Tola Oladiji: Tips To Help You Prepare a Research Paper

Writing a research paper is writing an in-depth long essay on a topic you’ve explored over a course of time. It requires conducting deep research on a topic so as to come up with a new study of your own, which would later be consulted by another researcher. In academia, writing research papers is as important as lecturing itself. In promotion and elevation consideration, the range of research papers that you have written will be considered alongside your years of experience as a lecturer. 

Apart from aiding someone who is already in the academic system, research papers also help someone who is shooting for a career in academics. It is an important credential in securing a better university job.

Writing a research paper is not a simple process. Your complete focus on the points and details is necessary. In general, writing itself is not a simple task. Essays that calls for technicalities can be harder. Before you begin writing a research paper, you must first undertake extensive research (often referred to as a literature review) and then organise your views. You must take your topic matter into consideration, and be sure you’re aware of the topic of your research – having the onfidence that the study you are going to conduct will have a conclusion. This will assist you in defining the research’s scope and limitations.

The first thing to do after gathering your research material is to prepare a brief overview of your research paper. Create an outline. State out the angles you intend to explore, the first angle to explore and what the outcome will look like. Most research supervisors require their supervisees to write an abstract before conducting the actual research so as to know what exactly they are basing their research on. Most researchers lose focus in the middle of their research. That is why it is always important to have a supervisor or professional for guidance.

When you’re done with your research, set out a different time to proofread. Research papers travel beyond expectations. You won’t want a research paper that has your name to be riddled with errors. Proofreading is as important as writing itself. Part of your proofreading is making sure you’ve explored every aspect of research writing such as the chapters and references. 

Research writing is important because it widens the scope and births new dimensions to a topic. A researcher always sets out to dig deep into a topic so as to come up with an approach he or she finds missing in a discourse or topic. Once a study is completed, it prompts further conversations, which can in turn encourage another research.

***

Featured Image: Thirdman for Pexels