Content Required in the Research Project Paper

Martha SchwerMadison Area Technical

College

This paper is loosely based on primary research report organization. It’s similar to (but different from) a lab report.

Hints for Success

Use the APA Manuscript Template in the RESEARCH PROJECT main menu area; save and rename the template on your computer.

Read and type in content relevant to your paper; type over the suggestions provided in the template.

Use section headings of Introduction, Methods, Discussion, Results, and Conclusions.

For examples, look at what your classmates submit in the Peer Review discussion forum.

Introduction SectionCompose a statement of the question to be investigated, a brief statement of the general method of approach to the problem, and expected results.

Explain what you imagined your answer to the research question would be before you did any searching at all.

Length: ½ page or so.

Methods Section This section tells the reader how and with what tools the work was done. The methods and materials section of a research paper is often glossed over by many readers, but, in terms of the report, this section is crucial.

Strike a balance between an over-detailed description of even the most trivial items and a very sketchy statement that provides insufficient information. The important guideline is that another student of similar training and ability, following your description, should get the same results.

Note: This section should be written as a description of what you did, not as a set of instructions.

Length: ½ a page or so.

Discussion SectionIdentify and justify the criteria you selected to determine which search strategy is best. WHY are those criteria significant, relevant, and fair when searching for information about your program of study?

Order the paragraphs from most important criteria to least important.

Length: 1-2 pages, multiple unified and logically coherent paragraphs. Describe one criteria per paragraph.

Results SectionVERY important section! Explain in paragraph format what you found in all three searches. Give the raw data.

This section may contain a table with raw data presented side-by-side. (Example on next slide)

Don’t give the answer to the research question in this section

Length: about 1-2 pages

Result Table Example

Tables and Graphs are NOT self-explanatory; you need to explain data in the text of the results section.

Tables should be numbered and provided with a title.[e.g. Table 1: Comparison of Tools]

Criteria Google Associates Plus Database

Academic Search Complete

Criteria 1: (e.g. Quantity of Results)

Criteria 2

Criteria 3, etc.

Conclusion SectionArgue your final answer to the research question—which search strategy is best for your topic search? The conclusion should explain your final decision and justify your reasoning.

Your answer must follow from the results of your searches based on the criteria you selected.

Length: about 1 page

References Section Type the title at the top of the section Copy/paste or generate APA format

citations for all web pages or periodical articles you used in your paper.

Order entries alphabetically