How to Write a Research Pape
2
Simon Kendal
How to Write a Research Pape
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How to Write a Research Pape
1st edition
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
Contents
Foreword 13
1 Just What is ‘Research’ Anyway? 15
1.1 Research – A Common Misunderstanding 16
1.2 What is Research? 18
1.3 What is Knowledge? 20
1.4 A Simplified Scientific Process 21
1.5 A Hypothesis…a Testable Theory 24
1.6 The Differences between Research Papers and Books 25
1.7 Research Papers are Scary 27
1.8 The Differences Continued 28
1.9 Good Quality Sources 30
1.10 Research Sources Ranked in Decreasing Order of Quality 33
1.11 How You Demonstrate the Use of Good Quality Sources 34
1.12 How to Write a Research Paper 36
1.13 Summary 46
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
2 Research – Changing our World 47
2.1 Researchers Change the World 48
2.2 Astronomy Research 49
2.3 Business Research 49
2.4 Computing Research 50
2.5 Construction Research 51
2.6 Engineering Research 52
2.7 Environmental Research 53
2.8 Humanities Research 54
2.9 Medical Research 55
2.10 Military Research 56
2.11 Psychology Research 57
2.12 Science Research (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics) 57
2.13 Robotics Research 58
2.14 Space, Aircraft and Automotive Research 59
2.15 Sports Research 60
2.16 Technology Research 61
2.17 Your Contribution to a Changing World 61
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
3 Finding Research Papers 63
3.1 An Unexpected Starting Point 64
3.2 Choosing a General Topic for your Research Paper 67
3.3 Tools for Finding Research Papers 70
3.4 Learning How to Find Research Papers 75
3.5 How to Find a Coherent Set of Research Papers 82
3.6 Choosing a Title for Your Research Paper 87
3.7 Choosing a Title for a Dissertation Research Chapter 89
3.8 Other Resource Discovery Services such as the Directory of
Open Access Journals (DOAJ) 90
3.9 Summary 91
4 Research Methodology 92
4.1 Research…an analogy 94
4.2 Scientific Method 95
4.3 Scientific Principles 96
4.4 Controlled Experiments 97
4.5 Empirical Research 98
4.6 Basic Research Criteria 100
4.7 Basic Research vs Applied Research 101
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
4.8 Qualitative vs Quantitative Research 104
4.9 Project Types 104
4.10 Alternatives to Laboratory Based Experiments 107
4.11 Data used to Generate a Hypothesis Cannot be Used to Verify the Hypothesis 109
4.12 Testing the Null Hypothesis 111
4.13 Testing Our Understanding of the Concepts 113
4.14 Flawed Research 116
4.15 Summary 117
5 Analysing the Contents of a Research Paper 119
5.1 Understanding What a Research Paper Looks Like 120
5.2 Not All Research Papers Are The Same… 130
5.3 Summary 134
6 Designing and Running Experiments 136
6.1 What Role do Experiments Play in Research? 138
6.2 Definition of an Experiment 139
6.3 Designing an Experiment 140
6.4 Setting up an Experiment 141
6.5 Recording the Results 142
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
6.6 Can We Trust the Results? 142
6.7 Analysis of the Results 142
6.8 Reaching Conclusions 143
6.9 Different Types of Experiment 144
6.10 Considering Different Types of Experiment 151
6.11 More Detailed Experimental Design 154
6.12 Summary 156
7 Bad Science and the Need for Critical Evaluation 158
7.1 Scepticism is Good and Science is Essential 160
7.2 But What about Bad Science? 160
7.3 Bad Science 161
7.4 Evaluating the Science 162
7.5 Poor Methodology… 163
7.6 Examples of Good or Bad Methodology 165
7.7 Big or Small Question Mark ? or ? 169
7.8 Flawed Discussion of Results… 169
7.9 An Example Discussion of the Results 170
7.10 False Positives verses False Negatives 171
7.11 Unjustified Conclusions… 172
7.12 An Example of a Researchers Conclusions 172
7.13 Accepting Conclusions as Valid 173
7.14 Learning More about Critical Evaluation 173
7.15 One Additional Thought… 173
7.16 Summary 175
8 Plagiarism, Citations and References 176
8.1 What is Plagiarism? 177
8.2 Citations and References 178
8.3 The British or Harvard System 178
8.4 The Reference List 179
8.5 The Impact of this on the Body of Your Research Paper. 182
8.6 The Difference between a Reference List and a Bibliography 184
8.7 Summary 185
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
9 Practising Academic Writing 186
9.1 Moving from Opinion to Reasoned Argument 186
9.2 Presenting Relevant Conclusions 188
9.3 Considering Critical Evaluation 191
9.4 Practising Comparative Analysis 191
9.5 Practising Application of the Theory 194
9.6 Summary 195
10 Drafting a Research Paper 196
10.1 A Path Through the Forest 198
10.2 Drafting, Drafting, Drafting 199
10.3 A Day Starts by Getting out of Bed 200
10.4 Define General Structure and Headings 202
10.5 Write a Rough Introduction in Note Form 203
10.6 Add One Descriptive Section (i.e. summarise one research paper) 204
10.7 Add the Other Descriptive Sections 204
10.8 Evolve and Refine the Structure of Your Paper 205
10.9 Draft the Evaluation Sections 205
10.10 Drafting the Comparative Analysis and the Application of the Theory 205
10.11 Draft the Conclusions 205
10.12 Drafting the Abstract 205
10.13 Refine, Refine, Refine 206
10.14 Feedback from a Critical Friend 206
10.15 Your Own Brain Can Trick You 207
10.16 Check Formatting, Citations and References 208
10.17 Summary 208
11 Writing an Introduction 210
11.1 An Introduction as a Funnel 210
11.2 Using Those Less Relevant Papers 212
11.3 Considering Two Introductions 214
11.4 Summary 219
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
12 Writing the Body of a Paper and the Conclusions 220
12.1 Considering the Structure of Your Paper 222
12.2 Considering Your Evaluation Sections 226
12.3 Considering Where You Compare the Theories 231
12.4 Considering the Application of the Theory 233
12.5 Considering the Conclusions 234
12.6 Testing the Quality of Your Paper 236
12.7 Summary 237
13 Writing an Abstract 238
13.1 An Abstract Is Not An Introduction 238
13.2 Good and Bad Abstracts 242
13.3 Summary 246
14 Considering Research as Part of a Dissertation 247
14.1 The Similarities between a Research Paper and a Research Chapter 248
14.2 The Differences between a Research Paper and a Research Chapter 249
14.3 The Length of a Research Chapter 249
14.4 The Impact of the Research on a Project 253
14.5 Evaluating the Impact of the Research 255
14.6 Practical Projects Verses Research Projects 255
14.7 Summary 256
15 In Conclusion 258
Appendix 1) Three Research Papers 261
1.1 ‘An Evaluation of Information Hiding Techniques Using Image Steganography’
y Muhammad 1Hussaini 261
1.2 ‘Cu
ent EMG Pattern Recognition Research Aimed At Improving Upper
Limb Prosthesis Control’ by Molly Sturman 270
1.3 ‘Positive and Negative: Effects Video Game Use Can Have on Personality
Development’ by Shaun Watson 279
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How to Write a Research Pape
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Contents
Appendix 2) Potential Research Subjects and Search Terms 288
2.1 Astronomy Research 289
2.2 Business Research 290
2.3 Computing Research 293
2.4 Construction Research 298
2.5 Engineering Research 299
2.6 Environmental Research 301
2.7 Humanities Research (Criminology, Culture, Ethics, History, Philosophy
and Sociology) 304
2.9 Military Research 308
2.10 Psychology Research 310
2.11 Robotics Research 313
2.12 Science Research (Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics) 315
2.13 Space, Aircraft and Automotive Research 323
2.14 Sports Research 327
2.15 Technology Research 331
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Definition: ‘Ones’ true love’ – a person who will stand by your side while you walk through the gates
of hell to fight a horde of demons.
“To Janice who stood by my side and to Cara for whom we fought”
My thanks and very best wishes go to Muhammad Hussaini, Molly Sturman and Shaun Watson, former
students who were kind enough and
ave enough to give me permission to display and dissect their
work. Thank you!
Simon Kendal
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How to Write a Research Pape
13
Foreword
Foreword
This book aims to develop the practical and analytical skills needed to write a good research paper or
a research chapter in a dissertation – assignments that many undergraduate students at University face.
These skills include:-
• Understanding the difference between a research paper and an essay.
• Helping you develop ideas for your research paper.
• Learning how to find the research papers you will need.
• Looking at actual research papers to develop your understanding of the contents.
• Develop an understanding of research methods, experimental design and bad science so you
will have the skills to evaluate research for yourself.
• Develop the writing skills needed to write your research paper.
The practical skills will be developed by small exercises that the reader will