A research paper is a sort of academic writing that is being done by a researcher. A researcher writes his own findings in an academic form. A research paper is a formal write up that has certain mandatory elements. The specific protocol should be maintained in order to approve your research paper write up. Following are the elements of a research paper:
Title:
The title is the first element that describes the article very concisely. The title involves the keyword and has specific terms that will help in the future. If someone wants to review research articles, then the related articles can be found conveniently by the keywords in minutes.
Abstract:
The abstract is a short summary of the whole research article. The purpose of the abstract is to provide you a quick review of the article. It briefly tells about the introduction, material and methods, results, and conclusions. When you are doing research, review, or meta-analysis you need to read a large number of articles, which is a very time-consuming task.
This time can be minimized by reading the abstracts of the articles. Abstract is the whole conclusion of an article. Read the abstracts first; if you find it related to your study, then download the whole article and make a read. This will prevent you from wasting time reading unrelated articles.
Introduction:
In the introduction, you have to introduce the topic in broader terms. The background information is needed to be mentioned in a research paper that tells about the reason why you have selected this certain topic for study.
Literature Review:
As the title describes, you have to review the literature studies that have been done in the past related to your study. After the review, gather the related articles and write them up in the research paper. The findings should be of a reliable source.
Material and Methods:
In this heading, you have to fill up the whole procedure of the research. Write the materials that were used in the research along with the standard names and quantity. Write the whole procedure step by step in order to convey your point. The language should not be too complex that a layman cannot understand.
Results:
In the results section, explain your answers in a descriptive way. Add the figures, charts, and tables if needed in the study. Mention their title and explain the figures one by one. Mention the major findings and minor findings as well.
Discussion:
This is one of the vital steps of the research paper. In the discussion, you have to mention different articles’ findings and compare these with your own research findings. Explain the possible reasons for the difference in the results.
Reference:
The references are mentioned at the end of the research paper. You have to put the reference to each article whose word you have mentioned in your article. If you have not added the reference to an article but have used his findings in your article, then it will be considered plagiarism. You can have suffered copyright claims.