
is relevant to their research.
As a result, an abstract needs to convey a complete synopsis of the paper, but within a word
tight limit. This strict restriction is where the difficulties lie.
You will be given a maximum word count for an abstract, such as 200 words, and it is
essential that you remain within this limit.
Nowadays, scientific papers are generally placed onto a database, with strict limits on the
number of words, and an overlong abstract risks the entire paper becoming rejected.
Writing an abstract includes briefly introducing the general topic of the work and then
explaining the exact research question, including the aims. It should then include a brief
description of the methodology, the results and the discussion.
You should try to stick to the exact research question answered, and avoid including your own
personal interpretations - if people believe that your paper is relevant they will come across
those in due course.
The same applies with the methodology - you could, for example, state that you used
chromatography as part of the experiment. If somebody decides that your paper is relevant,
they will find out exactly what type of chromatography you used in the method section.
Fitting all of this into a very restrictive word count can be very difficult, and it is a very daunting
task. An overlong abstract is one of the easiest traps to fall into, so the key is to give yourself
plenty of time.
Start writing an abstract without worrying too much about the word limit, making sure that you
include all of the information that you believe to be relevant. Leave it for a day or two and then
you can start upon a harsh edit.
40
With fresh eyes, you will see that some of the information is irrelevant and can be cut. You
can take out some of the descriptive words and chop sentences down to their bare bones.
On the other hand, if your abstract is excessively short, then you have probably missed a lot
of information out. Re-check, and see you have missed anything out, referring to your outline
if you are not sure.
You can also ask another student to read it for you, as an independent assessor. If they
cannot make any sense of your abstract, then it is back to the drawing board.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 8, 2009). Writing an Abstract. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/writing-an-abstract
41
5.3 How to Write an Introduction
Knowing how to write an introduction is yet another part in the process of writing a
research paper.
In the introduction, you are attempting to inform the reader about the rationale behind the
work, justifying why your work is an essential component of research in the field.
The introduction does not have a strict word limit, unlike the abstract, but it should be as
concise as possible. It can be a tricky part of the paper to write, so many scientists and
researchers prefer to write it last, ensuring that they miss no major points.
For a longer research paper, where you use an outline, it can be useful to structure your
introduction around the outline. Here are a few outline examples.
The introduction gives an overall review of the paper, but does address a few slightly different
issues from the abstract.
It works upon the principle of introducing the topic of the paper and setting it into a broad
context, gradually narrowing down to a research problem, thesis and hypothesis. A good
introduction explains how you mean to solve the research problem, and creates leads to
make the reader want to delve further into your work.
You should assume that your paper is aimed at someone with a good working knowledge of
your particular field.
For example, a paper about evolutionary adaptations need not go into too much detail about
Darwin - it is fairly common knowledge.
A behavioral science paper only needs to mention Pavlov and Skinner in passing, as their
theories are standard for any first year undergraduate.
Background
Like in any good Hollywood movie, the first task of the introduction is to set the scene, giving
your paper a context and seeing how it fits in with previous research in the field.
Whilst not the only way, this section, comprising the first paragraphs of your introduction, can
be based around a historical narrative, from the very first research in the field to the current
42
day.
In many fields, this could make up an entire essay in itself, so you have to stick to relevant
information.
Importance
This leads into the rationale behind the research, revealing whether it is building upon
previous research, looking at something that everybody else has overlooked, or improving
upon a previous research project that delivered unclear results.
This section can then flow into how you are going to fill the gap, laying out your objectives and
methodology. You are trying to predict what impact your research will have if everything works
as it should, and you ultimately reject the null hypothesis.
Limitations
The introduction is the place to highlight any weaknesses in the experiment from the start.
For example, an ideal experiment should have perfectly randomized samples, but there are
many good reasons why this is not always possible. As long as you warn the reader about
this, so that they are aware of the shortcomings, then they can easily judge the validity of the
research.
This is much better than making them wait until you point it out in the discussion.
Assumptions
You should also point out any assumptions that you make about conditions during the
research. You should set out your basic principles before embarking upon the experiment:
any research will be built around some assumptions.
For example, if you were performing educational research, you may assume that all students
at the same school are from a very similar socio-economic background, with randomization
smoothing out any variables.
Tips
There are a few tips that can help you write a strong introduction, arousing interest and
encouraging the reader to read the rest of your work.
Keep it Short
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A long and rambling introduction will soon put people off and lose you marks. Stick
closely to your outline for the paper, and structure your introduction in a similar way.
Define the Problem
The entire introduction should logically end at the research question and thesis
statement or hypothesis. The reader, by the end of the introduction, should know exactly
what you are trying to achieve with the paper. In addition, your conclusion and discussion
will refer back to the introduction, and this is easier if you have a clearly defined problem.
Organization
As you write the paper, you may find that it goes in a slightly different direction than
planned. In this case, go with the flow, but make sure that you adjust the introduction
accordingly. Some people work entirely from an outline and then write the introduction
as the last part of the process. This is fine if it works for you.
Once your introduction is complete, you can now think about attacking the rest of the paper.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 24, 2009). How to Write an Introduction. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/how-to-write-an-introduction
44
5.4 Writing Methodology
Writing the methodology lies at the core of the paper, and fulfills one of the basic
principles underlying the scientific method.
Any scientific paper needs to be verifiable by other researchers, so that they can review the
results by replicating the experiment and guaranteeing the validity.
To assist this, you need to give a completely accurate description of the equipment and the
techniques used for gathering the data.
Finally, you must provide an explanation of how the raw data was compiled and analyzed.
Writing Methodology Allows Verification

Other scientists are not going to take your word for it, and they want to be able to evaluate
whether your methodology is sound.
In addition, it is useful for the reader to understand how you obtained your data, because it
allows them to evaluate the quality of the results.
For example, if you were trying to obtain data about shopping preferences, you will obtain
different results from a multiple-choice questionnaire than from a series of open interviews.
Writing methodology allows the reader to make their own decision about the validity of the
data.
If the research about shopping preferences were built upon a single case study, it would have
little external validity, and the reader would treat the results with the contempt that they
deserve.
The Structure Behind

Whilst there are slightly different variations according to the exact type of research, the
methodology can be divided into a few sections.
Describe the materials and equipment used in the research.

Explain how the samples were gathered, any randomization techniques and how the
45
samples were prepared.
Explain how the measurements were made and what calculations were performed upon
the raw data.
Describe the statistical techniques used upon the data.
That is the very basic structure of writing methodology, and it will clarify all of the information.
The writing for the method should be clear and direct, concise and straight to the point. The
major point is not to stray off into irrelevance, and this process is helped by making a few
basic assumptions.
For example, in a psychology paper, there is no need to describe a Skinner box, as that is
well known to psychologists. However, you would need to explain exactly how the box was
used, to allow exact replication.
Whilst not always possible, the methodology should be written in chronological order, always
using the past tense.
Writing Methodology at the Core of the Research Paper

A well laid out and logical methodology will provide a great backbone for the entire research
paper, and will allow you to build an extremely strong results section.
The only real difficulty with the methods section is finding the balance between keeping the
section short, whilst including all of the relevant information.
The other problem is finding the correct style of writing: APA guidelines suggest that you
should use 'I' and 'We', but most supervisors still prefer an impersonal passive tense. Check
this with your supervisor before you start writing, to avoid unnecessary editing!
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jan 4, 2009). Writing Methodology. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/writing-methodology
46
5.5 Writing a Results Section
The next stage of any research paper: writing the results section, announcing your
findings to the world.
In theory, this is the easiest part to write, because it is a straightforward commentary of

exactly what you observed and found. In reality, it can be a little tricky, because it is very easy
to include too much information and bury the important findings.
Writing a Results Section
Too Much Information?
The results section is not for interpreting the results in any way; that belongs strictly in the
discussion section. You should aim to narrate your findings without trying to interpret or
evaluate them, other than to provide a link to the discussion section.
For example, you may have noticed an unusual correlation between two variables during the
analysis of your results. It is correct to point this out in the results section.
Speculating why this correlation is happening, and postulating about what may be happening,
belongs in the discussion section.
It is very easy to put too much information into the results section and obscure your findings
underneath reams of irrelevance.
If you make a table of your findings, you do not need to insert a graph highlighting the same
data. If you have a table of results, refer to it in the text, but do not repeat the figures -
duplicate information will be penalized.
One common way of getting around this is to be less specific in the text. For example, if the
result in table one shows 23.9%, you could write.
Table One shows that almost a quarter of..
47
Tips for Writing a Results Section
Perhaps the best way to use the results section is to show the most relevant information in the
graphs, figures and tables.
The text, conversely, is used to direct the reader to those, also clarifying any unclear points.
The text should also act as a link to the discussion section, highlighting any correlations and
findings and leaving plenty of open questions.
For most research paper formats, there are two ways of presenting and organizing the results.
The first method is to present the results and add a short discussion explaining them at the
end, before leading into the discussion proper.
This is very common where the research paper is straightforward, and provides continuity.
The other way is to present a section and then discuss it, before presenting the next section
with a short discussion. This is common in longer papers, and your discussion part of the
paper will generally follow the same structure.
Be sure to include negative results - writing a results section without them not only invalidate
the paper, but it is extremely bad science. The negative results, and how you handle them,
often gives you the makings of a great discussion section, so do not be afraid to highlight
them.
Using an Appendix to Streamline Writing the Results

Section
If you condense your raw data down, there is no need to include the initial findings in the
results, because this will simply confuse the reader.
If you are in doubt about how much to include, you can always insert your raw data into the
appendix section, allowing others to follow your calculations from the start. This is especially
useful if you have used many statistical manipulations, so that people can check your
calculations and ensure that you have not made any mistakes.
In the age of spreadsheets, where the computer program prepares all of the calculations for
you, this is becoming less common, although you should specify the program that you used
and the version. On that note, it is unnecessary show your working - assume that the reader
understands what a Chi Squared test, or a Students t-test is, and can perform it themselves.
48
Once you have a streamlined and informative results section, you can move onto the
discussion section, where you begin to elaborate your findings.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Mar 2, 2009). Writing a Results Section. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/writing-a-results-section
49
5.6 Writing a Discussion Section
Writing a discussion section is where you really begin to add your interpretations to
the work.
In this critical part of the research paper, you start the process of explaining any links and
correlations apparent in your data.
If you left few interesting leads and open questions in the results section, the discussion is
simply a matter of building upon those and expanding them.
The Difficulties of Writing a Discussion Section

In an ideal world, you could simply reject your null or alternative hypotheses according to the
significance levels found by the statistics.
That is the main point of your discussion section, but the process is usually a lot more
complex than that. It is rarely clear-cut, and you will need to interpret your findings.
For example, one of your graphs may show a distinct trend, but not enough to reach an
acceptable significance level.
Remember that no significance is not the same as no difference, and you can begin to explain
this in your discussion section.
Whilst your results may not be enough to reject the null hypothesis, they may show a trend
that later researchers may wish to explore, perhaps by refining the experiment.
Self-Criticism at the Heart of Writing a Discussion Section

For this purpose, you should criticize the experiment, and be honest about whether your
design was good enough. If not, suggest any modifications and improvements that could be
made to the design.
Maybe the reason that you did not find a significant correlation is because your sampling was
not random, or you did not use sensitive enough equipment.
The discussion section is not always about what you found, but what you did not find, and
50
how you deal with that. Stating that the results are inconclusive is the easy way out, and you
must always try to pick out something of value.
Using the Discussion Section to Expand Knowledge

You should always put your findings into the context of the previous research that you found
during your literature review. Do your results agree or disagree with previous research?
Do the results of the previous research help you to interpret your own findings? If your results
are very different, why? Either you have uncovered something new, or you may have made a
major flaw with the design of the experiment.
Finally, after saying all of this, you can make a statement about whether the experiment has
contributed to knowledge in the field, or not.
Unless you made so many errors that the results are completely unreliable, you will; certainly
have learned something. Try not to be too broad in your generalizations to the wider world - it
is a small experiment and is unlikely to change the world.
Once writing the discussion section is complete, you can move onto the next stage, wrapping
up the paper with a focused conclusion.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Mar 6, 2009). Writing a Discussion Section. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/writing-a-discussion-section
51
5.7 Writing a Conclusion
Writing a conclusion is the final part of the research paper, drawing everything
together and tying it into your initial research.
If you remember, a research paper starts with a broad look at the research and narrows down
to the results, before the discussion opens it out again.
At the beginning of the research paper, you looked at all of the previous research and boiled it
down into a research question.
In the discussion, you assess how the results answer to this question and discuss its
relevance to the existing knowledge in the field.
When writing a conclusion, you should try to answer a few questions, as succinctly as
possible.
You will have already answered some of these in your discussion, but the key is to leave
some questions that another researcher can expand upon for their research project.
If you are planning a long career as a scientist, it is something that you can return to in the
future. A good research project, whatever the results, will generate leads for others to follow.
What Has Your Research Shown?

This is a very quick synopsis of the results and discussion.
Writing a conclusion involves summing up the paper and giving a very brief description of the
results, although you should not go into too much detail about this.
Anybody reading the conclusion has read the entire paper, so the conclusion merely acts as
an aid to memory.
How Has It Added to What is Known About the Subject?

This is where you tie it in to the body of research highlighted in the introduction; during the
course of your literature review.
52
You should then point out the importance of the study and point out how it relates to the field.
You can also point out how your findings can be used by readers, pointing out the benefits.
Even if you did not manage to reject the null, there is always a reason for this, and something
has been learned.
What Were the Shortcomings?

Whilst writing the conclusion, you should highlight any deficiencies in your methods,
explaining how they may have affected your results.
This will allow the next researcher to refine the methodology and learn from your mistakes,
one of the foundations of the scientific process.
Has Your Research Left Some Unanswered Questions?

Do your findings open up any suggestions for future research?
For a shorter paper, this is not always essential, but you can highlight any possible areas of
interest and give some ideas for those following.
Are My Results of Any Use in the Real World?

Again, this is not always applicable, but you can suggest any practical uses for your findings.
For example, if you uncovered a link between diet and the speed at which children learn, you
could suggest a short plan for ensuring that children receive good nutrition.
With writing the conclusion finished, you are almost at the end of your research project.
All that remains is to perform the proof-reading and formatting, a little bit dull, but a sign that
you are in the final stages.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Sep 18, 2009). Writing a Conclusion. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/writing-a-conclusion
53
5.8 Writing a Bibliography
For any research paper, writing a bibliography is essential, to prevent any accusations
ofplagiarism, and to give fair credit to the work of previous authors in the field.
Writing a reference-list also allow the reader, or the person marking the paper, to check the
original sources if they require more detail.
Your bibliography, often called a citation list, always comes at the end of the paper, and it
must include all of the direct sources that you referred to in the body of the paper.
For the vast majority of scientific papers, APA or MLA style references are used,
alphabetically ordered by the surname of the author. For any sources with no author, use the
name of the organization or website or, if there is no other choice, use the title of the work.
As with in text citations, it is important to stick to one style and avoid confusing the reader.
All entries in the bibliography should be in alphabetical order, and they should use a hanging
indent.
If you use more than one source from the same author, you should order them by date and
then by the first letter of the title, if the year of publication is the same.
Writing a Biography - Some Examples of APA and MLA

Format
It is impossible to list all of the permutations for the various types of sources used here.
As for APA and MLA citations, here's how to write a bibliography:
Book With One Author
APA:
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper & Row.
MLA:
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Milgram, Stanley. Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper & Row. 1974
Book With Two Authors
APA:
Argyris, C., Schn, D.A. (1996). Organizational Learning II. Addison-Wesley.
MLA:
Argyris, Chris and Donald A. Schn. Organizational Learning II. Addison-Wesley, 1996.
Edited Book
Use the term "Ed." if there is only one editor. "Eds." is used if there are two or more editors
(This applies for both the APA-standard and MLA-standard).
APA:
Deutsch, M. (2000). Cooperation and Competition. In M. Deutsch and P. Coleman (Eds.)

The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice (pp. 21-40). San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass Publishers.
MLA:
Deutsch, Morton. "Cooperation and Competition". The Handbook of Conflict Resolution:

Theory and Practice. Eds. Morton Deutsch and Peter Coleman. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Publishers. 2000. 21-40.
Journal Article
(If there are more than six authors, list the first six and then use: et al.)
APA:
Quattrone, G.A., Tversky, A. (1984). Causal versus diagnostic contingencies: On self-

deception and on the voter's illusion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46 (2),
237-248.
MLA:
Quattrone, George A. and Amos Tversky. "Causal versus diagnostic contingencies: On self-
deception and on the voter's illusion." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46.2
(1984): 237-248.
55
Article From an Online Journal
APA:
Nisbett, R.E., Wilson, T.D., (1977). The Halo Effect: Evidence for Unconscious Alteration of
Judgments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35 (4), 250-256. Retrieved from:
http://osil.psy.ua.edu/672readings/T6-SocCog2/haloeffect.pdf
MLA:
(Change "6 Jul. 2011" with the date you retrieved the website)
Nisbett, Richard E. and Timothy DeCamp Wilson. "The Halo Effect: Evidence for Unconscious
Alteration of Judgments." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35.4 (1977), 250-256.
Web. 6 Jul. 2011. <http://osil.psy.ua.edu/672readings/T6-SocCog2/haloeffect.pdf>
There are many more subtle variations when writing a bibliography and the whole process of
creating a bibliography can be a minefield.
The above sources contain plenty of information about the correct format, but remember to
check with your supervisor. The supervisor also might help writing a reference if you have
trouble with a particularly difficult citation.
Many academics have their own preferred style, and they will be the ones marking your
research paper, so it is best to stick to what they say.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jan 6, 2009). Writing a Bibliography. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/writing-a-bibliography
56
6 Optional Parts
6.1 Table of Contents Format

For Academic Papers
This table of contents is an essential part of writing a long academic paper, especially
theoretical papers.
It is usually not present in shorter research articles, since most empirical papers have similar
structure.
A well laid out table of contents allows readers to easily navigate your paper and find the
information that they need. Making a table of contents used to be a very long and complicated
process, but the vast majority of word-processing programs, such as Microsoft WordTM and
Open Office, do all of the hard work for you.
This saves hours of painstaking labor looking through your paper and makes sure that you
have picked up on every subsection. If you have been using an outline as a basis for the
paper, then you have a head start and the work on the table of contents formatting is already
half done.
Whilst going into the exact details of how to make a table of contents in the program lies
outside the scope of this article, the Help section included with the word-processing programs
gives a useful series of tutorials and trouble-shooting guides.
That said, there are a few easy tips that you can adopt to make the whole process a little
easier.
The Importance of Headings
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In the word processing programs, there is the option of automatically creating headings and
subheadings, using heading 1, heading 2, heading 3 etc on the formatting bar. You should
make sure that you get into the habit of doing this as you write the paper, instead of manually
changing the font size or using the bold format.
Once you have done this, you can click a button, and the program will do everything for you,
laying out the table of contents formatting automatically, based upon all of the headings and
subheadings.
In Word, to insert a table of contents, first ensure that the cursor is where you want the table
of contents to appear. Once you are happy with this, click 'Insert' on the drop down menu,
scroll down to 'Reference,' and then across to 'Index and Tables'.
Click on the 'Table of Contents' tab and you are ready to click OK and go. OpenOffice is a
very similar process but, after clicking 'Insert,' you follow 'Indexes and Tables' and 'Indexes
and Tables' again.
The table of contents should appear after the title page and after the abstract and keywords, if
you use them. As with all academic papers, there may be slight variations from department to
department and even from supervisor to supervisor.
Check the preferred table of contents format before you start writing the paper, because
changing things retrospectively can be a little more time consuming.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Aug 27, 2009). Table of Contents Format. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/table-of-contents-format
58
6.2 Writing Acknowledgements
Sometimes, writing a research paper is a solo task, but other times writing
acknowledgments is essential.
This polite gesture allows you to thank all of the people who helped you with the project,
without falling under the category of citations.
For example, a landowner may have given you permission to take samples on their land, or
one of the computer science departments may have helped you to recover most of the
dissertation that you somehow forgot to back up before the virus hit!
Either way, it is always nice to give them a thank you in a special section, inserted after the
appendices and marked as 'acknowledgements.'
This can be as long and as short as you want, but it is not a speech for an Oscar, so there is
no need to thank your mother, your agent and your dog.
Sometimes, your supervisor will have had so much input that you can put them as a co-author
for the paper. At other times, they should be the first name in the acknowledgements.
There is no standard format for writing acknowledgements, only that the format should match
the rest of your paper.
In terms of style, some departments keep the acknowledgements strictly formal, with just the
name, whilst others encourage a semi-formal approach, with a short note about how the
person or department helped you.
Really, it is down to your own preference and it is unlikely that your paper will be downgraded
because you used a semi-formal tone.
If it is possible, taking into account confidentiality and restrictions, it is good practice to supply
a copy of your work to the interested parties, although you should check with your department
that this is permitted.
Martyn Shuttleworth (May 12, 2009). Writing Acknowledgements. Retrieved from

Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/writing-acknowledgements
59
6.3 Writing an Appendix
For longer papers, containing a wealth of information, writing an appendix is a useful

way of including information that would otherwise clutter up the paper and mire the
reader in over-elaborate details.
Whilst often referred to as a 'dump,' the information should be relevant to the paper, and must
be laid out with the same care and attention.
The key point to remember, when you are writing the appendix, is that the information is non-
essential. If it were removed, the paper would still be perfectly understandable, and it is simply
a place for extra information.
Many papers include the appendix for the peer reviewing process, and then remove it before
publication, allowing the quality of the raw information to be verified.
Raw Data and Statistics

It is usually good practice to include your raw data within the appendix, laying it out in a neat
table and allowing anybody to recheck your results.
The tables that you include within the body of the paper will then be concise and uncluttered,
allowing the reader to pick out the important information. Any tables and figures included in
the appendix should be numbered as a separate sequence from the main paper, often as Fig
A1, Fig A2 etc.
When writing an appendix, it used to be traditional to include the working and any
explanations for statistical calculations within the appendix, although this is becoming less
common in the age of spreadsheets.
It is a good idea to include a little explanation of what computer program you used, including
the version, as each individual version may have its own interpretation. You can also indicate
why you used it, as well as additional information that may be useful, such as how many
decimal places you rounded to.
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The appendix is a good place to put maps, extra photographs and diagrams of apparatus, if
you feel that it will help the reader to understand, remembering that the body of the paper
should be understandable without them.
For chemistry-based papers, where long and complicated names for compounds are
common, you can include the full name in the appendix, and refer to them in the paper by the
accepted abbreviation.
Writing an Appendix - How Long?

The answer to that really is as long as it needs to be. The appendix should be streamlined,
and not too loaded with information, but there is a lot of flexibility.
The appendix does not count towards the word count for your research paper, so you can set
the length to suit. If you have a very long and complex paper, with an extremely long
appendix, it is a good idea to break it down into sections, allowing the reader to find relevant
information quickly.
Whilst writing an appendix should not affect the quality or final mark for your research paper, a
well-formatted and informative appendix can create a good impression. This attention to detail
is what makes your paper stand out from the rest.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Nov 18, 2009). Writing an Appendix. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/writing-an-appendix
61
7 Research Paper Format
The research paper format may be difficult to master. But you will risk not being taken
seriously, if you try to avoid the main rules.
Here are some important points about the format and other tips on writing a research paper
(listed alphabetically).
An example of the research paper format
Appendices
Most reports have at least one appendix section to allow you to include data, figures and
calculations without breaking the flow of the main body of the report. Most scientists reading
your report will not be too interested in the exact details, only the results.
The appendix, however, allows somebody interested in your results to check your research
more thoroughly. Whilst it can be regarded as a 'dumping ground' for peripheral information
and raw data, it should still be structured properly and referred to in the report.
Back-ups
Please make sure that you back up all your files on disk and as a hard copy. So many
students over the years have lost days of hard work because they did not bother. If you are
not sure how to then ask the computer department for help.
Drafts and Checking

Sometimes, when you think that you have finished your report, it is a good idea to ask another
person to read through it for you and pick out the obvious mistakes.
They can give you input on your research paper format and it is also very easy to miss your
own mistakes so an independent review is useful. After this process you can finalize your first
draft of the report.
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Grammar and Spelling
Even though you are writing scientific reports, it is essential to the research paper format that
your grammar and spelling are correct and readable.
If your report is poorly written, people will tend to assume that your research is also poor and
you are giving the assessor an easy excuse to give you a lower grade.
Spell-checkers are good for an initial check on your language use but they are not powerful
enough to pick up every mistake. If you are not confident enough about your language skills to
write a good report, "bribe" or pay somebody more skilled to edit it for you, when you've
finished your paper.
Most students studying English or other languages are only too happy to have the chance to
earn a little money on the side.
Graphs
Graphs are one of the easiest ways to display your results and findings in an easy to
understand format. Any graphs should take up a full page and be numbered as diagrams 1, 2
etc. They should be referred to by these descriptions in the body of the text.
Graphs are not essential to the research paper format, but helps you present your main points.
Where relevant, graphs should include any error bars so that anybody reading your report can
quickly see the degrees of significance of your results. If you don't know what an error bar is,
don't worry about this.
Graphs are best kept as simple as possible and, in the computer age, should be drawn with
one of the many software programs available.
You should not lose credit for using traditional pen and paper, but most universities and
schools will teach you how to utilize computer spreadsheet applications and the saving in time
and effort is worthwhile.
Hypothesis
Most scientists were taught, during the earlier years at school, that you should include a
hypothesis statement at the beginning of every experiment. This would take the form of
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"Bacteria reproduce more quickly at higher temperatures".
There is a debate about whether it is a good practice or not to include your hypothesis
statement in the research paper format.
This is mostly because many people seems to be "skewed" against defending their hypothesis
. Remember that because you want something to be true (your hypothesis), never do affect
how true it is.
It is, however, essential to make sure in your abstract and introduction exactly what you are
trying to prove.
Illustrations and Photographs

Illustrations such as flow diagrams and diagrams of apparatus set-up can be a powerful way
of simplifying the methods you used in your experiment. If you have the means and ability, it is
useful to draw these on a computer but no credit will be lost if paper and pencil is used, as
long as it is neat and clear.
In the case of photographs, it is preferable to use a digital camera as scans and photocopies
have less clarity. They should be compressed a little to save file space and printing ink but still
clear. Along with graphs, illustrations and photographs should be numbered as 'figures'.
Keywords
In the age of the internet, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that your research
can be found, both on the internet and on university intranet search facilities.
Many scientists are moving towards putting a section under the abstract with about 10 - 15
keywords and phrases which will allow search engines to pick up the research paper.
At this time, this is a 'gray-area' of report writing so probably not worth worrying about too
much. Check with your department if this is common practice for their papers.
A curiosity is that it was the scientific community in CERN, Switzerland/France, which

invented keyword-search on network computers to easier spread their research to other
scientists. That was actually the a great leap towards internet as we now know it.
Layout
Most departments, when starting the report writing process, will give you instructions on what
64
is the common used research paper format. The style can vary a bit between different
department (such as the style of references), but it is mostly similar. If you're not sure about
the research paper format, ask your supervisor.
A few general rules of thumb are that it should be written in a common font, size 10 or 12 and
double spaced.
In the age of the internet, it is becoming bad practice to underline headings or other text as
anybody reading your report online may expect there to be a link there.
Map References
In the case of field work, it is always a good idea to list the name and the exact map co-
ordinates of the places from where samples were taken. This enables another researcher to
duplicate your experiment exactly.
The date and time are also useful as nature often varies wildly even within the space of a few
hours. With the advent of mapping applications such as Google Earth, it is no harm to include
a map of the site or sites in the appendices.
Passive Voice
There are an increasing number of campaigns to persuade scientists to use 'everyday
English' in their reports.
At the moment, scientists writing reports tend to use the passive voice; "It was found that"
or "The results showed.." By contrast, the active voice takes the form of; "We found.." or
"I discovered."
If you were writing for a mainstream publication that was read by the general public then using
the active voice may be useful.
However, the vast bulk of research papers are going to be read only by other scientists so it is
best to stick to the passive voice. The passive voice is essential to the research paper format,
and suggests to others that this is not your personal theories, it is scientifically based
statements.
Update:The APA-standard does now allow for a more active voice. Read more here.
Presentations
For higher level reports and dissertations you will have to give a presentation, either in front of
65
fellow students or lecturers. They will be looking to find holes in your report or will try test your
knowledge outside the report.
When writing your report, you must bear this in mind and make life easier for yourself. Make
certain that your background research is thorough and that you have been very self-critical
when discussing and elaborating your results.
References
Each scientific discipline and sometimes even each individual supervisor has their own way of
setting out references so it is always good to ask for the correct research paper format.
Relevant journals you have been reading are also a good guide.
As long as you are consistent and include all of the information that will allow somebody else
to replicate your research then it should not matter.
In general, the best ways are;
For books;
SARGENT, J.R. (1995); Origins and functions of lipids in fish eggs: Nutritional implications.
Found in; Broodstock management and egg and larval quality, Edited by Bromage, N.R. and
Roberts, R.R, pp 353 - 372, Blackwell Science, Oxford, 1st Ed.
For journal articles;
NAVARRO, J.C. AMAT, F. SARGENT, J.R. (1991) A study of the variations in lipid levels, lipid
class composition and fatty acid composition in the first stages of Artemia sp. Marine Biology,
Issue 111, pp 461 - 465.
For websites;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemia (2006).
Most internet articles should include the date that they were written or last updated. Also
include the author in the case of an online article.
Personal communications;
SARGENT, J. R., (2007), personal communication
66
In the main body of the text you should refer to the article by the name of the author and year.
If there was more than one writer then use all of their names the first time, then use 'et al'
(Navarro et al, 1991) or 'Navarro et al (1991) found that'
Set out your reference list alphabetically by first author and try to be consistent with layout.
It is more important for the research paper format that your references are clear than worrying
about where every last full stop should go.
Research
Research is the foundation of any scientific report and will allow you to learn the background
information leading to your particular experiment.
You should include a synopsis of your research in the introduction of your report as it will
provide a non-specialist with a quick history of the field.
When following the trail of citations it is very easy to lose track of where you are so it may be
useful to draw yourself a 'tree' structure to keep track of all the linked articles.
The best place to start your research is on the internet as it will give you direct information.
You should beware of using information from the internet that is not cited as there is no
system of peer review and information can be very inaccurate.
Domain names can be a guide as .edu, .gov, .ac.uk or similar show that the information is
from a reputable site. Wherever possible you should try and follow any citations to the original
source.
Books and journals are the safest way to find information. They are usually peer reviewed and
the information, as long as up to date, can be regarded as accurate.
Personal information is another way to obtain information. Although many scientists are busy
people they are often willing to spend a little time providing you with information. As long as
you do not have a class full of students pestering people for meetings, a quick e-mail or letter
can often produce results.
For any research, citations should be laid out in an accurate manner, as described above.
Scientific Names
It is essential that scientific/Latin names are used for describing all species, from elephants to
bacteria. The reason for this is that common names vary wildly from country to country and
67
even between regions within a country.
For the first use of any name it is good practice to use the full name e.g. Parus caeruleus.
After this, a shortened form, P. caeruleus, is fine as long as it is clear to the reader if very
similar scientific names are used during the course of the experiment.
If you are being exact, it is good practice to name the person or organization which first
documented the species although, except for recently discovered species, this is not usually
essential.
Significance
This is an often misunderstood word in the method of analyzing scientific results. In the case
of statistical tests, statistical significance shows whether a result has been proved beyond
doubt or whether it may be the result of experimental or sampling errors.
Trends and results can still be important even if not proved by statistical tests; proving the
hypothesis to be incorrect is still significant to science.
Statistics
Many scientists and students spend a large part of their careers trying to avoid statistical tests.
They are still an essential part of analyzing your results so must be used; if you are unsure,
most high schools and universities have a few statistical wizards in place to guide you on
which tests to use.
It is a good idea to talk to them before you design your experiment because they will tell how
many samples need to be collected to prove significance.
Tables
Tables are an essential part of analyzing your data and allowing others to see your results.
Where applicable, graphs are a clearer way of publishing your results, but where you have
many small variations it may be preferable to use a table for clarity.
Tables should be numbered and referred to in the text by these numbers. Even if you use
graphs in your results, it is often no harm to include tables in the appendix.
It is an unnecessary practice to include both graphs and tables showing the same information
in the main body of your report.
68
Martyn Shuttleworth (Mar 23, 2008). Research Paper Format. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-paper-format
69
7.1 In Text Citation
In any research paper, you will have used information from other sources, and it is
essential to use in text citations to accredit other researchers.
Most of your introduction, and much of your discussion, involve building upon the research of
others, placing your research project in the context of previous findings in the field.
It is perfectly acceptable to quote the work of others and, in fact, it is essential that you do so.
Occasionally, you will use direct quotes from another source, but most of the time you will be
paraphrasing the work. You will need to create a bibliography or reference list of all of the
sources that you use, but you will also need to indicate within the text where your information
came from.
Referencing is an essential part of writing any research paper, so err on the side of caution.
Common knowledge does not need to be referenced, and you can assume that any reader is
fairly knowledgeable about the field.
For example, a psychologist will be aware of pavlovian conditioning, so you do not need to
reference that if it from your own head. A biochemist will be aware of how ethanol is made.
How to Format an in Text Citation

There are a number of ways in which you can reference the source, but most are based upon
variations of MLA and APA style.
Check with your supervisor which exact technique you should be using, and be consistent.
If you use one style all of the way through, there should be no problem, but mixing the styles
makes things unclear to the reader and may well be punished by your supervisor.
Apa Style in Text Citations
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The American Psychological Association standard (APA-standard) is used in most social and
psychological papers, and variations of the author/date style are used by many scientific
disciplines.
For this style, after every paraphrase, you include the surname of the author and the date of
writing. For example,
(Sargeant, 2007) at the end of the sentence
or
Sargeant (2007), found that the fatty acid composition
This will allow any readers to find your work in the reference list and check the original source
for themselves. There are a few variations, especially with electronic information, but they all
follow the same basic structure.
If the author has written more than one paper in the same year, then you can use an
alphabetical appendix:
(Sargeant, 2008a)
Some departments prefer it if you also use page numbers, if possible. For example,
(Sargeant 2008, 17)
The other difficulty is when there is no author mentioned, and the source was written by an
organization. In this case, you use the name of the organization or a recognized abbreviation.
For example, NHS, for the National Health Service, or WHO, for the World Health
Organization.
The exact abbreviation does not matter too much, as long as it is clear in the bibliography.
The same is true of many electronic sources, although be careful that any non-attributed
source is reliable.
Mla Style in Text Citations

The MLA style in text citation has two variations, the author/page number, although the
modern trend is for author/year/page number, such as
(Sargeant 2008, 17)
If there are more than two authors listed, then the usual standard is to mention both (Sargeant
& McEvoy, 2008). For multiple authors, it is usual to mention them all the first time, but to use
71
'et al.' afterwards. For example
(Sargeant et al.)
If there are six or more authors, you can use the abbreviation straightaway.
Occasionally, you may have to use a source that has been referenced in another source. If
you can, try to find the original source and use that. If you cannot obtain this source, then you
need to use a two-stage referencing system. For example,
(Sorgheloos, 1967, as cited in Sargeant, 2008)
This makes it clear that you could not access the original work, and that you correctly attribute
the original findings to the researcher who actually performed the initial research.
Footnote Style in Text Citations

A few standards, such as Chicago style and the Council of Biology Editors (BCE) use a
footnote numbering system, where a number is used and cross-referenced with the endnote
section and bibliography:
Sargeant1
or
Sargeant [1]
Although most word processors provide an automatic system of doing this, the added
complexity, and the way that it makes the paper unwieldy for the reader, means that it is
falling out of fashion.
When to Use an in Text Citation

It is always best to over cite, and avoid accusations of plagiarism, but there are a few times
that citation is not necessary.
General knowledge, such as 'Crick and Watson discovered the structure of DNA,' will not
need referencing.
Common knowledge in the field is generally fine, too, although you should err on the side of
caution.
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If you use class notes, some lecturers are not too worried about citations, although it is usually
good practice to find a source saying the same information, from a textbook or journal.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Oct 15, 2009). In Text Citation. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/in-text-citation
73
7.2 How to Write Footnotes
Information on how to write footnotes and endnotes. Footnotes, a type of citation

format, are most often used for history and philosophy papers. As such, scientists
rarely encounter it, but it is still useful to know how to follow the practice.
Many biology journals, for example, prefer footnotes because they allow annotation of the
in-text citation on the same page.
Whilst footnotes are a little more cumbersome than the 'author/date' system, they are useful
where sources require elaboration and short explanatory notes.
What is a Footnote
The footnote takes the form of a superscripted number, just after a paraphrased piece of
information. Subsequently, a cross-reference to this number is inserted at the bottom of the
same page.
In fact, for dissertations and theses, many writers use footnotes to keep track of their citations,
adding a short note of what exactly each one adds to the paper.
Once the paper is complete, the writer converts them to endnotes at the end or every chapter,
or even removes them all together, and uses a standard APA or MLA bibliography instead.
Automatically Inserting Footnotes

The reason that footnotes are still popular in some fields is that most word processing
programs now include a function that makes it very easy to include footnotes in any paper.
In Microsoft Word, clicking Insert > Reference > Footnote allows you to insert footnotes
automatically, and automatically numbers them. This function is so useful, that even if you cut
and paste, and swap information around, it automatically adjusts the footnotes.
This is why it is an excellent resource for keeping track of your sources during the course of a
research paper.
74
How to Write Footnotes - Protocols
If you are using footnotes, the common convention is to insert a full citation, including author,
year and the title of the book, followed by the page number. Afterwards, the surname of the
author and the page number is sufficient.
Older journals often use the word ibid, to show that a footnote uses the same source as the
previous one, but this has become much rarer.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Nov 21, 2009). How to Write Footnotes. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/how-to-write-footnotes
75
7.3 How to Format a Table
In any research paper, it is important to be succinct, and help the reader to find the
information that they need quickly, and without wading through reams of superfluous
information.
One of the best ways to do this is by including relevant data in a table, presenting your
findings in an easily digested format.
For any scientist, knowing how to format a table is an essential skill for writing any research
paper. Most word processing programs allow you to create tables easily, and you can import
or cut and paste tables from spreadsheet applications very easily.
When to Include a Table

For a data heavy paper, including at least one table is essential, and presents the data clearly
and succinctly.
A table should be direct and to the point, without including all of the raw data that belongs in
the appendix. It should replace a lot of text and explanation, making the results and discussion
part of the paper shorter and more clear, although it must be referred to in the text, rather than
left to stand alone.
How Much Information Should a Table Contain?

The simple answer to this is a much as is needs and not more than is necessary!
Practically speaking, this means that a table need not contain all of the raw data from your
research or complicated statistical breakdowns. It should include enough, however, that a
reader can see any trends apparent in the data, especially those highlighted in the text.
Once you have decided upon the information to include, you can begin to format the table.
In a research paper, a table should span the entire page, although many journals prefer
smaller tables sets as floating blocks to the left or the right of the text.
Longer tables can carry on for more than one page, especially in the appendix section of the
paper, but you should always repeat the headings at the top of each page, so that the reader
76
does not have to keep flicking backwards and forwards.
If a table is too wide to fit across a page without cramping the text too much, it is perfectly fine
to use a landscape format, where the table is presented on its side.
Conversely, if a long table only has 2 or 3 columns, you can double it up on the same page,
as long as you use a clear dividing line between the two sections.
Format a Table - The Fine Details

There is always the temptation to use some of the many automatic formats included in word
processors, with partial shading and highlighting.
In a research paper, you should keep the format simple, with plain black borders. Anything
else just overcomplicates things - it is the information in your table that is important, not how it
looks.
Finally, tables should be numbered consecutively, as Table 1, Table 2. They are kept apart
from diagrams, graphs and photos, which are all referred to as Figures.
The only other distinction is that you should number tables in the appendix separately, as
Table A1, Table A2, to prevent confusion.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Nov 23, 2009). How to Format a Table. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/how-to-format-a-table
77
7.3.1 Floating Blocks
Floating blocks is just a technical name for your graphs and figures, specifically
describing the way that they relate to the surrounding text.
When you create a chart, graph or table, you want it to remain next to a specific piece of text.
Otherwise, as you add and remove text, it will appear on a different and completely unrelated
page, making it very confusing for the reader. They may well become bored with flicking
backwards and forwards through the paper, and will look for their information elsewhere.
If you insert a table or chart, then it automatically moves with the text, and you can decide
how large it should be, and whether it interrupts the text or drifts to the side of the page.
However, inserting a figure with Microsoft Word has one big weakness, and that is that the
caption does not move with the table. The only way to do this is with a workaround, where you
create a text-box inside a drawing canvas.
Creating Floating Blocks in a Drawing Canvas

This method avoids most of the problems associated with creating floating blocks, although it
can be a little tortuous. If you have any difficulties, the help guide incorporated into the Word
program is very useful.
1. Click on Insert to bring up the drop down menu. Scroll down to Text Box. When you
click on this, a large box will appear in the body of the paper, marked with Create Your
Drawing Here
2. Diagonally drag the mouse cursor, within this canvas, and create a text box. Try to avoid
taking it completely to the edges, because you need to leave a little room to work.
3. Within this text box, you can do anything that is possible in a normal Word document. In
fact, you can regard it as a mini-Word document, so you can insert graphs and tables, or
even copy and paste from a spreadsheet, if you wish.
4. To format the text box, right click on the border and select Format Text Box. This will
allow you to make any changes, such as removing the border, or fine-tuning the
positioning. To resize the drawing canvas, right click on the border of that and select
Show Drawing Canvas Toolbar. You can then click on Scale Drawing, and adjust the
size. This can be a little fiddly, because you need to readjust constantly the text-box as
78
you resize the canvas, but you will eventually get there.
5. Once this is complete, you are ready to make the text float. Right click the edge of the
drawing canvas, and chose Format Drawing Canvas. Click on Layout and then
Advanced. For magazine type articles, or if you are including photos, you may want to
left or right align the floating blocks. Choose Wrap Text Square and then click the radio
button allowing you to set the text to flow to the left or right.
6. For a research paper, it is good practice to take up a half or full page with a graphic or
table, to ensure that it is clear. On the advanced layout box, click Top and Bottom.
Select the Picture Position tab, and choose: Horizontal, Center of Page and Vertical, 1
from the top of the page. This will establish the floating position of your chart or table.
The problem with Word is that the program has many problems with floating blocks, and can
tend to hide chunks of text, or move your objects to strange places. Sadly, there is little that
you can do about that, other than make sure that you proofread and check everything very
carefully.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 24, 2009). Floating Blocks. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/floating-blocks
79
7.4 Example of a Research Paper
Here's a hypothetical example of a research paper based on an experiment.
The experiment: Say you have just conducted theMilgram Study. Now you want towrite the
research paperfor it. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)
Here's an example of a research article that MIGHT have written (a short version).
The experiment: Say you have just conducted theMilgram Study. Now you want towrite the
research paperfor it. (Milgram actually waited two years before writing about his study.)
Here's an example of a research article that MIGHT have written (a short version).
DISCLAIMER: This article is not written by Stanley Milgram, but is meant as an example of a
research paper in psychology that someone might have written after conducting the first
Milgram-study. It's written for educational purposes.
Normally you would use double spacing in the paper.
EXAMPLE OF A RESEARCH PAPER

--- START OF EXAMPLE ---
[Page 1 - text aligned in the center and middle of the page]
"Behavioral Study of Obedience"
by[author], [University]
1961

[Page 2 - text starts at the top, left]
Abstract
There are little facts about the role of obedience when doing evil actions up until now (1961).
80
Most theories suggest that only very disturbed people do horrible actions if they are ordered to
do so. Our experiment tested people's obedience to authority. The results showed that most
obey all orders given by the authority-figure. The conclusion is that when it comes to people
harming others, the situation a person's in is more important than previously thought. In
contrary to earlier belief, individual characteristics are less important.
[Page 3-X - text starts in the top, left corner, no extra spacing to align text]
Introduction
Current theories focus on personal characteristics to explain wrong-doing and how someone
can intentionally harm others. In a survey, professionals such as doctors, psychologist and
laymen thought that very few out of a population (1-3%) would harm others if ordered to do so.
In the recent war trial with Adolph Eichmann, he claims to "only have been following
orders". The author wanted to test whether this is true, or just a cheap explanation. Can
people harm others because they obey the orders? Are good-hearted people able to do this?
The experiment will test whether a person can keep giving electric shocks to another
person just because they are told to do so. The expectation is that very few will keep giving
shocks, and that most persons will disobey the order.
Methods
Participants
There were male 30 participants participating. They were recruited by advertisement in a
newspaper and were paid $4.50.
Instruments
A "shock generator" was used to trick the participants into thinking that they gave shock to
another person in another room. The shock generator had switches labeled with different
voltages, starting at 30 volts and increasing in 15-volt increments all the way up to 450 volts.
The switches were also labeled with terms which reminded the participant of how dangerous
the shocks were.
Procedures
The participant met another "participant" in the waiting room before the experiment. The other
"participant" was an actor. Each participant got the role as a "teacher" who would then deliver
a shock to the actor ("learner") every time an incorrect answer was produced. The participant
believed that he was delivering real shocks to the learner.
The learner was a confederate who would pretend to be shocked. As the experiment
progressed, the teacher would hear the learner plead to be released and complain about a
heart condition. Once the 300-volt level had been reached, the learner banged on the wall and
81
demanded to be released. Beyond this point, the learner became completely silent and
refused to answer any more questions. The experimenter then instructed the participant to
treat this silence as an incorrect response and deliver a further shock.
When asking the experimenter if they should stop, they were instructed to continue.
Results
Of the 40 participants in the study, 26 delivered the maximum shocks. 14 persons did not
obey the experimenter and stopped before reaching the highest levels. All 40 participants
continued to give shocks up to 300 volts.
Discussion/Conclusion
Most of the participants became very agitated, stressed and angry at the experimenter. Many
continued to follow orders all the time even though they were clearly uncomfortable. The study
shows that people are able to harm others intentionally if ordered to do so. It shows that the
situation is far more important than previously believed, and that personal characteristics are
less important in such a situation.
[New Page]
References
[Read more about references here]
--- END OF EXAMPLE ---
THE SCIENTIFIC FORMAT: A RESEARCH PAPER

OUTLINE:
Page 1:
Title, Author, Work/School
Page 2:
Abstract: A short summary of the article.
Page 3-:
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Introduction
Current theories about the topic. What are thehypothesisfor the paper?
Methods
What method used.
Results
What were the results obtained?
DiscussionandConclusion
What are our thought about the results compared to other relevant theories.
References
Through the text there are references, sources of knowledge, which you've used.Citingthose
will give you more credibility because good research is thought to be based on other
knowledge andempirical (observed) evidence.
Tables,Figures,Appendix
Hopefully you could make use of this example of a research paper!
Martyn Shuttleworth (May 21, 2008). Example of a Research Paper. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/example-of-a-research-paper
83
7.5 Research Paper Example
To fully understand what information particular parts of the paper should discuss,
heres another example of a research paper.
It includes some key parts of the paper such as the Abstract, Introduction, Discussion and
References:
Title Page
Text center-aligned and placed at the middle of the page, stating the title of the paper, name
of author and affiliation.
A Study on the Factors Affecting the Infant Feeding Practices
Of Mothers in Las Pias City
By [Author], University of the Philippines
2009
Abstract
Theabstract starts on the next page, page 2. The text starts at the top, left flushed, double-
spaced.
Abstract
[Abstract here]
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Body Text
The body text starts on the next page, page 3. The text starts at the top, left flushed, double-
spaced.
Introduction
The melamine controversy that erupted during the last quarter of year 2008 brought peoples attention
back to the debates between breastfeeding and the use of breast milk substitutes like commercial infant
formula. This wasnt the first time that infant formula had caused illnesses and even deaths to infants
worldwide - hence the continuous campaign of World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF along
with other breastfeeding advocates, for mothers to breastfeed their children at least until 6 months of
age.
Infant feeding practices refer generally to meet the nutritional and immunological needs of the baby. A
study of infant feeding practices was carried out on a sample of 100 mother and infant pairs. The results
revealed that only 20% of mothers in the study currently exclusively breastfeed their babies. It also
shows that socio-economic factors like mothers work status, marital status and educational attainment
had direct bearing on these practices. Employed mothers tend to cease from breastfeeding their babies
and eventually stop and just resort to formula feeding as they go back to work. The study also showed
that mothers who are married and living with their partners are more likely to breastfeed their infants
than single mothers. Those with higher educational attainment resort more to formula feeding and
mixed feeding than those with lower educational attainment. Health care professionals influence
mothers the most when it comes to infant feeding decisions.
Methodology
Type of Research
The type of research that will be used in this study is qualitative research and quantitative research.
Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that
govern such behavior. The discipline investigates the why and how of decision making. Besides
this, the researcher will also examine the phenomenon through observations in numerical
representations and through statistical analysis. Along with questionnaires that will be given out to
respondents for the statistical representation of the findings in the study, interviews with the
85
respondents and a few experts in this field will also be conducted.
Sampling Method
The research sampling method that will be used in this study is random sampling to obtain a more
scientific result that could be used to represent the entirety of the population. A list of all health care
facilities (maternity and lying-in clinics, public and private hospitals, health centers) was acquired from
the Las Pias City Hall.
From 20 barangays, 3 will be picked through random sampling. The health care facilities and
institutions in these three barangays will then be the target sources of respondents of the researcher. The
health care facilities and institutions will be contacted to obtain a verbal consent to administer the
questionnaire to mothers at their places. A letter of consent will also be sent to them along with a
sample copy of the questionnaire that will be used, as well as the protocol of the researcher. A letter
was also addressed to the City Health Officer to obtain endorsement and consent to conduct a research
in selected barangays and distribute questionnaires to the mothers in the vicinity.
Data collection was conducted throughout the facilities? and health centers? operating hours from
Mondays through Sundays in order to include both working and non-working mothers.
Respondents
The respondents in this research will all be coming from one single location - Las Pias City,
specifically the randomly selected barangays of Pamplona I, CAA/BF International and Pamplona III.
The researcher chose Las Pias City because of the socio-economic conditions present in the area that
is relevant to the study and also as it fits the time frame and resources of the researcher. The randomly
sampled respondents will be asked by the researcher for consent and approval to answer the
questionnaire until the desired number of respondents which is 100 is reached. The opinion of experts
will also be sought in this research to provide explanations regarding the respondents? infant feeding
behaviors and practices.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire requires information about the socio-economic and demographic background of the
mother. It also has questions related to previous infant feeding practices and the birth of her youngest
infant and also regarding the babys general health and age.
Statements that are perceived to be factors that influence mothers? infant feeding decisions were
presented. The description of the type of infant formula given by formula and mixed feeding mothers
will also be asked in the material.
Conclusion
86
Majority of the mothers formula feed their child and only a minority exclusively breastfeeds their
children, especially as per recommendation of the World Health Organization. While majority of the
mothers in this study showed a positive attitude towards breastfeeding, most of them decided only to
formula feed due to the reasons of insufficient milk supply and work.
Based on the results of the study, the educational attainment, work status, marital status, and seminars
in the barangay the respondents are part of, about breastfeeding, are the significant factors that affect
the infant feeding decision of mothers in Las Pias City.
Majority of the mothers that served as respondents in this study fall under the age range of 17-30 years
old. More than half of them were also college graduates while a significant number are undergraduates
and have only reached until high school. Most of the mothers are housewives and the others remaining
have full-time jobs, part-time jobs and self-employed. A few of them are still students. While majority
of them were married, a lot were still in a status of live-in and are single. More than half of the mothers
did not have previous children before the current one. Majority of the respondents also have an annual
gross household income that does not exceed P50,000.
Among the several information sources namely, media through televisions/radios and printed/published
materials, the social support system comprised of the mothers family, friends and other relatives and
health institutions, the mothers who give their babies infant formula are influenced the most by health
care institutions through health professionals and other health care personnel. They influence the
mothers in deciding to feed the baby with formula and in choosing, as well, which brand of formula is
best for their babies. Mothers trust their babys doctor because of their expertise in the said field hence
this kind of relation is achieved.
Mothers were overall not concerned about the possible side effects of breastfeeding as a few were only
worried as shown in the data presented.
It can be concluded that numerous internal as well as external factors influence a mother in making
infant feeding decisions, and a greater fraction of these is socio-economic in nature.
Other Sample Research Papers

If you would like to see the difference between a research paper following the APA writing
format from that following the MLA writing format, here are other research paper examples:
87
dianahacker.com
Explorable.com (Jun 26, 2009). Research Paper Example. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/research-paper-example
88
7.6 MLA Writing Format
The Modern Language Association or the MLA writing format is used commonly when
writing papers in the liberal arts and humanities field.
This writing format provides guidelines to researchers and writers in formatting research
papers and other reports, especially when referencing sources. Referencing and citing of
sources is very important as this protects writers from allegations of plagiarism. By properly
referencing, you demonstrate accountability to your source materials.
When you are to write a paper with the use of the MLA format, here are general formatting
guidelines that you should follow:
Margin. Margins should be set to one (1) inch on all sides (top, bottom, left and right).
Font Size and Type. Font for text all through out the paper should be 12-pt. Make sure
you use a legible font face, and refrain from using decorative fonts. It is recommended
that for any font you choose to use, regular and italics type of this should differ enough
to be recognized from one another.
Spacing. The entire paper should be double-spaced. This includes the title and the
body of each paragraph. Avoid adding extra spaces between the heading and the title of
your paper as well as between the title and body itself. For spacing after punctuation,
observe one space after periods and other punctuation marks unless specified by your
instructor.
Text Indentation. For the text body, indent the first line of each paragraph
approximately half-inch from the left margin which also equates to 5-7 spaces. It is
recommended that you make use of the Tab key for uniformity, rather than pressing the
space bar 5-7 times.
Order of Pages and Pagination. Place a header that numbers all the pages of your
paper in the upper right corner of each page, half inch from the top and right-flushed.
However, this may vary upon the specifications preferred by your instructor. Sometimes
headers are asked to be typed with your last name first, then the page number in Arabic
numeral form. This is still in accordance to MLA writing format. It is advised that you first
ask for your instructor's guidelines to make sure you're both in the right page.
Endnotes. Endnotes should be placed on a separate page preceding your Works Cited
page. Place a "Notes" title for this section, centered on the page and must remain
unformatted.
Title Page
When authoring papers in MLA writing format, be reminded that the Title Page is not
necessary unless you were specifically instructed by the instructor to make one. In case you
89
were instructed to do so, your Title Page will then serve as your Page 1. You are expected to
list your name, your instructor's name, course and the date on the upper left corner of the
page. Make sure you double-space after each line.
After the date, double-space once again then enter the Title of your paper, aligned at the
center. Please refrain from formatting the Title further, such as underlining, italicizing, typing
the Title in all capital letters or full capitalization, or placing your Title in quotation marks.
Quotation marks can however be used if you are at the same time referring to other works in
your Title. If this is the case, here are some examples on their proper formatting:
Fearing and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play
Racism in "Crash"
Please be reminded that only the first page should include the whole heading and title. Here's
an example of a Title Page following the MLA writing format:
http://www.dianahacker.com/pdfs/Hacker-Daly-MLA-Title.pdf
Section Headings
When writing a long research paper in MLA writing format, it is best to make use of Section
Headings as these would improve your paper's readability. Section Headings could be
individual chapters of a book or named parts of an essay.
There are two (2) types of headings you can make use of: the numbered headings and the
formatted, unnumbered headings. Whichever it is you choose to make use of, make sure you
employ this type of sectioning for the entire paper.
What follows are sample numbered headings that can be used as your reference when
making headings for your own paper using the MLA writing format:
1. Soil Conservation
1.2 Terracing
1.1 Erosion
2. Energy Conservation
2.2 Alternative Sources of Energy
2.1 Traditional Sources of Energy

3. Water Conservation
90
For formatted and unnumbered headings, here are some examples:
Level 1 Heading: Bold, Flush Left

Level 2 Heading: Italicized, Flush Left
Level 3 Heading: Bold, Centered

Level 4 Heading: Italicized, Centered
Level 5 Heading: Underlined, Flush left
If you choose to use only one level of headings, this means all sections are parallel and
distinct and does not include any sub-heading, it is advised that all these Section Headings
resemble one another grammatically for the purpose of parallelism and uniformity. It is
important that you remain consistent all through out your paper.
In the event you choose to employ multiple levels of headings, meaning some sections
include subsections or sub-headings, providing a key of level headings you used and their
corresponding formatting to your instructor or editor could be a good idea.
Body
Now you're done with your title page and section headings, let's move on to the body of your
research paper.
All general MLA writing format guidelines apply to the body of your research paper. Between
paragraphs, refrain from adding extra spaces as this is only done when you're expected to
write in business format. Otherwise, be consistent and follow the general guidelines for the
entirety of your paper.
Text Citations
When writing research papers, it is crucial to properly document your sources with
parenthetical references not only to prove your paper credible but also to avoid being accused
of plagiarism. Being accused of plagiarism could cause you a lot of trouble and may even
result to getting a failing grade.
Here are some guidelines in parenthetical referencing for papers following the MLA writing
format:
When referencing outside sources following the MLA writing format, include a page for
Works Cited to show readers where you found your data and information. This will also
allow your readers to easily find the mentioned source materials themselves.
91
Be reminded that the Works Cited page is not the same as Bibliography or a listing of all
information you may have researched in the preparation and writing of your paper.
Format your Works Cited page by creating a header. The whole page should be double-
spaced just like the rest of the document, including citations.
List citation entries in alphabetical order by the authors' last names.
Explorable.com (Feb 8, 2009). MLA Writing Format. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/mla-writing-format
92
7.6.1 MLA Citations
MLA Citation Style refers to a set of rules and conventions established by the Modern
Language Association for crediting sources used in a research paper usually in the
fields of social studies and liberal arts.
MLA Citations are done by using what is known as parenthetical citation. In this method,
relevant source information is placed in parentheses after a certain quote or paraphrase. The
required source information in parenthetical citations depends upon two things: upon the
source medium and upon the sources entry on the Works Cited page.
MLA Citations use a two-part parenthetical documentation system for citing reference works:
In-Text Citations and the Works Cited List. In-Text Citations are used to point to an
alphabetical Works Cited list which appears at the end of your paper. Together, they credit all
the sources used in your paper and at the same time help all your readers access and retrieve
any of these cited source materials.
For familiar historical documents, such as the United States Constitution, corresponding entry
in the Works Cited list is no longer needed.
Common knowledge, familiar proverbs and well-known quotations no longer need to be cited.
Just be reminded that citing sources is a choice based on readers. If youre writing for experts,
like scholarly journals, they may have different expectations of what constitutes common
knowledge.
In-Text Citations
Source citations should be placed in the text of your paper to briefly identify sources for
readers and at the same time allow them to locate these mentioned works in your Works
Cited List.
MLA Citations follow the author-page method of in-text citation. Meaning, the authors last
name as well as the page number/s from which the quotations or paraphrase was taken
appears in the text. It also follows that a complete reference appears on a separate Works
Cited list.
When making in-text citations, author names may appear either within the sentence itself or
enclosed in parentheses placed after the quotation or paraphrase. Page number/s appear in
93
the parentheses though, and not within the text of your sentence.
Furthermore, MLA Citations within the text should follow these pointers:
Give only the needed information such as the authors last name and the page reference
of the quotation or paraphrase.
MLA citations in the form of parenthetical references should complement and not repeat
the information given in the text. If you have already mentioned the authors name in
your sentence, do not include this anymore in the parenthetical reference.
Place the parenthetical reference as close as possible to the material being documented
and where pause in the sentence naturally occurs. Usually they are placed at the end of
a sentence.
Parenthetical references should precede the punctuation mark that ends the sentence,
phrase, or clause that contains the cited work.
Online sources are cited just like how printed sources are cited in the text. If the online
source lacks fixed page numbers or section numbering, omit numbers from the
parenthetical reference. Otherwise, cite the relevant numbers.
Works Cited List

All works cited in the text of your paper should appear at the end of the paper through your
Works Cited list. The Works Cited list provides all the information needed by readers to
identify and at the same time retrieve all sources cited in your paper.
Your Works Cited list should follow these pointers:
Entries should be arranged alphabetically by the authors last names. If there are
sources cited with no authors, use the title of the sources.
Capitalize the first letter of the first word as well as all other principal words in the titles
and subtitles of works cited. Do not capitalize prepositions, articles, coordinating
conjunctions as well as the word to in infinitives.
Shorten the publishers name by omitting articles, business abbreviations (such as Co.
and Inc.) and descriptive words (such as Press and Publisher).
If there are multiple publishers listed, include all of them placing a semicolon (;) between
each.
When more than one city is listed for the same publisher, include only the first city.
When listing multiple authors of a single work, make use of the conjunction and instead
of an ampersand (&).
For pagination, refrain from using abbreviations p. or pp. when designating page
numbers.
For indentation, first line of each entry should be aligned left-flush. All subsequent lines
should form a hanging indent, or should be indented 5-7 spaces.
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Explorable.com (Oct 13, 2009). MLA Citations. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/mla-citations
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7.7 APA Writing Format
The American Psychological Association or APA Writing Format is one of the most
widely used formats in writing academic papers, particularly in the field of science.
The APA writing style has evolved through time and several changes have been adapted in
response to the electronic information age. What follows are some useful pointers for those of
you who're tasked to write a paper using the APA format.
In general, your paper should follow these formatting guidelines:
Margin. Although formerly, the required measurement for margins is 1 inch, now, it is
required that margins on all sides (top, bottom, left, right) should each just measure one
(1) inch.
Font Size and Type. Font for text all through out the paper should be 12-pt., Times New
Roman.
Spacing. Double-space for the whole document, including appendices, footnotes, tables
and figures. For spacing after punctuation, space once after commas, colons and
semicolons within sentences and space twice after punctuation marks that end
sentences.
Text Alignment and Indentation. Alignment should be flush left, or aligned to the left
creating uneven right margin.
Running Head and Short Title. Running heads are short titles located at the top of
each of the pages of your article. Short Titles on the other hand are two to three-word
derivation of the title of your paper. Running heads should not be confused with Short
Titles. Running heads are typed flush left at the top of all pages while Short Titles are
typed flush right.
Running Heads are not necessary for high school and collegiate papers unless required
by instructor. These are instead mostly required for documents that are being prepared
for actual release or publication. Running Heads should not exceed 50 characters
including punctuation and spacing.
Active Voice. Traditionally, the APA writing format requires writing in an impersonal
form. That is, refraining from using pronouns such as I' or We' in your statements. Now,
it has changed. Most disciplines require the active voice. An example of this would be,
instead of writing according to the study, it should be according to our study. This
way, papers are made to be as active as possible.
Order of Pages and Pagination. The order of pages should follow this format:
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Title Page > Abstract > Body > References > Appendices > Footnotes > Tables >
Figures
The page number should appear one inch from the right corner of the paper on the first
line of each page. The title page will serve as the Page 1 of your paper.
Title Page
The Title Page should contain the title of your paper, your name as its author (including co-
authors), your institutional affiliation/s and author note if applicable. In case there's no
institutional affiliation, just indicate your city and state or your city and country instead.
As mentioned earlier, your title page will serve as your Page 1. It should be typed centered on
the page. If it requires more than one line, please be reminded to double-space between all
lines. Your name appears double-spaced as well, below the paper title.
The author note is where information about the author's departmental affiliation is stated, or
acknowledgements of assistance or financial support are made, as well as the mailing
address for future correspondence.
Abstract
The Abstract of your paper contains a brief summary of the entirety of your research paper. It
usually consists of just 150-250 words, typed in block format. The Abstract begins on a new
page, Page 2. All numbers in your Abstract should be typed as digits rather than words,
except those that begin a sentence.
Body
The body of your research paper begins on a new page, Page 3. The whole text should be
typed flush-left with each paragraph's first line indented 5-7 spaces from the left. Also, avoid
hyphenating words at ends of line.
Text Citation and References

Text Citations are important to avoid issues of plagiarism. When documenting source
materials, the author/s and date/s of the sources should be cited within the body of the paper.
The main principle here is that, all ideas and words of others should be properly and formally
acknowledged.
The Reference Section lists all the sources you've previously cited in the body of your
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research paper. It states the author/s of the source, the material's year of publication, the
name or title of the source material, as well as its electronic retrieval information, if these were
gathered from the Internet.
Appendices
The Appendix is where unpublished tests or other descriptions of complex equipment or
stimulus materials are presented.
Footnotes
Footnotes are occasionally used to back up substantial information in your text. They can be
found centered on the first line below the Running Head, numbered as they are identified in
the text.
Tables and Figures

What is the difference between Tables and Figures? Tables are used to present quantitative
data or statistical results of analyses. Examples of quantitative data are Population, Age,
Frequency, etc.
Figures on the other hand come in different forms. It could be with the use of graphs, images
and other illustrations other than tables. Figures are commonly used to show a particular
trend, or to compare results of experiments with respect to constant and changing variables.
Above are guidelines you may find useful when writing a research paper in APA writing
format. However, you should be reminded that it's still best if you will consult your instructor
every time to confirm his requirements. It will be handy to verify whether your instructor
prefers the active voice or the passive voice, just to make sure you're both on the same page.
Explorable.com (Jul 7, 2009). APA Writing Format. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/apa-writing-format
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7.7.1 APA Writing Style
One of the trickiest parts of writing any academic work is using the correct style, and
APA writing style is just one of the many formats, used by many sciences.
The most important thing to remember with APA standard is that the manual is aimed at
psychologists.
Whilst other fields may base their papers upon this style, they may have subtle differences -
some fields do not like the pronoun we, for example, whereas psychology has no problem
with this practice.
Always check with your supervisor, and establish the correct style before you start. The main
thing to bear in mind with the APA writing style is that it is currently undergoing many
changes, as a response to the electronic information age.
The Evolution of the APA Writing Style

The difficulty with APA style, and with any style, is that it has adapted and evolved over the
years, and an older teacher or professor may have a completely different preference to a
younger one.
For example, older supervisors may prefer you to stick with the passive voice, whereas
modern writing and convention has moved towards using active where possible.
There really is no correct way to write a paper, as things stand, so it is most important to make
sure that you are consistent and that the paper has a nice 'flow', and is readable.
Personal or Impersonal?
The principle is not as complicated as it seems, because it is simple an extension of what you
already know.
Traditionally, APA dictated writing in an impersonal form, not using the pronouns 'I', or 'We'.
One of the major changes in APA format is that, in a co-authored paper, you can use 'We'.
For example, 'We found that', or 'Our research showed that'.
However, just to complicate things, some academics are pushing for change towards using
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the first person, in order to avoid the passive completely.
For example:
"I measured the frequency at regular intervals"

instead of
"The frequency was measured at regular intervals."
Formal APA Writing Style

APA writing style needs to be formal. Avoid using slang words and avoid contractions, such
as 'don't', 'won't', couldn't.' Whilst APA is trying to move towards a more personal style, that
does not mean informality, as if you were writing a friendly e-mail.
Formality used to mean sticking with a passive style of writing, but attitudes towards using the
passive voice have changed over the past few years. Even ten years ago, most disciplines
required the passive voice.
That has changed, and it is better to try to make a paper as active as possible. For example,
instead of 'It was found that' you could try "Bandura discovered" or "The results showed
that"
Terminology
With APA writing style, it is important to try to remain neutral with the terminology that you
use. This includes avoiding gender specific language, wherever possible.
For example, if you are talking about Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall, you can use 'he' or
'she'. If all of your test subjects are women, you can also use 'she', but if the group is mixed,
you must use a neutral term such as 'subjects', or 'people'.
You must avoid pejorative terms such as AIDS 'victims' or cancer sufferers. It is much better
to use 'People diagnosed with AIDS' or 'The subjects who developed cancer. These may
seem to be fine distinctions, but try to remember that language changes over time and a word
that is acceptable now may not be suitable in twenty years.
Look at an anthropology paper from the early Twentieth Century, where indigenous people
are referred to as 'Savages' and 'Heathens,' and you will see why this is important.
If you have any doubt, use terminology found in the current literature or ask your supervisor -
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finding a neutral tone can be a minefield!
Confusion
The constantly evolving APA writing style is undergoing some major changes, mainly as an
attempt to make scientific papers more accessible to non-scientists.
The main thing to remember is that the APA writing style guide is a general guide, not a set
rules.
Listen to your supervisor or teacher, because they mark the paper, and try not to be too
bogged down in the details. If you complete a great research project, and write an interesting
paper, it is unlikely that you will be penalized.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 6, 2009). APA Writing Style. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/apa-writing-style
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7.7.2 APA Citations
APA citations are used mostly in social and psychological science papers.
Referencing is very important when writing research papers. In some cases, we may even
need to directly quote from another source so as to complement statements we have made in
our paper. This is when the knowledge of proper citation comes handy.
Being able to properly cite all our sources is crucial as this spares us from charges of
plagiarism. Citing works of others builds our paper's credibility. So when you do, it is important
that you properly and accurately document all the source materials you have used.
When writing APA Citations, you should make use of the author-date method of in-text citation
. In this method, the author's last name and the year of the source material's publication
enclosed in parentheses should appear in the text, most of the time at the end of the
sentence. It should also follow that a complete reference appears in the Reference List at the
end of your paper.
Here are a couple of examples of APA Citations in text:
.fatty acid composition (Sargeant, 2007).

covered over by development (Clayton, 2000).
In many scientific disciplines, several variations of the author-date style are being used. Here
are other variations of APA citations:
Sargeant (2007), found that the fatty acid composition.

Clayton (2000) said those rivers have since been covered over by
development.
It should also be noted that APA citations should be written in past tense or present perfect
tense when using signal phrases to describe earlier research. An example of this would be:
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Smith (2000) stated that
or
Smith (2000) has stated that
Here are further guidelines in writing APA citations:
Capitalization. Always capitalize proper nouns such as author names and initials. (eg.
A. Smith).
If you're referring to the title of a source in your paper, capitalize all words of the title that
are at least four letters long except short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns,
adjectives and adverbs. Here are some properly formatted APA citations:
Clean - Soil, Air, Water

Sociology of Religion
There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Writing New Media
When capitalizing titles, make sure you capitalize both words in a hyphenated
compound word, such as:
Natural-Born Killers
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
For titles with dash or colons, capitalize the first word that follows as in this example:
Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of the Hitchcock's Vertigo
Italics/Underlining. For APA citations of titles of longer works such as books, edited
collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums, italicize or underline
them:
When I Met Your Mother
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The Closing of the American Mind
On the other hand, for titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited
collections, episodes of television series, and song titles, put quotation marks around
them:
"The One Where Chandler Can't Cry"

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
Short Quotations. When directly quoting somebody else's work, include the author, the
year of publication, as well as the page number of the reference material preceded by
"p." Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that mentions the author's last name
followed by the year of publication enclosed in parentheses. Here's an example:
According
intersectedto Claytonalthough
London, (2000), "Several rivers
those rivers aside
have from
since the Thames
been covered once
over
by development" (p.28).
If the author's name is not mentioned in a signal phrase, place the author's last name,
year of publication and the page number in parentheses after the quotation:
He said, "Several rivers aside from the Thames once intersected

London, although those rivers have since been covered over by
development" (Clayton, 2000, p.28).
Long Quotations. APA citations for direct quotations longer than 40 words, place them
in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. The quotation
should start on a new line, indented five spaces from the left margin.
The entire quotation should be typed on the new margin, indenting the first line of every
subsequent paragraph within the quotation, again five spaces from the new margin.
Double-spacing should be observed all through out the quotation, just like the rest of the
research paper. Parenthetical citation then comes after the closing punctuation mark.
Here's an example of APA citation of a long quotation:
Jones's (1998) study found the following:

Students
their first often
time had difficulty
citing sources. using APA style,
Thistodifficulty especially
could when itto
be attributed was
the fact that many students failed
ask their teacher for help. (p. 199) purchase a style manual or to
Summary or Paraphrase. If you will be paraphrasing an idea from another work, you
only have to make reference to the author and date of publication in your in-text APA
citation. Although it is not required, APA guidelines encourage you to still provide the
page number:
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According
time to Jones
learners. APA (1998),
style is aAPA stylecitation
difficult is a difficult
formatcitation format learners
for first-time for first-
(Jones, 1998, p. 199).
Reference List
A Reference List provides all the information needed for your readers to locate and retrieve
any source you cited in the body of your research paper. Each entry or source you cited in
your paper should appear in the list and it also follows that each entry in your Reference List
should be properly cited in your text. The Reference List appears at the end of the paper and
should begin on a new page, separate from the body of your paper. Furthermore, your
Reference List should follow these guidelines:
Label. Reference List page should be labeled "References" at the top of the page,
unformatted. Meaning, the word "References" should not be in italics, underlined, bold
or enclosed in quotation marks.
Spacing. All text should be double-spaced just like the rest of your paper.
Indentation. Hanging indention should be observed. Meaning, all lines after the first line
of each of your entries in the Reference List should be indented half-inch from the left
margin.
Entries. All Reference List entries should be in alphabetical order by the last name of
the first author of each source. Author names are inverted (last name stated first).
1. For multiple authors, give the last name and initials for all authors unless the source has
more than six authors.
2. If the work has more than six authors, list the first six authors than make use of et al.
after the sixth name to indicate all the remaining authors.
3. If you have cited more than one work written by the same author, single-author
references or multiple-author references with the same exact authors in the exact same
order should be listed in order by the year of publication, starting with the earliest work.
4. Making reference to works that are not journals, such as books, articles or Web pages,
capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a
colon or a dash in the title, as well as proper nouns. Also, there's no need to capitalize
the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
5. In journal titles, capitalize all major words.
6. In edited collections of journal articles and essays, do not italicize, underline or put
quotation marks around titles of shorter works.
Explorable.com (Aug 12, 2009). APA Citations. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
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https://explorable.com/apa-citations
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8 Academic Journals
Academic Journals are peer-reviewed periodicals issued by an institution, corporation

or a professional or scholarly society in which researchers publish current news or
reports in the form articles of their research work.
The term academic journal applies to all scholarly publications in all fields, from scientific and
quantitative social sciences to humanities and qualitative social sciences.
In content, academic journals usually consist of articles that present one's original research as
well as reviews of previous works. Theoretical discussions and articles are published here
critically reviewing already published works such as books. The frequency of release of these
may be annual, semi-annual or quarterly. Academic or professional publications on the other
hand that do not undergo peer-review are called professional magazines.
Academic Journals serve as forums of researchers for the introduction and presentation of
new research works for scrutiny, and critique of existing works of research. Its primary
purpose is to distribute knowledge of the most recent or latest researches and breakthroughs,
and not to make money. Most of the time, highly specific knowledge are provided for students
and expert audience. Academic journal article contributors publish their works to establish or
improve their professional ranking and reputation.
Academic journals are important as these greatly contribute to the validation and at the same
time dissemination of breakthrough knowledge. Theories change over time as new sets of
knowledge continue to be discovered by researchers.
Some well-founded theories could even be debunked in the future as new discoveries prove
alternative explanations for particular phenomena. An example of this would be the series of
theories of evolution that constantly tries to prove the evolution of living things in the course of
time. Until now, studies are still being conducted to find out the exact path of evolution of
humans, as well as other life forms. Another would be the changing views on the cause of
extinction of dinosaurs, or breakthroughs in conditions like AIDS or certain types of cancer.
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Learning never ends and this has continually been proven by academic journals. Through
academic journals, researchers and other experts altogether find answers to man's never-
ending questions about the Earth and all the processes it and all matter it holds undergo or
have undergone.
Types of Academic Journal Articles

Journal articles come in different types, depending upon the field and specific type of journals.
Usually, academic journals include:
Letters/Communications. These are short descriptions of important latest study or

research findings which are usually considered urgent for immediate publication.
Examples of these would be important breakthroughs regarding cures or treatments for
previously incurable conditions, or cure for a particular outbreak of disease, like for
example swine flu.
Research Notes. Research notes are typically short descriptions which are considered
less urgent compared to Letters. These contain information on current research findings
of an expert or a researcher.
Articles. These are usually around 5-20 pages and are complete descriptions of current
original research findings.
Supplemental Articles. These mostly consist of large-volume tabular data that details
all the results of current research.
Review Articles. Review articles, unlike the previous types, do not cover original
research but instead accumulate results of multiple articles on a particular field or topic
into a coherent narrative about the state of the art in the said field. They provide
information about the subject and at the same time provide journal references to the
original research.
Here are some examples of academic journals in some fields:
Scientific Journals
Nature
PNAS
Physical Review Letters
PLoS Biology
Science
Humanities
Arion
Humanicus
Journal of Medical Humanities
Kritika Kultura
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Screen
Explorable.com (Aug 23, 2009). Academic Journals. Retrieved from Explorable.com:

https://explorable.com/academic-journals
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8.1 Peer Review Process
The peer review process is one of the cornerstones of academic writing, and is a way
of ensuring that the information in any academic publication is verifiable and of a good
quality.
The basis of the peer review process is that any research paper is forwarded to a group of
experts in the field, and they assess its quality, accuracy and, often, novelty.
Whilst most people are aware of peer review processes for scientific journals, they are also
used for grant applications, conference papers and textbooks for University Press-publishers.
With the amount of poor quality research available on the internet at the moment, it is vital to
ensure that any sources that you use are from a peer-reviewed publication. It is also handy to
understand the process, providing you with another tool to assess the quality and validity of
information.
This is extremely important because of the way in which research is built up, with all research
relying upon the findings of previous researchers in the field. If a piece of research is later
found to be inaccurate, flawed or a fraud, then the viability of all the research built upon it is
brought into question.
How the Peer Review Process Works

Whilst every journal or grant application process has its own protocols, they all follow the
same basic structure.
The editor reviews a stack of papers for submission. This editor usually has some
expertise in the field, so can filter out the very poor quality papers, to avoid cluttering the
peer review process with substandard research.
The remaining papers are sent to referees for further approval, usually to two leading
experts in the field.
They approve, reject or send back the paper to the editor, with recommendations for
improvements. The vast majority of papers require some degree of modification before
publication.
The editor, usually with a good knowledge in the field, although not as in depth as the
referees, will pass the paper, along with the comments, back to the author for
amendment. Usually, when the author returns the paper for the second time, the editor
will make the decision himself, without re-referring to the peers.
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Generally speaking, the editors word is final, and the referees are there on a purely
consultation basis.
Ideally, all stages of the process are independent, and the referees do not consult with each
other, nor are they even aware of each others identity, to ensure impartiality. If the two peers
disagree, then the editor makes the final decision, although high profile, prestige journals
often send the paper to another reviewer for a decision.
In other cases, the editor may allow the author to deliver a rebuttal to any negative criticism,
or even direct conversation between the author and referee.
Anonymity in the Peer Review Process

Traditionally, the authors never knew the identity of the reviewers, and many journals
attempted to use a double blind method, where the authors remained anonymous, but this
proved to be very difficult, as the reference list and specific area of research gave too many
clues, especially in smaller fields where researchers will tend to be aware of each others work.
The internet has brought its own difficulties, and it is becoming increasingly common to open
up the entire process, especially in the field of medicine, where the sheer volume of research
and journals makes it practically impossible to evaluate the quality of research.
In this process, subscribers to the journal can also read the entire history of the report,
including all of the referees comments, bringing transparency to the process.
The idea of the peer review process is still the gold standard by which academic papers are
reviewed, but the electronic-age has meant that peer review publications must adapt to the
changing access to information.
Martyn Shuttleworth (May 25, 2009). Peer Review Process. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/peer-review-process
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8.1.1 Sham Peer Review
Sham peer review, is at epidemic proportions in the United States. Peer reviews are
meant to be helping tools, used to help a doctor better perform his duties.
Instead peer reviews have been used as punishment tools, hence the term sham peer review.
Doctors are protected under various laws to prevent them from being litigated against for
publishing an opinion regarding other doctors while acting in the role as mentor or peer.
A doctor that sits in on a peer review board receives immunity from any legal actions. The
definition is broad as to what type of activities are immune, so unfortunately there are many
cases where the power is abused and peer reviews are based on other than scientific or
medical observations.
What Motivates Sham Peer Review?

Motivating factors that precede a sham peer review may include but are not limited to:
Financial gain
Personal dislike
Professional disagreement
Professional jealousy
Bully tactics
Fear of retalitation by other peers (group think)
Punishment for Whistle blowing
Example
Financial gain can be a great motivator especially if there is little or no personal investment.
Let us look at this hypothetical scenario:
Dr. John and Dr. Bob are both up for the same research grant. Dr. John is also up for his peer
review at the hospital that both he and Dr. Bob are affiliated with; Dr. Bob is on the peer
review board. Dr. Bob recommends that Dr. John needs some remedial training because he
has heard complaints regarding misdiagnosis in several of his patients.
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There is no evidence of this but Dr. Bobs report. Dr. Bob gets his buddy Dr. Joe to also get on
board and say only a few unkind words. Dr. John is almost guaranteed not to receive the
research grant based on an unfavorable peer review.
This example is of course an exaggeration but the example below is taken right from real life:
This excerpt sums it up rather nicely:
Sham peer review is also being used by unethical physicians to attack

other physicians so as to eliminate competition. It is a process which is
being driven by money. As reimbursements to hospitals and physicians
decline, sham peer review increases. [...]
Although thousands of patients die every year from preventable errors
which occur in hospitals, many physicians today are afraid to come
forward to report problems in hospitals out of fear that their careers will
be ended by a retaliatory sham peer review. Fewer and fewer physicians
are willing to risk their career and livelihood to protect patients in
hospitals. It is easier and far safer for physicians to simply look the
other way and remain silent.
by Lawrence Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D.

Editor, Journal of American Physicians & Surgeons
Reference:
Private Sector Whistleblowers: Are There Sufficient Legal Protections?"
Sham peer review gives the medical industry a bad name, and leaves a bad taste in the
mouth of many a talented physician.
These punishments that are received from folks that are supposed to be cohorts and assisting
one on the journey through medicine are disheartening and dangerous.
They are a necessary evil but should be viewed as one of only several tools to judge a
doctors abilities, they should not carry the weight that they do given the obvious abusive
practices.
Explorable.com (Sep 16, 2009). Sham Peer Review. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/sham-peer-review
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8.1.2 Advantages of Peer Reviews
Here's a list of the advantages of peer reviews.
There is no doubt that the process is not perfect, but it does allow the reader to make
some judgment about the relative quality and merit of the research.
Peer reviewing allows a diversity of opinions to be brought to the table, theoretically
removing any personal biases and pre-set ideas from the equation.
The peer review process stops a lot of substandard and poor science from reaching
publication. In addition, the reviewers are generally experts in their field, well acquainted
with the latest developments. They can, therefore, reject duplicate research and
plagiarized papers.
Because editors can use the process to remove poor quality work, it saves a lot of
wasted time and money, especially if the work is plagiarized. Without referees, a journal
would have to employ a team of editors with expertise in every field, and this would
make the cost of the production prohibitive.
Traditionally, the journals that use peer review enjoy an excellent reputation and are
trusted by experts in the field. This also helps them to attract the best researchers and
scientists to submit papers.
The reviewers are experts in their field, and peer reviewing often brings innovative
research to their attention, where it may be buried amongst a flurry of papers.
Peer reviewing is not only used for journals but for grant applications and University
standard textbooks. This helps to ensure that money is diverted only towards viable
research proposals. The peer review of textbooks ensures that students are taught
correctly and are provided with excellent information.
Disadvantages of the peer review process.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Apr 13, 2009). Advantages of Peer Reviews. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/advantages-of-peer-reviews
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8.1.3 Disadvantages of Peer Reviews
Here is a list of disadvantages of peer reviews:
Because the double blind system is rarely used, due to its impracticality, there are often
accusations that papers are judged on the reputation of the author instead of quality.
An excellent paper written by a new or maverick scientist can be rejected, whilst a

poorer but uncontroversial paper by an established researcher can sail through the
peer review process.
The whole process, especially for prestige journals, is very time consuming and
expensive. Papers can be held up for many months, whilst approval is sought and, if a
researcher has a series of experiments planned, progress may be hampered progress.
Much of the decision-making power rests in the hands of the editors, who are the link
between author and referee. In most cases, this is fine, and helps the process to
proceed smoothly, but it can lead to misuse of this authority. Editors often stand
accused of arbitrarily rejecting manuscripts before they reach the peers.
There is evidence that decisions are often judged by country: a US based journal is
much more likely to reject non-US papers, whatever the quality.
Peer reviewers have not got an easy job spotting conflicts of interest, such as the source
of a researchers funding, only that the research was followed to acceptable protocols.
Whilst the process can pick out any obvious omissions and errors, it is impossible for the
reviewers to detect determined fraud without replicating the experiment. This limitation is
not crippling, but journals could certainly do a better job of making this clear.
There are no grading systems about the quality of the peer review. Different journals
have different standards, and there is no way to know the expertise and quality of the
reviewers or editor. In the past, less reputable journals generally had a smaller
readership, but the internet has made them just as likely to be accessed and used.
Advantages with the peer review process.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Sep 12, 2009). Disadvantages of Peer Reviews. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/disadvantages-of-peer-reviews
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8.2 Publication Bias
In many research fields, private funding for research is fueling a growing problem, the
tendency towards publication bias.
Publication bias is where researchers publish only favorable results, and it can have far-
reaching consequences.
Pharmaceutical companies, for example, are notorious for manipulating the data in this way,
potentially very dangerous when the lives of patients are at risk.
When a medical company has spent tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on research, it is
tempting to bury any results that support the null hypothesis.
Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies are businesses, attempting to maximize profits, and

there is always the temptation to promote products, even when they have been shown to be
ineffective or even potentially harmful.
The Language Barrier and Publication Bias

Another example of publication bias is caused by language difficulties, where papers written in
another language often overlooked.
Famously, medical researchers in the English-speaking world often claimed that there was
little empirical research into herbal medicines. This was not quite true, because German
researchers have produced reams of papers about herbalism.
Other major languages, such as Russian, Chinese and Japanese are similarly overlooked,
and this can have a real and marked effect upon meta-analyzes. With the rise of English as
the language of science, as it is of business, such problems are becoming rarer, and major
papers are often translated if the original researcher cannot speak English.
The File Drawer Problem and Publication Bias

It is tempting to place the blame for publication bias entirely upon rejection of papers by
journals, but this is not always the case. Quite often, researchers are to blame for not
releasing negative results.
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Often, they do not wish to release negative results, because it may reflect badly on future
grant applications, or they are aware of the mistakes that they made in procedure and have
no wish to have their mistakes dissected by their peers. In other cases, they may have drifted
onto other areas, or run out of funding halfway through.
For whatever reason, this can lead to many useful results becoming lost or disregarded.
External Funding, Negative Results and Publication Bias

One of the main sources of publication bias is caused by the problem of external funding.
There is evidence that some fields of research, especially pharmaceutical studies, exert
pressure on journals, and externally funded research is much more likely to be published in
journals.
External donors are also more likely to bury negative results, meaning that a lot of useful
research never reaches publication. This creates publication bias, and is something that
researchers performing meta-analyses must be aware of.
Rejection of Manuscripts and Publication Bias

The final source of publication bias is rejection by journal editors and peer reviewers. Whilst
most editors try to be impartial, they do have their own agendas. For example, their job is to
ensure that papers are readable and well written.
A paper that has excellent results but does not pass the standards will be rejected.
In addition, duplicate research may be rejected, and this is a problem to meta-analysis, which
relies upon statistical manipulations of all the relevant data.
Publication Bias Avoiding the Worst Effects

Avoiding publication bias is an extremely difficult task, so any researcher performing a
literature review, or statistical analysis of historical data, must take the effect into account.
In some ways, the internet is making the process easier, and there are more places for
researchers to publish papers online. The cost of this is that there is a lot of substandard
information that the researcher must wade through, making research a delicate balancing act.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Sep 9, 2009). Publication Bias. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
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https://explorable.com/publication-bias
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8.3 Journal Article Submission
Now that you have finally accomplished your journal article and have already made
sure the article is 100% mistake-free, it is time to submit and forward article for review.
While it is true that every journal has its own protocols or set of rules regarding the submission
process, here's a list of pointers your journal article must follow:
Article. The journal article submission should demonstrate clear thoughts of the author
by choosing words composed in direct, responsible and active syntax. If your paper was
found deficient in style, form or clarity, your article will most likely be rejected and
returned.
Abstract - A brief abstract stating the principal points and concluding statements of the
paper should be included in your submission. Ideally, an abstract should come out as a
shortened version of your paper. Make sure it is short enough to submit; otherwise you'll
have to rewrite it until it satisfies the word limit.
Equations - Special typographical considerations and additional space and margin area
should be provided to equations.
Illustrations - Illustrations must be properly referenced in the text of your article, and
numbered chronologically. Different journals have varying guidelines for submissions
with illustrations but most of the time, submitting articles with illustrations produced by
office-type copying machines is unacceptable and will therefore be rejected.
Manuscript Format. Manuscripts should be double-spaced and typewritten with wide
margins on one side of an 8 x 11 inch paper.
References. Reference entries should be numbered consecutively in the text with the
use of bracketed numerals and listed in the same order at the end of the paper. Sources
should be properly referenced, indicating the author/s' name, initials, the title of the
source article, journal or book, volume, initial page number and the year of source
publication.
Footnotes. Footnotes should be AVOIDED.
Submission. Journal submissions for review and publication should be submitted
online. Submission of a manuscript is a representation that the paper has not been
previously submitted in any publication elsewhere or published in any open literature. It
also represents that the author/s have not assigned or transferred copyright for the
material.
Page Proof. This will be sent to the author for proofreading and making revisions as
instructed by the editor, before finally returning it to the editor.
Now that you're already familiar with the key concepts of journal submission, let me share with
you some tips to consider when submitting a journal article:
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1. Write a Cover Letter
For most journals, you will need to write a cover letter that will indicate the title of the paper,
the name of the author/s and the main idea or contribution of your article.
2. Gather Keywords
You're probably thinking keywords are not that important. Think again! Keywords actually
matter immensely for a number of reasons. Since keywords primarily describe the content of
your paper, these may also at the same time play a factor on how the associate editor will
distribute your submission amongst reviewers. Once your paper is accepted, keywords help
other researchers locate your paper whenever they're in search of references in the same
topic or field. Now that you now how important keywords are, take some time in determining
keywords that will represent your work.
3. Create a Summary of Changes

If you have had previous conference work, this short one-page document provides a
description of the extensions and changes or differences of your journal article submission
from your conference work. Since a journal submission is supposed to be a more "detailed" or
"complete" work, you need to document and present all the differences between the current
and the earlier work.
4. Prepare List of Reviewers

Some journals allow researchers to suggest reviewers by submitting a list of reviewers and
associate editors they prefer or do not prefer. Although this is not necessary, some
researchers feel there are particular individuals or research groups who might better
understand their work.
5. Accomplish Copyright Form

After finally clicking the "Submit" button, you will be asked to accomplish an online copyright
form. It's very simple for all you have to do is follow the provided instructions and type in your
name to confirm that you agree to the rights and guidelines. Hopefully these tips helped. Good
luck with your submissions!
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Explorable.com (Jul 23, 2009). Journal Article Submission. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/journal-article-submission
121
8.3.1 Scientific Journal Rejection
While it is true that getting your work published may not be financially profitable for
you, the exposure and prestige you do get once you get your work published in a high-
profile journal tops any amount of paycheck equivalent!
Aside from this, getting your work published will help you establish a more solid career
foundation. It will also help you gain an audience if your career profile includes being featured
in an academic journal.
But all success stories have an accompanying story of extreme hard work. Since academic
journals receive a great number of submissions, scientific journal rejection rates could be as
high as 90% as they can be selective in choosing their content. The submission process is
extremely competitive so here are a few tips you may want to consider to increase your
chances of getting that sweet confirmation note youre dreaming of saying your submission
was accepted:
1. Read
I typed this in full capitalization because reading is one of the most important things a good
writer should do, especially hes in the field of writing. To become a good writer, it also follows
that youre a good reader as well. Reading helps writers learn more about their particular
fields of study. This also helps readers distinguish which writing techniques actually work and
which ones do not. The wider a reader you are, the more youll likely excel at your craft.
2. Research
Academic journals differ from one another, in the sense that they all have their own set of
guidelines when it comes to submission process. They may also require certain type of
formatting that differ from another journals format requirements.
Therefore, it is important to research and know the guidelines of the particular journal youre
planning to submit your article to. Take note of its specifications regarding formatting, style,
simultaneous submissions, online submissions, print submissions, etc. Simply neglecting an
editors formatting requirements may cause a rejection slip for you.
Some journals accept submissions based on fields of specialization and times of the year.
There are journals that release publications just annually, semi-annually and quarterly. Some
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may only accept submissions based on a particular theme. It will also be helpful if youd visit
the journals website and look at their list of aims and scope as these will give you a hint
regarding what types of articles they do and do not publish. This will give you an idea where
your work is appropriate for the said journal or not.
By researching, you get a more vivid picture of what the journals expectations are. You may
then use these as your guidelines while writing your journal article submission and lower the
chances of getting your submission rejected.
3. Be Professional
Most journals may require a cover letter which indicates the journal article submissions title,
the list of its author/s, and its main principles and concluding statements of your article.
Alternately, the journal may instead require an authors biography along with the work you are
to submit.
In writing a cover letter, it is best to keep it short and honest. Avoid exaggerating as this gives
readers false impressions and even unmet expectations.
Getting That Rejection Slip

Youve done all the previously mentioned tips and instructions but still received that dreadful
scientific journal rejection slip. What do you do?
Learn from Rejection

While getting rejected sure is a great ego let down, do not let this crush all your dreams
of getting your work out there published in an academic journal! Every writer does get
rejected at certain points in their writing careers but this doesnt mean it will always be
the case.
The first thing you should do is to read the reviewers note and find out why your journal
article submission was rejected. Rejection can be a tool for success if youre willing to
learn from it. Criticisms are necessary for any individual who wants to improve in his
chosen field/s.
So accept it like a consolation prize, and use it to improve in your craft.
Be Persistent!
Upon getting that scientific journal rejection slip and reading the reviewers note, you still
have options to choose from. You may fix all the stated problems or reformat according
to the journals instructions and resubmit. You may also check and research for other
journals where you feel your journal article submission is appropriate and submit it again!
The key to success is persistence. If in the first time you dont get accepted, try again
and this time, do better by taking and learning from all their criticisms. By being
persistent, you eventually learn and become more familiar to the journals submission
process. Meaning, the greater chances of getting your article finally accepted! Even
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todays best and most highly-distinguished writers have gotten their submissions
rejected at least once in their writing career, so dont let any rejection slip hold you back!
Explorable.com (Aug 10, 2009). Scientific Journal Rejection. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/scientific-journal-rejection
124
9 Tips on Article Writing
Writing any academic paper, in whatever discipline, can be an extremely daunting task.
Here are a few tips on article writing. Whether you need to write a 3000 word essay or a
10 000-word dissertation, it can be difficult to set out in your mind exactly in what
direction you need to travel.
We have provided some guides about how to write the various styles and formats of papers,
but are also going to give some general tips on article writing. These are useful for any type of
writing, and I used them myself, for writing these articles!
1. Plan Your Time

Time management is the single most important factor. Failure to leave yourself enough time
will, at best, lead to a rushed paper, at worst lead to a missed deadline. If you do not plan your
time, you will invariably end up trying to cram everything into the last night.
Whether your instructor gives you a week, a month, or 3 months, you need to make sure that
you have a structured plan in place. It is very easy to think that you have lots of time, and
become bogged down by the minutiae and technicalities, leaving yourself with too much to do.
Start broad write out all of the easy points first and construct the body of the article. If you do
not fully understand something, rather than spending a lot of time on it, make a note of the
fact and revisit when you have finished the first rough draft.
2. Choose a Good Topic

Sometimes, you will be given a topic, or list of topics to select from, and you will have to do
the best that you can. On other occasions, you will have more freedom, so it is important to
pick a topic that you really enjoy. You also need to look at the practicalities if you pick a wide
topic, it is going to be difficult to focus the article.
Too narrow, and you will not have enough sources for a fully balanced paper. One tip is to
make a shortlist, and spend an hour or two with a little preliminary research you want a
range of sources, opinions and angles upon which to base your paper.
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3. Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement, Thesis Statement
This really is the most important part of any article, and is the bedrock of the paper. A good
thesis statement should be broad enough to give you room to maneuver, but concise enough
that you can address a topic in depth. Theses comparing and contrasting views,
argumentative theses are good, or a narrative thesis statement can be useful. For example:
This essay will show that Humanistic personality theory is an excellent

basis for motivating staff in the workplace.
Comparing Japan, a modern society with an insatiable appetite for technology, against a
society that has little need for technology, shows that technology cannot always be regarded
as a force for good.
Dont worry too much about the exact language of the thesis statement, at first, as long as you
have an idea. Unlike a hypothesis statement, it is perfectly acceptable to change a thesis
statement as you refine your research.
In fact, it is not unknown to convince yourself to change your own mind in a research paper!
There is nothing wrong with this, and it shows that you have the intellectual honesty to look at
both sides of the argument.
4. Excellent Sources
It is important to make sure that you have a good array of up-to-date and relevant sources.
Most people base their research paper around one or two solid sources, but you need to
make sure that you integrate plenty of papers and articles. This is especially true if you are
writing an argumentative or persuasive paper, because you need to provide the opposing
point of view, allowing you to counter.
5. Layout and Outline

Determining how you are going to attack the paper is the next stage, allowing you to make a
robust plan and outline. For a narrative paper, you may decide to use a chronological layout.
For an argumentative paper, you may decide to take it point by point, delivering an opposing
point of view and then your counter argument.
There is no set protocol, only that you should try to integrate sources, rather than set out your
126
paper in single source blocks. The outline should include the main points of your introduction,
body and conclusion.
Here are a few research paper outline examples.
6. Leave it
Coming back to the importance of time management, once you have your first draft complete,
leave it for a day and come back to it. With fresh eyes, you will be able to see whether the
language flows, and whether you have addressed each point correctly
7. Proofread
You should aim to have your paper completed a few days before the deadline. This gives you
the opportunity to leave it and come back for fine-tuning. You can run a spell-check and then
edit with your own eyes you will be amazed at all of the silly little errors that you pick up.
For a very important paper, you can always ask somebody else to proof it for you, making
sure that the language is perfect.
With these tips on article writing in hand, you are now on the way to writing the perfect article
or research paper. For in depth information, we have plenty more articles at Experiment
Resources.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jul 3, 2009). Tips on Article Writing. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/tips-on-article-writing
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9.1 Article Writing Help
Five Pitfalls
Need article writing help? Here are the five most common pitfalls when writing an
academic paper.
With any piece of writing, whether it is an essay or a research paper, the whole process of
sitting down and writing the paper can be overwhelming. Even though you have read our
guide on tips for writing an article, something does not seem quite right with your paper.
Usually, this is because your use of English could be a little better, or the paper is not
structured properly. Sometimes it is because you have no flow to the writing, and it appears
very disjointed. Here are a few article writing help tips:
1. Grammar and Punctuation

If you are a scientist or historian, nobody expects you to have the command and range of
language that a language student will, or possess perfect grammar and punctuation.
In fact, this is no problem, because you must strive for maximum clarity and readability rather
than win a Pulitzer Prize.
Use the correct sentence length. Too long, and people will think that your paper is
tortuous and message will be lost. Too short, and it looks unprofessional.
When you do the spell check at the end of the paper, it brings up a box telling you the
average sentence length.
Whilst you should be wary of slavishly adhering to numbers, 15 20 words per sentence
is about right. If you find that you are writing 40 50 word run on sentences, look for
somewhere to break it into two or three shorter sentences. You may be able to cut out a
few unnecessary words, too.
You need to be able to use commas, full stops and capitalization correctly.
2. Person and Tense

The person used in a paper is a subject of debate, at the moment, and even the MLA and APA
style guides are not 100% sure. Some people stick to the traditional impersonal tense:
128
it was found that.
Others use personal pronouns, avoiding passive sentences:
...we found that.
This is something that you should check with your supervisor and stick to it throughout the
entire paper. Tense should not vary in the same paragraph if you start a paragraph in the
past tense, it should remain in the past tense, wherever possible.
3. Waffling
This is the most common fault with any research paper if you have a word limit, and you are
somewhat short of that, it is tempting to add irrelevance, by adding unrelated information or
saying the same thing more than once, in a slightly different way.
Usually, it is better to have a slightly shorter paper that is focused, rather than a longer paper
that crawls over the word limit.
4. One Sided
If you are writing a paper, with a specific thesis, it is too easy to fall into the trap of using only
the evidence that suits your argument. This is exceptionally weak, and any reader will see
through it.
If you find a source that is contradictory to yours, you should embrace it, because it really
gives you a chance to show what you can do. This gives you the opportunity to make your
argument stronger by giving counter points to the source.
Academic work is never black and white, so do not be afraid to concede that another
viewpoint is correct.
In fact, you may uncover some sources that are so compelling that they make you rewrite you
thesis statement. This really is not a problem.
5. Readability and Flow
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This is one of the factors that can make a paper sublime, but is one of the hardest parts to
accomplish.
The ideal paper should flow effortlessly from one sentence to the next, making it a pleasure to
read rather than a chore. Much of this comes with practice, and some will never be masters,
but one little to tip is that you should read the paper out loud to yourself.
If you find yourself tripping over sections, it is likely that they are clumsy as the written word,
too, so try tweaking the language a little.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, these tips will help you to tweak and refine your paper, making sure that all of your
hard work researching, planning and designing your project does not go to waste.
You can have the best project in the world but, if it is not written properly, the reader will look
elsewhere long before the end.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Mar 16, 2009). Article Writing Help. Retrieved from Explorable.com:
https://explorable.com/article-writing-help
130
9.2 Research Paper Topic Ideas
Actually thinking of what to write about for your research paper is one of the most
difficult parts of writing any scientific report.
Hopefully, this article will give you some research paper topic ideas. It is normal to feel a little
nervous and apprehensive about the whole thing.
If you are organized and thorough, and follow the tips below, you will have no problem. There
are always people around to help you; they do not want to see you struggle or fail, so do not
be afraid to ask questions.
A list of different research paper topic ideas.
TOPIC IDEAS Tips

Try to pick a topic that you are interested in. You are going to have a lot of research and
experimentation ahead of you so it helps to produce good science if you have
enthusiasm in what you are doing. Find a broad topic and do a little preliminary work,
perhaps making a shortlist of possible areas of interest.
Be realistic. If you have difficulty with transport then there is no point picking a project in
some far-flung, inaccessible area. You may have to go back to re-sample or clarify your
data. For a field study that requires lots of walking or climbing you need to be
reasonably fit. If you are not very good at approaching strangers then avoid a subject
that requires you to ask people to fill in questionnaires. Play to your strengths and avoid
your weaknesses.
What type of research do you like? Try and pick a type of research that interests you.
Some people might enjoy working in a lab, others sampling in the field. There is no point
picking a project with lots of statistical analyses if you hate doing calculations. If you
hate book research then try and pick a subject that does not need much.
With the above in mind, check out the facilities your department offers. For example,
some departments offer help with statistics or using computer programs.
Take into account the amount of time and resources you have. It is better to pick a
focused topic and be thorough than to try and perform some complex experiment that
you struggle to finish. Your topic must be broad enough to ensure that you have enough
data but narrow enough to maximize your time and resources.
Whilst this is very much a personal decision, sometimes it is better to try and make sure
that you think you can work with your supervisor.
Sometimes departments have a list of suggested topics; if any of these interest you then
talk to the named supervisor and see what it entails.
131
Try and be a little different; if a large number of students research the same topics then
there could be a lot of people fighting over one copy of a book or journal.
Will you need help? For some areas of research you may need to ask the help of friends
to take samples. An example is psychology where you need to entice people to answer
your questions or perform your tests. What measures will you need to entice people?
Asking favors, bribery or threats? Try to ensure that you have thought about this before
you start.
Remember that people are there to help you. If you not sure of where to start, often the
most difficult part, do not be afraid to ask questions from those more knowledgeable in
the subject. It is common to feel a little nervous and overwhelmed before starting on a
long project but that will pass. Remember that the reputation of your supervisor and
department is judged by how well you perform in your research paper so they will try
their best to guide you.
Martyn Shuttleworth (Jun 5, 2009). Research Paper Topic Ideas. Retrieved from
Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/research-paper-topic-ideas
Thanks for reading!

Explorable.com Team
Explorable.com - Copyright 2008-2015 All Rights Reserved.
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4Research Paper Question

5Parts of a Research Paper

7Research Paper Format

7.4Example of a Research Paper

7.7APA Writing Format

9Tips on Article Writing

Cover design by Explorable / Gilli.me.

This guide aims to help you write a research paper.

Preparing to Write a Research Paper

Structure of a Research Paper

Here is an example of a research paper. Here's another sample research paper.

An empiric paper frequently follows this structure:

Additional Parts for Some Academic Papers

Other Technical Issues

Authors frequently want to include tables and figures in the text.

Advantages of peer reviews

How to cite this article:

Most science reports should have the same layout:

Most use this or a similar outline when writing a research paper.

How to cite this article:

Layout and Length

Title and Authors

This is not mandatory for a research paper.

Summary and Conclusion

How to cite this article:

Here are a few research paper outline examples.

Trying to write a 10 000-word dissertation, without an outline, is an exercise in futility.

MLA Recommendations On How to Write an Outline

How to Write an Outline - A Few Tips

How to cite this article:

Research Paper Outline Examples

Research Paper Outline Examples

Topic: Shakespeare Adapted from AResearchGuide.com.

How to cite this article:

Explorable.com (Jan 6, 2009). Research Paper Outline Examples. Retrieved from

For an experiment-based project, this question naturally leads onto a hypothesis.

Narrowing Down the Research Paper Question

'Why are the forest resources declining in the Amazon rainforest?'

'Is intensive agriculture the major cause of deforestation in the

'Is Global Warming the major cause of deforestation in the Amazon?'

How to cite this article:

What is a Thesis Statement Good For?

The Four Step Plan to Writing a Good Thesis Statement

Tell the Reader What You Intend to Prove

One Paper = One Concept

Drawing Things Together

Where Does the Thesis Statement Belong?

The Thesis Statement - Changeable

How to cite this article:

The Three-Step Process

An Example of How to Write a Hypothesis

He proposes a general hypothesis.

The Next Stage - What to Do With the Hypothesis

How to cite this article:

Martyn Shuttleworth (Aug 1, 2009). How to Write a Hypothesis. Retrieved from

A good introduction generally consists of three distinct parts, starting with

1. a general presentation of the research problem.

1) The General Presentation

2) Purpose and the Exact Direction of the Paper

3) A Statement of Intent From the Writer

In a short research paper, it may be a paragraph or two, or practically non-existent.