How do I write a research paper?

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Throughout the course of their studies, students have many times to write research papers, ranging from small essays to a lengthy diploma project. Their grades have an impact on the student’s grades, but despite this, many students are not serious about writing a research paper and make a number of mistakes that result in low grades. Let’s look at what to consider when writing an interesting and relevant research paper.

Tips on how to successfully prepare a research paper

Formulate a research topic. You should not choose a broad topic, as you will not cover it in detail: trying to describe “anything and everything” will turn out to be a failure. If you are interested in an academic area, clearly state the issue of interest from it and describe it in detail in your paper. If you are unable to choose a topic, ask your supervisor or classmates for research ideas.

Select a list of references. Previous research on your topic is suitable, as well as interesting articles, books, dissertations and other materials. When selecting sources, pay attention to the year of publication (you are unlikely to get useful and up-to-date information from an article that was published 10 years ago), as well as the fame and reputation of the author. Books and studies are most often freely available, but you will have to pay a nominal fee for some works – unless, of course, it is a voluminous book by a well-known expert.

Prepare the introduction and conclusions after writing your paper. It is a bad idea to start a project by writing an introduction: if a student has not even begun to understand the chosen topic, how can the introduction and conclusion be informative?

Present your own ideas and thoughts, but be sure to back them up with facts and justify them: otherwise, you will be asked at the defence what information you drew your conclusions from. Make your arguments convincing, and you can claim a high grade.

Also, use academic search engines such as RefSeek, iSEEK Education and others. You will find what you need there quicker than by leafing through dozens of Google pages.

Leave these two parts of the paper for later: prepare the project, and you will be more confident about what to expect in the introduction and the conclusion, answering the question ‘why did you write the paper?

Define your aim, as well as your objectives and relevance. A topic has been chosen, time has been set aside for preparation, but things are not moving forward? Take the time to develop the objectives of the paper, write a research paper outline, and understand the relevance of the project. It is much easier to achieve all the objectives if they are clearly stated.

How to do the research?

If the theoretical part of the work is easy to find by simply studying the literature, the practical part is challenging even for final year students. How to research the chosen topic?

  • select at least 5-7 sources both online and in libraries;
  • use scholarly databases;
  • use different search terms, adjust your search parameters;
  • when describing a topic, make sure it is logical.

What should you do if you do not submit your research paper on time?

Although it may take several months or even an entire academic year to prepare a research paper, not every student has the time or opportunity to prepare a project on time. Do you find yourself in this situation? Ask WiseEssays for help! WiseEssays offers to order a thesis, term paper, abstract, master’s thesis and other types of student papers!