Structure and design of a research paper

Main stages of research paper writing

  1. Find the problem – what to study.
  2. Theme – how to call it.
  3. Relevance – why this problem needs to be studied.
  4. The purpose of the study is what result is expected to be obtained.
  5. Hypothesis – which is not obvious in the object.
  6. Novelty – what’s new was discovered during the research.
  7. The research tasks – what to do – theoretically and experimentally.
  8. Literary review – what is already known about this problem.
  9. Research methodology – how and what was investigated.
  10. Research results – own data.
  11. Conclusions – brief answers to the assigned tasks.
  12. Significance – how the results affect practice.

Characteristic stages of the study

The problem should be feasible, its solution should bring real benefits to the participants of the study. Then it is necessary to call it a theme.

The topic should be original, it needs an element of surprise, unusual, it must be such that the work can be performed relatively quickly.

It is necessary to decide why this problem should be studied at the moment – this is topical.

In research, the goal should be formulated – what result is expected to be obtained, which, in general terms, this result is seen before it is received. Usually the goal is to study certain phenomena.

It is important to identify the hypothesis and protected positions in the study. Hypothesis is the foresight of events, this is a probable knowledge, not yet proven. Initially, the hypothesis is not true and not a lie – it is simply not proven.

Protected positions are what the researcher sees and others do not notice. Position in the process of work is either confirmed or rejected. The hypothesis must be justified, i.e. reinforced by literary data and logical considerations.

After determining the goal and the hypothesis, the research tasks are formulated. Tasks and goals are not the same. The goal of research paper is one, and there are several tasks. Tasks show what you are going to do. The formulation of problems is closely related to the structure of the study. Moreover, individual problems can be posed for the theoretical part and for the experimental.

A literary review should be present in the work, that is, a brief description of what is known about the phenomenon being investigated, in which direction the studies of other authors are taking place. In the review, you should show that you are familiar with the field of research on several sources, that you are setting a new task, and do not do what has long been done before you. Then the technique of research is described. Its detailed description should be present in the text of the work. This is a description of what and how the author of the study did to prove the validity of the hypothesis put forward.

Next, the results of the study are presented. Own data obtained as a result of research activities. The obtained data should be compared with the data of scientific sources from the review of the literature on the problem and establish the regularities found during the research.

It is necessary to note the novelty of the results, which is made from the fact that others did not notice what results were obtained for the first time. What shortcomings in practice can be corrected with the help of the results obtained in the course of the study?

It is necessary to clearly understand the difference between the working data and the data presented in the text of the work. In the process of research, a large array of numbers is often obtained, which in the text is not necessary to represent. Therefore, working data is processed and represents only the most necessary. However, one must remember that someone may want to get acquainted with the primary material of the study. In order not to overload the main part of the work, the primary material can be transferred to the application.

The most advantageous form of data representation is graphical, which makes reading the text as easy as possible for the reader. Always put yourself in the reader’s place.

And the work ends with conclusions. In which thesis, in order of accomplishing the tasks, the results of the study are presented. Conclusions are brief answers to the question of how the assigned research tasks have been accomplished.

Research paper, as well as any creativity, is possible and effective only on a voluntary basis. If there are some certain obstacles, which you cannot overcome, you can always try to use a help of research paper writing service.

Requirements and rules for processing texts of research papers

The volume of the abstract ranges from 20 to 25 pages of printed text (without attachments), the report – 1-5 pages (depending on the class number and student readiness for such activities).

For text executed on a computer, the font size is 12-14, normal; the interval between lines is 1.5-2; the size of the fields: the left – 30 mm., the right – 10 mm., the upper – 20 mm., the lower – 20 mm. (when changing the size of the fields, it is necessary to take into account that the right and left, as well as the upper and lower margins should be in the sum of 40 mm). With correctly selected parameters, the page should fit an average of 30 lines, and on the line – an average of 60 printed characters, including punctuation marks and spaces between words.

Text is printed on one side of the page; footnotes and notes are printed on the same page to which they refer (after 1 interval, in a smaller font than the text).

All pages are numbered starting from the title page; the figure of the page number is placed at the top in the center of the page; on the title page the page number is not set. Each new section (introduction, chapters, paragraphs, conclusion, list of sources, applications) starts with a new page.

The distance between the title of the section (chapter or paragraph headings) and the following text should be equal to three intervals. The header is located in the middle of the line, the dot at the end of the header is not set.

ATTENTION! Organizers of conferences, competitions have the right to change the conditions for registration of works. Fulfillment of these conditions is obligatory!