Contents of a Good Research Paper

Contents of a Good Research Paper

A good research paper contains a number of sections that must be included in it. These sections are grouped generally as the introduction part, the body of the paper and the conclusion. This is the general format but in this, there is a detailed format that most good research papers follow. A good research paper will have a title page followed by the table of contents and then the introduction to the paper. This introduction will include the statement of research problem, the purpose of the study, followed by its significance and will finally ask the proposal questions.” 

The primary goal of the introductory paragraphs is to catch the attention of the readers and to get them "turned on" about the subject. The proposal question is also the hypothesis that the research will seek to answer. After the research introduction the researcher will then seek to find the literature that has already been written on the subject at hand in the background report. “This is where you present your arguments to support your thesis statement.” This will also include the terminology that is normally used in the research areas that are being researched. The researcher then goes on and lists down the methodology of the research. This is how he hopes to carry out the research in great detail. It involves carrying out a sample that is representative of the population and then testing his hypothesis on it. This is done noting the facts and assumptions that may have been made so as to get results that are being sort. 

After carrying out the research the researcher then notes down the results of the research and this is presented as it had in the beginning as a hypothesis that should either be accepted or rejected. At the end of the paper an analysis of the research is done with the researcher noting down the results that have been attained, how they were attained and using what methodology. Then a detailed explanation of the results is made. This will explain the results attained to the lay man who may pick up the paper to read it. After the discussion on the results is completed the recommendations are then sort after the results of the research are concluded. These are usually the recommendations of the researcher based on the tests carried and the results that had been achieved by the research. The references made to the research by the researcher should be written down to give credit to the researchers themselves and should be written in the designated order that’s required. This is usually followed with the appendices at the end but are only attached if necessary and/or required.