10/4/2020 How to write the background of your study | Editage Insights

How to write the background of your study

Popular • This article is in Study Background & Introduction

7 mins reading time

Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Nov 27, 2018
249.9k views ∙ 5 claps

While the findings of your study form the foreground of your research, it is equally important to establish the background of your study.
A well-written background will provide your study with a context and prompt the readers to read the rest of your paper.

However, most authors struggle with writing the background of the study. Another common problem authors encounter is
distinguishing between the background and the literature review, which are critical aspects of any research paper. The two terms are
o ten used interchangeably; however, they have clearly defined roles. So in this article, I will cover the basics of writing the background
and explain how it is di ferent from the literature review.

The background of the study

The background of the study establishes the context of the research. This section explains why this particular research topic is
important and essential to understanding the main aspects of the study. Usually, the background forms the first section of a research
article/thesis and justifies the need for conducting the study and summarizes what the study aims to achieve.

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How should I write the background of my study?

How to structure the background

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In this section, the author usually outlines the historical developments in the literature that led to the current topic of research
concisely. If the study is interdisciplinary, it should describe how di ferent disciplines are connected and what aspects of each discipline
will be studied.

Additionally, authors should brie ly highlight the main developments of their research topic and identify the main gaps that need to be
addressed. In other words, this section should give an overview of your study. The section should be organized as:

What is known about the broad topic?

What are the gaps or missing links that need to be addressed? 

What is the significance of addressing those gaps?

What are the rationale and hypothesis of your study?

The background section, therefore, should provide general information about the topic of your research and emphasize the main aims
of the study. Please ensure that you only discuss the main and relevant aspects of the studies that have led to your aims. Do not
elaborate on them as this should be done in the literature review section. The background section should discuss your findings in a
chronological manner to accentuate the progress in the field and the missing points that need to be addressed. The background should
be written as a summary of your interpretation of previous research and what your study proposes to accomplish.

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How to make the background engaging

As the background includes a lot of information, it can become a long drag, causing the readers to lose interest. To ensure that your
background is engaging, you should try to build a story around the central theme of your research.

Ensure that the story adheres to the core idea and does not digress into a broad literature review. Each idea should lead to the next so
that readers are able to grasp the story and themselves identify the gaps that your study is going to address.

How to avoid common mistakes in writing the background

While writing an e fective background, you ought to steer clear of some mistakes. The most common mistakes in writing the
background include the following:

Don't write a background that is too long or too short. Focus on including all the important details but write concisely.  

Don't be ambiguous. Writing in a way that does not convey the message to the readers defeats the purpose of the background, so
express yourself keeping in mind that the reader does not know your research intimately.  

Don't discuss unrelated themes. Try and center your discussion around the pivotal aspects of your research topic i.e. highlight the
gaps in the literature, state the novelty of the study, and the need to conduct the study.

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Don't be disorganized. Not discussing the themes in a chronological manner can confuse the reader about the progress in the
field, so try and organize your writing carefully.

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8 Dos and 8 don'ts of writing an engaging study background

How is the background di ferent from the literature review   

Many authors find it di ficult to discern the di ference between the literature review and the study background. The literature review
section should follow the background section, as the second section of your manuscript/thesis. This section basically supports the
background section by providing evidence for the proposed hypothesis. This section should be more comprehensive and thoroughly
describe all the studies that you have mentioned in the background section. It should also elaborate on all studies that form evidence
for the present study and discuss the current trends.

To write this section, you will need to do a thorough literature search on di ferent studies that relate to the broad topic of your research.
This will introduce the readers to the area of your research. Following this, you should present a more focused survey of the specific
studies that are associated with the precise objective of your study. It would be ideal to organize them thematically and discuss them
chronologically so that readers are aware of the evolution and progress in the field. In other words, separate themes should be
discussed chronologically to highlight how research in those fields has progressed over time. This will highlight what has been done
and what are the future directions that need to be worked upon.

You might find this course helpful: How to write an engaging background of the study for your research paper

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https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-10386
Published on: Nov 27, 2018

Author
Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Molecular biologist and published author with expertise in mammalian cell culture, immuno luorescence, biochemical and immunoassay
See more from Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

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How to write the literature review of your research paper

Popular • This article is in Study Background & Introduction

7 mins reading time

Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Nov 29, 2018
133.7k views ∙ 2 claps

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Many researchers struggle when it comes to writing literature review for their research paper. A literature review is a comprehensive
overview of all the knowledge available on a specific topic till date. When you decide on a research topic, usually the first step you take
in the direction of conducting research is learn more about the previous research published on the topic, and this eventually translates
into literature review when you write your research paper. Literature review is one of the pillars on which your research idea stands
since it provides context, relevance, and background to the research problem you are exploring.  

Types of literature review

Literature reviews can be categorized as experimental and theoretical. Experimental literature review basically refers to surveying all
the information available on a particular topic and critically analyzing the gaps that need to be worked upon. In this sense, it essentially
forms the first experiment of any research project. The more extensive the review, the more precise and systematic the research project
will be. Therefore, it is one of the most critical parts of one's research.

Theoretical literature review essentially involves two steps: 

. Surveying and critically reading the existing literature: this step is commonly referred to as experimental literature review.

. Summarizing and actually penning down the gist of your review in an organized manner: this is known as theoretical review.

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How to write the literature review in a research paper?

Literature review could be a part of a dissertation or research article and a stand-alone literature review. Let us look at this in more
detail.

Literature reviews for dissertation/research article

Every research report/ thesis/research article begins with an introduction to the topic of research. This forms the literature review for
the article. The main purpose of the review is to introduce the readers to the need for conducting the said research. A literature review
should begin with a thorough literature search using the main keywords in relevant online databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed,
etc. Once all the relevant literature has been gathered, it should be organized as follows:

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. Background literature about the broad research topic to introduce the readers to the field of study.

. Recent progress on the study topic which can be organized thematically or chronologically. Ideally, separate themes should be
discussed in a chronological manner to describe how research in the field has evolved over time and to highlight the progress in
the field.

. The review should include a comparison and contrast of di ferent studies. Discussing the controversial aspects helps to identify
the main gaps that need to be worked upon. This is essential for defining the problem statement of the study and highlighting
the significance of the research under question.

. Once a problem statement has been defined, the strengths and pitfalls of other studies that have tackled the problem statement
should be discussed. This is important for outlining the need and novelty of the research.

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Literature review
Give the reader context and background about your research problem
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. PubMed search
. Various study designs

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A literature review should not be a mere recounting of all the available information. It should be a critical and analytical summary of
the selected literature that guides the readers through the central theme of the research.

Stand-alone literature reviews

Literature reviews can also be written as stand-alone articles. These are not di ferent from the literature review sections described
above; however, they are not followed by experimental data.

They basically fall into 2 broad categories: narrative reviews and systematic reviews.

1. Narrative reviews

These are theoretical discussions of relevant information on a particular topic and its critical analysis. These are mostly qualitative in
nature similar to the review sections of larger articles.

Narrative reviews are usually organized as follows:

Introduction that establishes the context of the field of research and the topic of the review

Body is normally used for describing the di ferent themes under the main topic by dividing them into di ferent subheadings. This
section compares and contrasts published studies and identifies gaps that have not been addressed or have been unsuccessfully
addressed.

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6 Di ferences between study background and literature review

Conclusions. This section di fers slightly between reviews which are part of research articles and narrative reviews. The section
describes the main conclusions from analysis of all the current studies and puts forth further avenues for research. This section requires
critical interpretation by the author such that the review adds value to existing literature. It should bring out ideas/hypotheses that can
explain any discrepancies and provide solutions to existing problems.

2. Systematic reviews

On the other hand, systematic reviews follow a well-planned methodology to qualitatively or quantitatively analyze a defined number
of studies. They usually focus on a single question and have clear study objectives that are worked upon in a systematic manner. These
studies are based on a well-defined strategy unlike narrative reviews. Systematic reviews and narrative reviews are organized slightly
di ferently. The details are described below:

Introduction: Systematic reviews begin with specific research questions that are defined in terms of the samples and research
outcomes to be studied.

Methods (only for systematic reviews):  These studies have a comprehensive methodology that starts by narrowing down the literature
for the review. Usually, specific inclusion/exclusion criteria are set based on the research questions and databases are searched based
on these criteria. Once the sample studies have been shortlisted, they are analyzed in detail.

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Results: The results section for these studies involves comprehensive data analysis to determine the significance of the study outcomes.
Systematic reviews can be accompanied with Meta-analysis which involves statistical analysis of the included studies to increase the
power of the results.

Discussion: This section usually interprets the study data based on their weighted significance and the power of the results. The study
therefore provides strengthened results that are validated by the scientific rigor of the analytical method.

Before starting to write a review, it is important to determine what kind of review you want to write and follow the appropriate style
and guidelines. An e fective literature review is important for the complete life cycle of a research from defining the right research goals
to correctly interpreting and presenting the research results.

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https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-10430
Published on: Nov 29, 2018

Author
Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Molecular biologist and published author with expertise in mammalian cell culture, immuno luorescence, biochemical and immunoassay
See more from Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

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11 Commonly confused elements of a research paper

This article is in Planning to Write

16 mins reading time

Fatima Qureshi
Jul 17, 2019
15.5k views ∙ 6 claps

Image: Pexels

In order to write an impressive manuscript, you must first understand why each section of the manuscript is written, i.e., the purpose it
serves and what it contains. However, researchers o ten find it di ficult to understand the di ference between some parts of a
manuscript and are unsure whether they are interchangeable or serve distinct purposes. They ponder upon questions like:
Is the “aim” of a research di ferent from its “objectives”?

Are the “implications” and “recommendations” of a research the same?

What's the di ference between a “citation” and a "reference”?

Do you have such questions on your mind, too? Well, you're about to find answers to them! This article lists the di ferences between
some of the most commonly confused sections and elements of a research paper.

1. How is the “Abstract” of your research paper di ferent from the “Introduction?”

An abstract is a summary of a research paper. It contains the most essential details of your research, including the findings, methods,
and conclusion. It is meant to help readers, who are o ten busy scientists, decide whether they wish to read the entire article and can be
especially useful in case of paywalled articles. It also helps journal editors to determine whether to consider articles for peer review.

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Now let us understand what purpose the Introduction serves. The Introduction is the beginning of your research paper and provides
background for your research topic, helping the reader understand the motivation for conducting the study. It sets the context for your
research by introducing the research topic, providing a brief overview of previously published literature, identifying the gaps or
problems that existing research has failed to address, and finally introducing the problem that you intend to solve, ideally via an
explicit ‘aim’ statement at the end of the introduction—more on this in the next section!

The abstract is written to give readers a sneak peek into your research and engage their interest, and so it should brie ly encapsulate the
entire study; the Introduction, meanwhile, is written to provide specific context for the research question being explored, particularly
for readers who may not be familiar with the specific subfield of your work.

One notable di ference that you must keep in mind is that the abstract includes the methods and results of your research but the
Introduction does not.

Improve your understanding:

A 10-step guide to make your research paper abstract more e fective

VIDEO: 11 Tips for writing a great research paper abstract

COURSE: How to write a strong Introduction for your research paper

2. How is the “aim” of your research di ferent from its “objectives”?

The aim of a study states the outcome that you hope to achieve from your study. It is a broad statement of the overall goals of your
study and indicates where you hope to reach at the end of your research. The aim of your research encapsulates what you wish to find
out or prove through your research. On the other hand, research objectives lay down the steps, that is, the specific or direct actions that
you will take to achieve your aim. The objectives of your research lay down specific milestones or stages that you will reach in order to
accomplish your goals. While the aim is a broad goal that you wish to accomplish, the objectives are small, precise steps that will guide
you through your research path. In other words, the aim of your research paper states what you wish to achieve and the objectives
indicate how you will achieve them, by identifying specific steps or milestones. Depending on the type of document you are writing,
you might need to provide an aim, objectives, or both.

The following example will help you understand the two terms better.

Aim: To determine the antioxidative e fect of XXX plant extract

Objectives:

(1) To test reactive oxygen species generation in the XXX cell line following treatment with XXX plant extract.

(2) To determine the activity of antioxidant enzymes SOD and CAT in a rat model following treatment with XXX plant extract.

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What are research objectives?

How can l come up with good research objectives?

3. What is the di ference between the “Introduction” and the “problem statement” of your research?

The Introduction is the first section of a research paper and provides background for the study. The purpose of an Introduction is to
engage the readers and give them the essential background information they need to understand the aim of your study. The
Introduction includes the study background and the research question.

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A problem statement, on the other hand, is an essential part of a research proposal, which is written to acquire funding for your
research. It is a brief explanation of an issue, a condition, or a situation that you wish to study. It helps you clearly identify the purpose
of your project by highlighting the gap between an ideal situation and the reality, and why it is important to bridge that gap. Clearly
defining the problem that your research will address is essential to convince the funders that your project is worth funding.

Writing a problem statement comes at a much earlier stage in your research journey, a ter you have chosen the area in which you
would like to conduct your research (or the gap you would like to address through your research) and are seeking research funding. In
contrast, the Introduction is written a ter you have completed your research and are presenting your findings for publication.

In sum, the Introduction provides background information, includes a literature review*, explains the purpose of your study, and states
the research question, and the problem statement gives an overview of the specific problem that your research will address.

Improve your understanding:

4 Step approach to writing the Introduction section of a research paper

COURSE: How to write a statement of the problem

4. How is the “background of a study” di ferent from a “literature review”?

The study background and the literature review talk about the existing knowledge in a research area and help identify the gaps that
need to be addressed. However, there are significant distinctions between them. The study background is the first part of the
Introduction section, which introduces the research topic and sets the context of your research. It is usually followed by the literature
review*, which provides a critical analysis of the literature on your research topic.

The background of a study is written to state the significance of your research while the literature review is written to evaluate the
progress of knowledge in your research area. While the study background is written in a short and concise manner, the literature review
is relatively detailed, although it should be focused on only that literature that is needed to provide context and motivation for your
research question. Both of them eventually lead readers to gaps in research that have remained unaddressed. We can say that the
background broadly introduces the topic of your research while the literature review tracks the existing knowledge in the field and
helps identify the exact gaps in research that your study will address.

Improve your understanding:

How to write the background of your study

How to write the literature review of your research paper

INFOGRAPHIC: 6 Di ferences between study background and literature review

5. Is your “research question” the same as your “research problem”?

A research problem is a broad issue that you would like to address through your research. It identifies a di ficulty, doubt, or an area of
concern, in theory or in practice, that requires thought and investigation. It is an anomaly, a limitation, or a troubling question in the
real world that needs to be addressed. You can break your research problem into smaller questions that will help you move towards
solving the problem.

Now let us understand what a research question is. A research question is the specific concern that you will answer through your
research. It is derived from your research problem but is based on your study design. When you narrow down your research problem to
a specific idea that points towards a feasible way to investigate or address your research problem, you get your research question.
Specifying your research question is the first step in the direction of actually solving your research problem. You can then formulate the
aim of your study based on your research question and accordingly decide the objectives of your research.

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Improve your understanding:

How to choose a research question

VIDEO: 3 Easy steps to write an e fective statement of problem

6. What is the di ference between “research methods” and “research methodology”?

“Research methods” and “research methodology” are two distinct but commonly confused terms. Let us understand the di ferences
between them. Research methodology is a broad set of principles that help researchers choose which methods they should use to
conduct their experiments. In contrast, research methods are the actual techniques and procedures used in research work. They are
based on the choice of research methodology, which thus encompasses not only the methods but also the logic or reasoning behind
using them. Depending on the nature of your research, the research methodology could encompass the use of either qualitative or
quantitative data. You would then accordingly choose di ferent methods of research like observation, surveys, interviews, laboratory
experiments, etc.

Improve your understanding:

COURSE: How to write the perfect Methods section

Types of qualitative research methods

7. “Results” and “Discussion” – What's the di ference?

The Results and Discussion sections are dedicated to the most important aspect of your research work—your research findings! The
Results section presents the findings of your study generated as a result of the methods you chose to use. These should include a brief
textual explanation of the study findings, supported by data presented in tables, figures, diagrams, or other non-textual elements. The
Discussion section, on the other hand, summarizes and interprets your findings at length. All comments, explanations, and
interpretations related to your results belong in the Discussion. For instance, if you observe a consistent pattern or, perhaps, a
luctuation in your findings, you can mention it in the Results, but speculation or assumptions regarding the reason for these observed
phenomena should be included in the Discussion. Note that the Results section presents but does not interpret the study findings and
the Discussion interprets but does not re-state the findings. Also, whether the Results and Discussion should be two separate sections
depends on the nature of your findings or the requirements of your target journal. Both elements could be clubbed under one section
—Results and Discussion—or the Results could stand alone as one section followed by the Discussion, where you talk about the
implications of your findings in addition to sharing your final comments.

Improve your understanding:

COURSE: How to write the most e fective Results and Discussion sections

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Tips on e fective use of tables and figures in research papers

HANDBOOK: Write a convincing discussion section – The key to journal acceptance

Quick tips on writing titles for tables and figures in scientific papers

8. Do “figure captions,” “labels,” and “legends” mean the same thing?

The Results section of a manuscript includes tables, figures, and other non-textual elements that illustrate the findings of the research.
Captions, labels, and legends are used to identify and provide details about such illustrations. These terms refer to distinct elements
that serve di fering purposes and cannot be used interchangeably. Captions are the titles or headings of figures, tables, or illustrations
and tell the reader what a particular table or figure contains. Legends, on the other hand, are brief descriptions of figures or tables and
o ten indicate how to interpret the information presented in the corresponding illustrations. Legends are descriptive and talk more
about the data presented in tables or figures to facilitate understanding of the data. Labels are part of the figure or illustration and are
used to name the components of a diagram. They are used to identify each element of the illustration. All three of these elements are
required for a figure, table, or illustration to be complete and comprehensible, independent of the main text of the manuscript.

Improve your understanding:

Referring to tables and figures in text

6 Easy guidelines for preparing tables and figures for a research manuscript

6 Tips for preparing impactful figures for a research manuscript

9. What is the di ference between “implications,” “limitations,” and “recommendations for future research”? 

Research implications, limitations, and recommendations are important components of the Conclusion section, which summarizes
your findings and sums up the essence of your research. Let us understand how each of these three terms di fers from the other.

Implications are the conclusions that you have drawn from your research project. They suggest how the findings of your research can be
useful, e.g., for further research and policy making. Through your implications, you can demonstrate how your research can be applied
in real-life policy and practices.

Limitations, on the other hand, are intended to help the reader understand the context in which the findings should be interpreted and
applied. They list the shortcomings of your research, which may be based on several reasons such as the unavailability of required
resources, ine ficient research design or method used, or lack of access to advanced instruments and apparatus. Disclosing the
limitations of your research will help create an impression that your approach is realistic and you have a complete understanding of
your research topic, as well as ensure that the scope of the applicability of the findings is clear.

Recommendations are suggestions drawn from your research for a specific course of action for subsequent research. Once you have
listed the limitations of your research, you can suggest ideas for future research based on the questions or gaps that your study could
not address. You can also recommend other aspects of your research topic which would be interesting to work on and would constitute
pioneering research questions.

Improve your understanding:

What is the di ference between research implication and recommendation?

10. What is the di ference between “citations,” “references,” and a “bibliography?”

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While conducting your research, you may have used previously published work to build upon an idea or to conduct further research on
a topic. Citations and references are both used to credit those authors whose works you may have referred to.

A citation is made when you pick exact ideas from the work of other researchers, either in the form of quotes or paraphrased
statements. Citations are included in the main body of the paper wherein the source of the information is cited alongside the
statement. References and the Bibliography both refer to a list, usually at the end of the manuscript, of all the books, articles,
documents, videos, interviews, and other sources that you may have used to gather the necessary information for your work. Each
source cited in an article must be mentioned in the reference list and each reference must be represented by a citation in the main body
of the article. In contrast, a bibliography is a collection of all materials used to gather information or to research a topic, and all items in
a bibliography need not necessarily be cited in the main text.

Improve your understanding:

VIDEO: Understand the di ferences between references and citations in a research paper

COURSE: Understanding citations and references

11. What is the di ference between “footnotes” and “endnotes”?

We know that authors sometimes cite the source of their information alongside the statements in which that information is presented
(this is called a citation). They might also want to add comments or explanations to a sentence that they have written. However, adding
such details in the middle of the paper might disrupt the low of writing. Authors therefore use footnotes and endnotes to convey such
important but supplementary details. Footnotes refer to such comments or explanatory notes when they are added at the bottom of a
page. The sentence or word where explanation is needed is marked with a symbol or a superscripted number, and the relevant
footnote, marked with the same symbol or number, can be found at the bottom of the page.

Just like footnotes, endnotes are a way of adding supplementary information to the main text and they are also marked with a
superscripted number. The only di ference is in the placement of the explanation—for endnotes, the correlating information is added
at the end of the article. Footnotes can be useful for quickly identifying the source of information with a glance at the bottom of the
page. Endnotes, on the other hand, help de-clutter the page and help maintain low while reading.

Improve your understanding:

Footnotes in tables (part 1): choice of footnote markers and their sequence

Footnotes in tables (part 2): formatting, spacing, and punctuation

The bottom line is that each section of the manuscript serves a distinct purpose and highlights a di ferent aspect of your research.
Therefore, a clear understanding, before you start dra ting your manuscript, of what purpose each section serves will help you avoid
mistakes. I hope this article has helped you understand the distinction between these elements.

Are there any other terms associated with manuscript writing that are o ten confused? If you think there are more terms that can be
added to this list, please share them in the comments section below. We'll make sure we get back to you with the necessary
explanation.

You can also look up some really interesting and useful content on our platform that will help you write each section of your manuscript
well.

*Some journal guidelines specifically ask authors to write the literature review as a separate section in the paper instead of including it
in the Introduction. It's best to check the guidelines of your target journal before you write this section.

References:

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Di ference between Aims and Objectives

Aims and objectives – what's the di ference?

Di ference Between an Abstract and an Introduction

The secret to writing the introduction and methods section of a manuscript

The basics of writing a statement of the problem for your research proposal

The Research Problem/Question

What is the di ference between research question and research problem?

What are the basic di ferences between research method and research methodology?

Di ference between research methods and methodology

Qualitative research: definition, types, methods and examples

5 Di ferences between the results and discussion sections

In research, what is the di ference between implication and recommendation?

Di ference Between Implications and Recommendations in Research

Conclusions and recommendations

What is the di ference between citation and reference?

What Are Footnotes and How Do You Use Them?

Footnotes or endnotes?

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4 Step approach to writing the Introduction section of a research paper

Popular • This article is in Study Background & Introduction

10 mins reading time

Yateendra Joshi
Sep 18, 2018
131.9k views ∙ 1 clap

If you want others to cite your paper, you should make sure they read it first. Let us assume that the title and the abstract of your paper
have convinced your peers that they should see your paper. It is then the job of the Introduction section to ensure that they start
reading it and keep reading it, to pull them in and to show them around as it were, guiding them to the other parts of the paper
(Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion).

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This article tells you, with examples, what you should include in the Introduction and what you should leave out, and what reviewers
and journal editors look for in this section.
 
What is the function of the Introduction section?
 
Put simply, the Introduction should answer the question ‘Why:’ why you choose that topic for research; why it is important; why you
adopted a particular method or approach; and so on. You can also think of the Introduction as the section that points out the gap in
knowledge that the rest of the paper will fill, or the section in which you define and claim your territory within the broad area of
research.

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How can I write the introduction section for my article?

 
The other job the Introduction should do is to give some background information and set the context. You can do this by describing the
research problem you considered or the research question you asked (in the main body of the paper, you will o fer the solution to the
problem or the answer to the question) and by brie ly reviewing any other solutions or approaches that have been tried in the past.
 
Remember that a thesis or a dissertation usually has a separate chapter titled ‘Review of literature,’ but a research paper has no such
section; instead, the Introduction includes a review in brief.
 
Now that you have given the background and set the context, the last part of the Introduction should specify the objectives of the
experiment or analysis of the study described in the paper. This concluding part of the Introduction should include specific details or
the exact question(s) to be answered later in the paper.

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The 4-step approach to writing the Introduction section 
 

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As a rule of thumb, this section accounts for about 10% of the total word count of the body of a typical research paper, or about 400
words spread over three paragraphs in a 4000-word paper.1 With that, let us now understand how to write the Introduction section
step-by-step:
 
1. Provide background information and set the context.
This initial part of the Introduction prepares the readers for more detailed and specific information that is given later. The first couple of
sentences are typically broad.
 
Below are some examples:
A paper on organic matter in soil can begin thus: ‘Sustainable crop production is a function of the physical, chemical, and
biological properties of soil, which, in turn, are markedly a fected by the organic matter in soil.’
A paper that discusses the possible beneficial role of bacteria in treating cancer can begin as follows: ‘The role of bacteria as
anticancer agent was recognized almost hundred years back.’
A paper on lithium batteries can introduce the study with the following sentence: ‘The rapid growth of lithium ion batteries and
their new uses, such as powering electric cars and storing electricity for grid supply, demands more reliable methods to
understand and predict battery performance and life.’

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5 Di ferences between the results and discussion sections

At the same time, the introductory statement should not be too broad: note that in the examples above, the Introduction did not begin
by talking about agriculture, cancer, or batteries in general, but by mentioning organic matter in soil, the role of bacteria, and lithium
ion batteries.
 
Once the first sentence has introduced the broad field, the next sentence can point to the specific area within that broad field. As you
may have noticed, the papers in the examples mentioned above introduced the subfield by mentioning 1) remission of some types
cancer following accidental infection by Streptococcus pyogenes, 2) organic matter in soil as a source of nutrients for plants and of
energy for microorganisms, and 3) imaging techniques to visualize the 3-dimensional structure of the materials and components of
batteries on nanoscale.
 
2. Introduce the specific topic of your research and explain why it is important.
As you can see from the above examples, the authors are moving toward presenting the specific topic of their research. So now in the
following part, you can bring in some statistics to show the importance of the topic or the seriousness of the problem.

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Top tips and tricks to write an e fective results section

 
Here are some examples:
A paper on controlling malaria by preventive measures, can mention the number of people a fected, the number of person-hours
lost, or the cost of treating the disease.

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A paper on developing crops that require little water can mention the frequency of severe droughts or the decrease in crop
production because of droughts.
A paper on more e ficient methods of public transport can mention the extent of air pollution due to exhausts from cars and two-
wheelers or the shrinking ratio between the number of automobiles and road length.

Another way to emphasize the importance of the research topic is to highlight the possible benefits from solving the problem or from
finding an answer to the question: possible savings, greater production, longer-lasting devices, and so on. This approach emphasizes
the positive.

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For example, instead of saying that X dollars are lost because of malaria every year, say that X dollars can be saved annually if malaria is
prevented, or X millions litres of water can be saved by dispensing with irrigation, or X person-hours can be saved in the form of
avoided illnesses because of improved air quality or reduced pollution.
 
3. Mention past attempts to solve the research problem or to answer the research question.
As mentioned earlier, a formal review of literature is out of place in the Introduction section of a research paper; however, it is
appropriate to indicate any earlier relevant research and clarify how your research di fers from those attempts. The di ferences can be
simple: you may have repeated the same set of experiments but with a di ferent organism, or elaborated (involving perhaps more
sophisticated or advanced analytical instruments) the study with a much larger and diverse sample, or a widely di ferent geographical
setting.

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Here are two examples:
‘Although these studies were valuable, they were undertaken when the dra t genome sequence had not been available and
therefore provide little information on the evolutionary and regulatory mechanisms.’
‘Plant response is altered by insect colonization and behaviour but these aspects have been studied mostly in sole crops, whereas
the present paper examines the relationship between crops and their pests in an intercropping system.’

4. Conclude the Introduction by mentioning the specific objectives of your research.

The earlier paragraphs should lead logically to specific objectives of your study. Note that this part of the Introduction gives specific
details: for instance, the earlier part of the Introduction may mention the importance of controlling malaria whereas the concluding
part will specify what methods of control were used and how they were evaluated. At the same time, avoid too much detail because
those belong to the Materials and Methods section of the paper.

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How to write a research paper in English

 
If, for example, your research was about finding the right proportions of two metals in an alloy and you tested ten di ferent proportions,
you do not have to list all the ten proportions: it is enough to say that the proportions varied from 50:50 to 10:90.
 
Here are two more examples:
‘We aimed to assess the e fectiveness of four disinfection strategies on hospital-wide incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms
and Clostridium di ficile’
‘We aimed (1) to assess the epidemiological changes before and a ter the upsurge of scarlet fever in China in 2011; (2) to explore
the reasons for the upsurge and the epidemiological factors that contributed to it; and (3) to assess how these factors could be
managed to prevent future epidemics.’

There are di ferent ways of constructing the objectives. Using questions2, hypotheses, and infinitives are the more common
constructions (both examples in the previous paragraph use infinitives), each of which is illustrated below with some fictitious text:

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The secret to writing the introduction and methods section of a manuscript

 
Questions
‘Do some genes in wheat form gene networks? If they do, to what extent as compared to rice?’
‘Do the regulatory elements in the promoters of those genes display any conserved motifs?’
‘Finally, and more specifically, do those genes in wheat display any tissue- or organ-specific expression pattern?’

Hypotheses
 
‘We decided to test the following four hypotheses related to employees of information-technology companies:
H1: Career stages in luence work values.
H2: Career stages in luence the level of job satisfaction.
H3: Career stages do not in luence organizational commitment.’
 
Using infinitives
 
‘To examine the response of Oryza sativa to four di ferent doses of nitrogen in terms of 1) biomass production, 2) plant height, and 3)
crop duration.’
 
Compared to two other sections of a typical research paper, namely Methods and Results, Introduction and Discussion are more
di ficult to write. However, the 4-step approach described in this article should ease the task.

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How to write the introduction section of my manuscript?

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A final tip: although the Introduction is the first section of the main text of your paper, you don't have to write that section first. You can
write it, or at least revise it, a ter you have written the rest of the paper: this will make the Introduction not only easier to write but also
more compelling.
 
You might find this course helpful: How to write a strong introduction for your research paper
 
References
 
1. Araújo C G. 2014. Detailing the writing of scientific manuscripts: 25-30 paragraphs. Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia 102 (2): e21–
e23
 
2. Boxman R and Boxman E. 2017. Communicating Science: a practical guide for engineers and physical scientists, pp. 7–9. Singapore:
World Scientific. 276 pp.
 
Related reading:
The secret to writing the introduction and methods section of a manuscript
Tips for writing the perfect IMRAD manuscript

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https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-5162
Published on: Sep 18, 2018

Author
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Communicator, Published Author, BELS-certified editor with Diplomate status.

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Manuscript structure: How to convey your most important ideas through

your paper
Popular • This article is in Planning to Write, Methods, Results & Discussion

6 mins di i

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6 mins reading time

Aditya Vadrevu
Nov 04, 2013
157.5k views ∙ 2 claps

The core purpose of writing a paper is to go beyond mere presentation of facts and thoughts. It is to reach out to the reader—to
communicate your research e fectively and help readers understand the issues at hand.
This article introduces and illustrates various concepts for structuring a manuscript such that readers take away the most important
messages—the messages you want to convey—a ter reading your paper. 

The philosophy behind a good manuscript structure

A crucial point to remember while writing a research paper is that readers do not simply read; they interpret.1 Di ferent readers are
likely to extract di ferent meanings from your paper, depending on their expectations or the clues they receive from the manuscript's
structure. This brings us to a concept that serves as the foundation of good writing practices1: 

Manuscript structure: The essential elements

A fitting analogy to the structure of most research manuscripts would be an hourglass.2 The manuscript begins with broad statements,
narrows down to the specifics of your study, and ends with broad considerations. This section presents the basic components of a
manuscript and outlines the essential functions and content of each part.2-6 
 

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Is it true that the decision will be conveyed faster if the manuscript is rejected?

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Introduction (What are you studying and why?)

Use this section to set the context for your study and problem. Remember that several readers may not understand the significance of
your study right away. Therefore, use general language and carefully developed logic to guide your readers to the main
problem/objective of your study.

DOs and DON'Ts

Describe the rationale for undertaking the study

Explain how the research makes an important contribution to the field or advances knowledge
State the research question clearly
Explain the theoretical framework that the study is based on
Provide a background of the problem or issue that your research aims to understand or resolve, citing studies to support your
arguments
Summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic, citing studies as appropriate
Don't review all studies that have ever been published on the topic

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Methods (What did you do?)

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This section is the most specific to your study. A primary criterion for well-conducted research is that it must be replicable. This means
that another researcher should be able to reproduce the results by following the methods detailed in your paper.

DOs and DON'Ts

Provide full details of all methods, techniques, and instruments

Include photograph or diagram of the experimental setup
Describe the questionnaire, survey, or other data collection instruments
Provide or cite studies that support the validity and reliability of the analysis methods and instruments
Describe the lab settings or environment
Explain the analysis methods and why you chose them
Don't exclude important details simply to avoid a lengthy description of the methods

Results (What did you find?)

Include all the details of your data and results in this section. Highlight the most significant findings in the text and then move on to
the peripheral findings. Readers should be able to understand your results without spending too much time reading this section. 
 

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Tips to impress journal editors by structuring your manuscript e fectively

DOs and DON'Ts

Use tables and figures e fectively to present results in a manner that's easy to understand at a glance
Describe the actual data rather than provide generalizations
State the main findings in the text
Highlight any unexpected or surprising results in the text
Explain what the results are saying, rather them simply stating the statistical data (e.g., “X was found to substantially increase
with Y [followed by statistical data]” rather than “X and Y had a positive correlation of .73”)
If you have illustrated the results of your study in figures and tables, do not include detailed descriptions of these results in the
text

Discussion (What do your findings mean?)

A good discussion section extends the specific results to their broader implications, which can then be tied in with the general
background given in the introduction to maximize the impact of the overall paper. Therefore, remember to go “back and forth” between
your discussion section and the introduction.
 

DOs and DON'Ts

Start by stating whether your hypothesis was supported

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Interpret the results: what do the results imply?

Relate your findings to those of previous studies, for example, whether your results support or deviate from results in previous
studies
Explain how the study adds to previous knowledge
Remember to mention any possible alternative explanations for the results
Address the limitations of the study
Don't simply repeat the results again
Don't draw conclusions that are not supported by the data

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Structure of a research paper

Conclusion (What have you learned from the study?) 

In this section, state the main conclusions of the study in the context of the formulated problem. By the time readers reach this part of
the text, they should have understood what you did and the outcomes of the research. Readers should be able to understand how and
why you reached your conclusions.
 

DOs and DON'Ts

Explain what you've learned from the study

Ensure that the conclusion is directly related to your research question and stated purpose of the study
Elaborate on the broader implications of the research
Suggest specific future avenues of research to advance the knowledge you've gained from the study or answer questions that your
study did not address
Don't oversell your research or “overgeneralize” the results, that is, stretch the study findings to provide suggestions or conclusions
that the research doesn't really support
Don't simply summarize the results

Writing for di ferent groups of readers

A good writer is aware of what di ferent types of readers may be expecting from the paper and can structure a paper according to
the readers’ expectations and backgrounds. Even a general reader with little or no knowledge of the field should be able to get a
broad understanding of what you did and why.2 
Avoid jargon. Clearly define key terms, especially ones that are not used in their conventional sense or ones that few readers can
be expected to be familiar with.
If only specialists in your field can understand what you're saying, your paper will not be read by a wide audience. Lead readers up
to the problem or theory you are studying. Don't assume that readers know everything about the topic of your research. 

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Authorship (Part 2): Deciding the order of authors on your manuscript

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To be an e fective author, keep the reader in mind while writing your paper. A well-structured manuscript helps you enhance the low of
your ideas and tells readers what to expect at di ferent parts of the manuscript.

For further reading, refer to these posts:

The secret to writing the introduction and methods section of a manuscript

The secret to writing the results and discussion section of a manuscript

2 claps
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https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-6321
Published on: Nov 04, 2013

Author
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Used his own editorial and publishing experience to help meet service delivery expectations and ensure that researchers achieve their publication goals.
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