HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER

PRESENTED BY: Muddasir Basheer Pre-Ph.D. student,GGV Bilaspur, (C.G)

* What is research paper ?

* What are the components of a good research paper?

RESEARCH PAPER

It is a report prepared at the end of a research work based on the finding through the series of scientific experiment / field study to communicate the findings among the specific audience.

It explains the experimental design, results obtained, the interpretation and significance of the data with its future implication.

The audience generally belongs to the scientific community and may be working in the same or related field.

Components of a research paper: Title Name(s) of the author(s) with the address of the institution(s) to

which the author(s) belonged when the work was carried out Keywords Abstract Introduction Material and Methods Results Discussion Conclusion Acknowledgements References

Title It should be clear, concise and adequately self explanatory

regarding the contents of the report.

Should be catchy enough to grab the attention of the reader.

Should be of optimum length, neither too short nor too long.

Order of words should be proper, so as to convey the correct

meaning.

It is desirable to avoid the use of abbreviations, chemical

formulae, trademark names, jargon etc.

Authors and Adresses Written just below the title Prefixing of titles (e.g. Dr., Prof., etc.) and suffixing of

degrees (Ph.D., M. D., etc.) to the names are not generally permitted.

Mentioning of the designation of the authors (Prof., Head, Reader etc.) has also to be avoided.

The sequence of the authors depends on the relative contribution, each author has made to the actual research work.

If the authors belong to different institutions , the name and address is marked with superscript like a, b, c …or 1,2,3….

Abstract

It is a summary of the information in the research article.

Gives the salient features of the main sections of a Paper.

Abstracts of standard journals are made available on the internet by indexing services such as Biological abstracts, Medline.

Should not contain any reference, table, figures etc. Should be written in short and concise sentences, in past

tense and in passive voice.

Keywords

Few words in the article about 3 to 8 which are used for indexing services, just below the abstract.

Choice of words should be such that they facilitate searching for the article in some database

IntroductionFirst section of the research paperAim is to introduce the specific subject of research to

the reader, to justify the choice of the topic and the specific methodology adopted and to state clearly the objectives of the investigation.

To begin with, a relatively broad background of the topic is given, it helps to point out the gaps in the literature.

Background scope is progressively narrowed to the specific problem

Continue…Finally the specific objectives or

hypothesis of the investigation and the material of investigation are stated clearly.

There may be need in the introduction to justify the choice of a specific methodology employed and / or of the choice of the specific organism.

Materials and methods This section is meant for giving the details of all the

materials and methods used and if necessary the details of the specific techniques.

Reason for providing all the necessary details is to enable any competent worker to repeat our experiment.

The experimental materials such as animals, plants, and microorganisms should be identified specifying the genus, species and strain.

The source of materials i.e., the place of collection or purchase should be given.

Continue…The characteristics of organisms viz., age, sex, genetic

and physiological status should be provided.

Maintenance and rearing of organisms should also be described.

Methods should follow logical sequence.

Methods used for statistical analysis of data may be mentioned without any description.

ResultsThis section represents the nucleus of the research paperWe should present our results with accuracy and clarity.Raw data should not be given in this section, only

processed, summarized selected data should be preferred.We should avoid redundancy of results.Graphs, diagrams, maps, photomicrographs or any other

illustration are included in this section.While presenting the results of statistical analysis of the

data we need to give only summary value and its significance.

DiscussionIt is the most challenging section to write.

We must be thoroughly familiar with the pertinent literature, up-to-date and have good biological insight.

This section is meant to interpret the results and discuss them in the light of ◦ What is already known◦ To state the significance and the conclusions derived out from the

obtained results.

Continue…..

Any good research paper should contain a comparison of the results and interpretations to other studies citing references from the literature i.e., to show how they agree or contrast with previously published work.

The conclusions finally should made in such a way which appears with suggestions for future course of research in the specific organism or even wide variety of organisms and mention the possible yield of such works.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSMeant to express the researchers gratitude to:Those who provided significant technical

help.Sources, individuals, laboratories,

companies etc. which helped the researcher with special equipment, chemicals, specimens etc.

The agencies (e.g., UGC, DBT, ICMR) that sponsored the research project programme and provided fellowship to the authors should be acknowledged.

References This is the list of all references cited in the research paper. The pattern of writing the references depends upon the

kind of journal in which we are going to publish. The general format most journals follow is as:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, xx, xxx-xxx.

The journal title and the volume number are in italics. Issue numbers are not required if the journal is continuously paged. If paged individually, the issue number is required and is in regular type in parentheses adjacent to the volume number.

Name-year System or Harvard system

Citations in the text consist of author name(s) and source date(s) within parenthesis

Citation Sequence SystemCitations in the text are made

by way of numbers, which are ordered sequentially throughout the text

Selection of a journalEach journal specializes in a specific area of research.

Hence its readership varies. A proper choice of journal can make a larger impact of any research paper.

The focus and readership of the journal should be considered - general vs. specialized area journal.

We should select 2 or 3 journals in the chosen area with relatively high impact factors. Discussion with the advisor is must to decide the type of journal.

Authors should always be particular for the journal’s submission criteria and format before the submission.

SubmissionAfter reading the finalized paper carefully and checking the

accuracy of figures and captions in terms of correctly referred figures to in the text.

A feedback from advisor and colleagues is always needed.We should make sure that the paper is read by at least one

or two colleagues who is not familiar with the specific work.

A cover letter should be provided to the editor along with a brief paragraph highlighting the importance of this work and names of possible reviewers.

Approval from all co-authors is important before finalizing the version of the paper

Paper should be submitted online along with copyright form.

Revision and galley proof The manuscript is usually reviewed by 2-3 reviewers Reviewers point out deficiencies and/or suggestions to improve the

scientific content Their comments should be read carefully. (If reviewer misunderstands

a point, the point probably needs revision or additional support.) One should not blame to the reviewer for any misunderstanding! We should be polite and respectful when disagreeing a reviewer’s

comment A point-to-point explanation of changes made in the text in response

to reviewers’ comments should be incorporated while submission of revised manuscript.

Once again, a carefully reading of the paper for its accuracy in presenting the data should be checked by the author.

Once accepted for publication a proof of the paper has to be received online within a month – At this stage there is one last chance to make the final corrections, if any.

THANK YOU