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• This article is in
Popular
Study Background & Introduction

7 mins reading time

Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Nov 27, 2018

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 often 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 different 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.

How to structure the background

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 different
disciplines are connected and what aspects of each
discipline will be studied.

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Additionally, authors should briefly 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.

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 effective 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.

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.

How is the background different from the

literature review

Many authors find it difficult to discern the

difference 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 different 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.

To learn in depth how to write a persuasive

study background take this course: 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

Background Of A Study

Introduction Section Literature Review

Author
Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Molecular biologist and published author with expertise

in mammalian cell culture, immunofluorescence,
biochemical and immunoassay
See more from Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

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How to write the

literature review of your
research paper
• This article is in
Popular
Study Background & Introduction

7 mins reading time

Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Nov 29, 2018

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:

1. Surveying and critically reading the existing

literature: this step is commonly referred to
as experimental literature review.

2. Summarizing and actually penning down the

gist of your review in an organized manner:
this is known as theoretical review.

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:

1. Background literature about the broad

research topic to introduce the readers to the
field of study.

2. 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.

3. The review should include a comparison and

contrast of different 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.

4. 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.

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.

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Stand-alone literature reviews

Literature reviews can also be written as stand-

alone articles. These are not different 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 different

themes under the main topic by dividing them into
different subheadings. This section compares and
contrasts published studies and identifies gaps
that have not been addressed or have been
unsuccessfully addressed.

Conclusions. This section differs 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 differently. 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.

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
effective 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.

If you wish to learn in more depth how to

conduct literature search, check out this
course designed exclusively for
researchers: How to conduct an effective
literature search and review
review..

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

Literature Review

Author
Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Molecular biologist and published author with expertise

in mammalian cell culture, immunofluorescence,
biochemical and immunoassay
See more from Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Comments

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A quick guide to
conducting an effective
review of related
literature (RRL)
This article is in Planning to Write

5 mins reading time

Malvika Gaur
Jan 06, 2023

A question that we often get asked is how to review

related literature. However, before we discuss that
let's first understand what a review of related
literature (RRL) is.

What's an RRL?

Put simply, RRL is a thorough and in-depth

analysis of existing literature related to the topic of
your thesis or dissertation. In an RRL, you can
include the concepts, methods, and results of the
existing literature relevant to your topic; this will
give you an overview of what has been done in
your field of research, the methods adopted that
lead to the conclusions mentioned in the existing
literature, and if there is a gap or conflict in the
existing literature. The gap or conflict is what you
can address through your research question.

Is it worth spending all that time on a

detailed literature review?

Yes! A detailed literature review has a three-fold

purpose:

1. Enables you to showcase your understanding of

the subject and the work done in your field till the
time of your research.

2. Helps you define the problem statement and the

purpose of your own research by identifying and
highlighting a gap or conflict in the existing
literature.

3. Helps you set context for your research by

summarizing everything that your readers—
journal editors, referees, and other researchers—
must know about your field of research to
comprehend your work better.

Easy steps to doing an effective review of

related literature

Before you begin the RRL

1. Decide how you wish to organize your

review:

There are several approaches you may take to

present your literature review. Through this table,
you may understand the difference between two of
the most used approaches and choose the best
approach for your manuscript:

Chronological Thematic

Related work is listed as per their dates of Related wo

publication, beginning from the earliest or theoretic
one.

Highlights the development in a field of Highlights

study over a period. a topic with
issues/them

Example: An RRL focussing on skin Example: A

cancer will entail examining the earliest cancer will
methods of diagnosis and treatment, and non-m
and gradually progressing to the latest as a cause o
models and treatment. awareness
and treatm

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Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed

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methods? A quick guide to choose the
right design for your research

2. Understand the difference between a

study background and a literature review:
Understand how study background and literature
review are different here: INFOGRAPHIC: 6
Differences between study background and
literature review

3. Shortlist a good reference management

software:
It is also recommended that you shortlist a good
reference management software like Zotero to
manage your bibliographic data and related
research materials.

During the literature review process and at

the writing stage

1. Identify relevant literature: The first and

foremost step to conduct an RRL is to identify
relevant literature. You can do this through various
sources, online and offline. When going through
the resources, make notes and identify key
concepts of each resource to describe in the review.
Discovering relevant work is highly important.
Targeted search, following the citations of any
relevant manuscript, and using a reference
manager are some of the things to remember. You
may look for other useful tips here: Tips for
effective literature searching and keeping up with
new publications

RELATED VIDEO

Conducting a systematic literature 16.9k

review

2. Structure your literature review well as

you write it:

Similar to other components of a manuscript like

the Introduction and Method sections, literature
review is an important part of your manuscript. A
literature review, especially if it is a stand-alone
paper would usually have these components:

Introduction: You may begin your RRL by

setting some context for your readers by
providing information about the field of
study, the relevance of the chosen topic
within the field, and the focus of the
literature review.

Methods: In this section, you may describe

the criteria used to select the sources or the
way in which the information has been
presented. This makes it easier for the readers
to understand your approach.

Body: This section is where you list all the

related literature and talk about their
relevance with respect to your research. The
structure of the list depends entirely upon the
approach you wish to take—chronological or
thematic o any other. A chronological model
would probably have different paragraphs for
different time periods, while a thematic
model would have sub-topics based on the
different themes.

Discussion and conclusion: This section

summarizes the main contributions of
significant studies and discusses the
questions that the review has raised about
the topic and field. This is also the section
where you highlight the gaps in research that
the review has sparked and the possible
suggestions for future research.

Reference list: The reference list is a very

important part of a literature review as your
article is based entirely on primary sources.
The reference list should be comprehensive
and page numbers and section details should
be provided wherever necessary.

However, if the literature review is part of the

manuscript, then the way it is structured will
depend on journal requirements. It can be written
as a single paragraph, but the paragraph can be
structured to include the Introduction, Methods,
etc. but without the actual sub-headings.

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Conclusion

While a literature review can be published as an

independent piece of writing or as part of a larger
article, the basis for any kind of review of literature
remains the same. It allows new researchers and
busy scientists in the field to keep up to date with
the latest happenings in the field and helps them
to identify potential areas of research.

If you have any further doubts related to this topic,

feel free to use the comments section to ask
questions. Alternately, you can also post your
question on our Q&A forum and our expert will be
sure to provide the necessary guidance.

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Published on: Jan 06, 2023

Literature Review

Author
Malvika Gaur

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11 Commonly confused
elements of a research
paper
Popular • This article is in Planning to Write

16 mins reading time

Fatima Qureshi
Jul 17, 2019

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 often find it
difficult to understand the difference 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 different from its
“objectives”?

Are the “implications” and

“recommendations” of a research the same?

What's the difference 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 differences between some of the
most commonly confused sections and elements
of a research paper.

1. How is the “Abstract” of your research

paper different 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
often 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.

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 briefly encapsulate the entire
study; the Introduction
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 difference 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 effective

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 different

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 effect 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.

Improve your understanding:

What are research objectives?

How can l come up with good research

objectives?

3. What is the difference 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.

A problem statement
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, after 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 after 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”

different 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*
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 Differences 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 difficulty, 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
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.

Improve your understanding:

How to choose a research question

VIDEO: 3 Easy steps to write an effective

statement of problem

6. What is the difference between “research

methods” and “research methodology”?

“Research methods” and “research methodology”

are two distinct but commonly confused terms. Let
us understand the differences 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 different 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

Default Alt text

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

difference?

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
Discussion. For instance, if
you observe a consistent pattern or, perhaps, a
fluctuation in your findings, you can mention it in
the Results
Results, but speculation or assumptions
regarding the reason for these observed
phenomena should be included in the
Discussion
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 effective

Results and Discussion sections

Tips on effective 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 differing 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
Legends, on the other hand, are brief
descriptions of figures or tables and often 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 difference between

“implications,” “limitations,” and
“recommendations for future research”?

Research implications
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
differs 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
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, inefficient
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 difference between research

implication and recommendation?

10. What is the difference between

“citations,” “references,” and a
“bibliography?”

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 differences between

references and citations in a research paper

COURSE: Understanding citations and

references

11. What is the difference 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 flow 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 difference is in the placement of the
explanation—for endnotes
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
Endnotes, on the other hand,
help de-clutter the page and help maintain flow
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 different aspect of your research.
Therefore, a clear understanding, before you start
drafting 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 often 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:

Difference between Aims and Objectives

Aims and objectives – what's the difference?

Difference 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 difference between research

question and research problem?

What are the basic differences between

research method and research methodology?

Difference between research methods and

methodology

Qualitative research: definition, types,

methods and examples

5 Differences between the results and

discussion sections

In research, what is the difference between

implication and recommendation?

Difference Between Implications and

Recommendations in Research

Conclusions and recommendations

What is the difference between citation and

reference?

What Are Footnotes and How Do You Use

Them?

Footnotes or endnotes?

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https://doi.org/10.34193/EI-A-15518
Published on: Jul 17, 2019

Manuscript Structure

Author
Fatima Qureshi

Junior Content Writer and Editor, Editage Insights

See more from Fatima Qureshi

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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
 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).

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.

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 offer the
solution to the problem or the answer to the
question) and by briefly 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.

Default Alt text

The 4-step approach to writing the

Introduction section

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 affected 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.’

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.

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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.

Here are some examples:

A paper on controlling malaria by preventive
measures, can mention the number of people
affected, the number of person-hours lost, or
the cost of treating the disease.
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 efficient 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.

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 differs from those attempts. The
differences can be simple: you may have repeated
the same set of experiments but with a different
organism, or elaborated (involving perhaps more
sophisticated or advanced analytical instruments)
the study with a much larger and diverse sample,
or a widely different geographical setting.

Here are two examples:

‘Although these studies were valuable, they
were undertaken when the draft 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.

If, for example, your research was about finding

the right proportions of two metals in an alloy and
you tested ten different 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 effectiveness of four
disinfection strategies on hospital-wide
incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms
and Clostridium difficile’
‘We aimed (1) to assess the epidemiological
changes before and after 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 different 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:

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 influence work values.
H2: Career stages influence the level of job
satisfaction.
H3: Career stages do not influence organizational
commitment.’

Using infinitives

‘To examine the response of Oryza sativa to four

different 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 difficult to
write. However, the 4-step approach described in
this article should ease the task.

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, after you have written the rest of
the paper: this will make the Introduction not only
easier to write but also more compelling.

To learn in more detail the guidelines to

write a great Introduction section, check out
this course: 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

Introduction Section

Author
Yateendra Joshi

Communicator, Published Author, BELS-certified editor

with Diplomate status.
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