A guide to writing a paper - 28 November 2019

A GUIDE TO WRITING A PAPER

The first steps in research

Before we write a paper, we need to conduct some research to identify something
interesting to write. We conduct research based on the scientific method. The steps in
the scientific method are:

1. Identify a problem - rationale for conducting the study

2. Formulate a testable hypothesis
3. Design experiments and capture the data
4. Analyze and interpret the results
5. If the results are interesting, write a paper or else plan for further research based on
the experience

Writing the elements of a paper

Title
PURPOSE
A good title must

• Grab reader's attention and make them read further

• Describe accurately the content of the manuscript
• Highlight the importance of research

APPROACH
1. Make a note of main findings and implications. Use them to develop the title
2. Write down a few possible titles
3. Select the best to refine further

GUIDELINES
• A title must be concise and informative
• If findings cannot be made into a title, use the objectives of the study
• Recommended size of the title - 10-12 words
• Have a working title first to help you focus and revise it as paper contents becomes
clear
• Avoid redundancies like - “A study of ...”

Abstract
PURPOSE
Tell the readers what to expect and provide critical information in 150-250 words

APPROACH

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 A guide to writing a paper - 28 November 2019

Answer the following questions and arrange them in logical order:

1. What is the background of the problem?

2. What is the problem? (Present tense)
3. What research methods did you use? (Past tense)
1. Variables
2. Research design
3. Studies conducted
4. What data were you able to produce?
5. What did you learn?
1. Important findings that answer the question
2. Answer to the question
6. Who cares? Why are these findings useful?

Note: 1 and 6 questions can be omitted if the abstract crosses the word limit

GUIDELINES
• An abstract must make sense in isolation
• Provide just enough data to demonstrate that the study was good and the evidence
for the answer is strong
• It is also good to write a working abstract that can work as an outline before
starting to write the paper

Keywords
PURPOSE
APPROACH
GUIDELINES
• Represent the content of the manuscript
• Must be specific to the field of research

Introduction
PURPOSE
• Stimulate reader's interest
• Provide background information
• Explain - What question did you study?

APPROACH
• First paragraph
• Use inverted triangle approach
• Start with a broad statement and get specific till you reach the problem
statement by last sentence
• In the middle, cite other work to build up lack of knowledge regarding the
problem under consideration

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• Last sentence is the problem statement, the most crucial part

• A problem statement must either fill a gap in the knowledge or answer a
previously unanswered question
• Useful sentence patterns
• To determine whether ...
• The purpose of the study is ...
• The study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that ...
• Middle paragraphs
• Literature review
• Start with historical contributions and lead to the papers that try to address
a similar problem
• Present state of the art in the area of research and explain how your article
differs
• Justify novelty of your article
• Explain your approach to the problem (past tense)
• Last paragraph - Provide an outline to the article

GUIDELINES
• Use sub-headings to focus your writing. If you feel they are unnecessary, you can
remove them in the final draft
• Use citations that are
• Well balanced - Present conflicting results if available
• Current - < 10 years old
• Relevant to the study

Materials and methods

PURPOSE
Give enough details so that the study can be replicated

APPROACH
Outline of research design

• Experiments - Number of experiments and justification

• Variables

Materials

1. Instruments and equipment - model number, manufacturer and settings

2. If you made the component on your own, how did you manufacture?
3. What conditions were used during the study?Experimental design
• Pilot studies - Mention outcomes which led to the modification of the study
• Procedure

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• Give a detailed description in chronological order

• Describe new methods in detail
• For standard methods, use a previous paper and write similarly
• Describe established methods briefly and give a reference

Data analysis

• Method of calculating derived variables

• Dealing with outliers and missing data
• Statistical software - name and version
• Statistical tests and what was compared
• p-value at which the result is statistically significant

GUIDELINES
• Cite references for the tests that are not commonly used
• Describe what you did in past tense

Results
PURPOSE
• Report results of the procedure described in methods section
• Use the data to support the conclusions

APPROACH
• Present them in the same order as methods

GUIDELINES
• Use past tense to describe results and present tense to describe figures and tables
• State only what you have found. Do not interpret the results
• Place tables and figures after the related text
• Use references to compare your results with others

Discussion
PURPOSE
It is the most essential part of the paper and is used to explain

• Significance of the results

• Implications of findings
• Suggestions for future research

Answer to the question - “What do the results mean?”

Note: This is the last chance to impress the reviewer. State how your results extend the
previous studies:

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• Originality
• Uniqueness
• Importance.

APPROACH
Answer the following questions

• What do the present results suggest?

• How do they relate to published results? - Are they consistent? If not, discuss
possible reasons for the difference
• What are the implications?
• What do the results mean to
• Researchers in the same field
• Researchers in different fields
• General public
• What are the limitations of the study?
• Limitations about - validity, generalisation
• A weakness in research design that becomes apparent while conducting the
study
• What problems occurred?
• What improvements can be made?
• What more needs to be done? - 1 or 2 recommendations and make sure you hedge
your sentences clearly showing uncertainty

GUIDELINES
• Do not start with a summary of results
• Answer questions using same key terms and verbs as in the question
• Confine the answer to the zone of experimentation
• Evaluate if there are any other possible explanations

Conclusion
PURPOSE
Restate - objectives, findings and major implications

APPROACH
Mention findings in the order of importance

GUIDELINES
• Do not summarize the study
• Do not add new information

Acknowledgements
PURPOSE

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 A guide to writing a paper - 28 November 2019

APPROACH
Acknowledge anyone who provided

• Intellectual assistance
• Technical help in
• Writing
• Data analysis
• Special equipment or materials
• Funding organization

GUIDELINES
References
PURPOSE
• Show that there is interest in the field of research
• Provide a context for your work
• Give evidence for claims
• Establish where the ideas came from
• Connect readers to other research

APPROACH
GUIDELINES
• Cite publications that disagree with your research and justify your work
• Only mention relevant and recent articles
• Do not cite without actually reading the original content