Understanding the structure and organization of a research paper
- As you read through academic and scholarly articles, look at how the articles were assembled.
- The typical parts of a research paper may include
- Introduction
- Review of Literature
- Theoretical background
- Methodology
- Data
- Conclusion
- Further discussion
- Not all articles have these components, and may include other elements, or may be organized differently. For example, an article that looks at the timeline of a certain theme, such as gendered depictions of cooking in television, may frame the article around artifacts instead of strictly data collection.
- Qualitative research usually takes a different format than quantitative research.
- APA subject headings are a useful writing tool to help organize the material in your research, and with a little work, can be deciphered. Here's more advice.
