ENAGO – PLATAFORMA VIRTUAL

In this course, we will look at the structure of a typical research article, following the
IMRAD format. IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, [and] Discussion) is a
mnemonic used to remind us of the key sections of a research paper. A final, and
very important part of a manuscript are the references sections. We do not address
references in this course, but will cover these in full detail in a separate module. In
this course, we will examine each of these key content sections, explaining their
purpose in the article and what information should be provided in them. We will
provide examples of good structure, and highlight where in published texts the
features we discuss appear.

Importance of Titles

The title tells the reader what to expect from your paper, and must provide an
optimal amount of information to convey the main message of your research. The
title is the first element of your paper a reader will see, and will be subject to the
widest exposure through web searches, database listings and journal contents.
Your title is, in essence, a string of keywords to draw attention to your paper. An
effective way to achieve this is to use a full narrative title, one that clearly states
your exact argument and conclusions.

Note that the keywords used in the title are relevant for indexing, so the effective
usage of keywords is critical to ensure that your study shows up in different
databases. Your title should be detailed enough that it accurately describes the
contents of your paper, but not so technical that only specialists will understand.
Moreover, your title should feature a clear statement of the key concepts of the
study, summarize the background of your research as well as highlight the
importance of your paper.

Importantly, it should not overstate the findings, make false or misleading claims.
All titles should not be too long, or too short, e.g., a length of 14-16 words is
considered optimal. As a rule, always follow the requirements mentioned in the
journal guidelines. A title which is short, risks leaving out important information,
whereas a title which is too long is not considered to be a good practice for
research papers.

Examples of Titles

Titles can be structured as a topic, a question, or a statement. A title in the form of

a statement can be more effective, as it immediately informs the readers of more
specific details about your particular study. Below is an example of a title to a
research paper that has been written in the form of a topic, question, and
statement.
 Topic: “Effect of texting while driving on fatal accidents among British teenagers”

Question: “Does texting while driving cause more traffic accidents among British
teenagers?”

Statement: “Increased risk of fatal traffic accidents due to texting while driving
among British teenagers”

From these examples, you can understand how the impact and importance of the
research study can be conveyed differently depending on the type of title that has
been selected. A few more examples of titles are shared below:

Short Title: “Texting while driving causes accidents” (5 words)

The above title is too vague and does not convey sufficient information for the
reader.

Long Title: “Distracted attention from driving due to prolonged cell-phone texting
causes a greater number of fatal road traffic accidents in British teenage drivers”
(22 words)

The above title is long but does not provide information with appropriate clarity for
the reader.

Optimal: “Increased risk of fatal traffic accidents due to texting while driving among
British teenagers” (13 words)

This title is of the appropriate length with enough information for the reader.

To conclude, a few simple tips for an effective title are as follows:

• use field-specific keywords and acronyms in titles

• title should be a clear statement of key concepts

• title should not be too long or too short

Introduction
The key features of the introduction are clarifying the research topic, summarizing
the fundamental details necessary to understand the paper, and defining the gap in
scientific knowledge that the study will fulfill.
Thus, the introduction of a manuscript should provide the context for the research
and engage the reader. Moreover, the introduction should consist of no more than
five paragraphs – remembering to use the structure of one theme per paragraph,
and one idea per sentence.
Always ensure that you state the background knowledge that has influenced your
current research question by citing the literature behind your question. State why
your hypothesis is important, why it is interesting and novel, and place it in context
along with the most current research to highlight its relevance.
Thus, an effective introduction will cover the following details:
establish current knowledge of the field
summarise previous research
provide context to the importance of the current study
highlight gaps in knowledge
state the research question of the current article

Importance of Abstracts
After the title, the abstract will be the most read element of your article. The
abstract is where you consolidate the reader’s interest in your paper and explain to
them exactly why your full article will be worth reading.
On submitting your paper to a journal, an effective abstract will help your paper
pass the first stage of editorial screening, and go on to be peer reviewed. The
contents of your abstract will also be vital in ensuring its discoverability through
search engines and indexing databases.
Abstracts are typically between 100-250 words long, and should not include
abbreviations, citations, or too many statistics from results. The structure of your
abstract should follow the structure of the full paper.
General background – to introduce the context of your work.
Specific background – to focus on your specific research question.
Method – to explain briefly the key steps you took, and participants involved in your
experiments to address your research question.
Results – The headline findings from your data.
Conclusions – A statement of how your results answered your research question.
Implications – What your results mean for your field, and the wider world.

Tips for Writing an Effective Abstract

  Identify the major objectives and conclusions.
 Identify phrases with key words in the methods section.
 Identify the major results from the discussion or results section.
 Assemble the above information into a single paragraph.
 State your hypothesis or method used in the first sentence.
 Omit background information, literature review, and detailed description of
methods.
 Remove extra words and phrases.
 Revise so that the abstract conveys only the essential information.
 Check to see if it meets the guidelines of the targeted journal.
 Ask a colleague (preferably one who is not familiar with your work) to read it
and check whether it makes sense.

Conclusion Section

 A separate conclusion section is not always a requirement of an article. The

content of a conclusion section may be included in the discussion section of
many articles. Should a journal require a separate section, this is the place
to consider inferences between your work and the background research,
speculate about the implications it has, and consider how subsequent
studies could build on the new information you have discovered.

Do not repeat your results, or anything previously covered in the discussion

section. There is scope to be more creative in the final conclusion. You are
interpreting your results and adding your thoughts to the scientific literature.
You should be careful not to overstate your results, and avoid making claims
that the evidence of your research does not support – but do be creative,
insightful and assertive.

Importance of Results Section

All results directly related to answering your research question should be

described, including any unexpected findings. Include all elements appropriate to
the presentation of your data: descriptive statistics, tests of significance, hypothesis
testing, effect sizes, confidence intervals etc.

The results section should:

 Report how data was analysed.

 The demographics and characteristics of the population studied.
 State the key findings which answer the main research question.
 State any secondary findings and analysis.
 State any unexpected outcomes.
You should display your results as tables or figures. Illustration of data can aid
understanding and visually impress significant results on the reader. However,
there are several considerations to make;

 Be sure that the numbering system you use is consistently formatted, and
that all tables and figures are referred to in the text, with descriptions and
explanations.
 Each statistic presented in the results section has its own level of
significance, which should be accompanied by a p value of less than 0.05,
and a confidence interval that excludes the null value (which can vary).

Mean statistics should be accompanied by standard deviation and proportions of

group sizes.

Importance of Discussion Section

The discussion section is where you should evaluate and interpret the findings of
your work, in response to your research question and in relation to the background
literature from your introduction. You should begin by stating whether your results
succeed or fail to support your hypothesis, and explain why by addressing each of
your main findings. You may find this formula to be a helpful guide on structuring
each statement in your discussion:

State main result (‘AA’ was found to respond to ‘BB’ in % of subjects)

Interpret (This may be because ‘X’, or because of ‘Y’)
Evaluate (These results draw together the findings of (citation) and (citation)
Propose (A future study investigating ‘XYZ’ in the context of ‘ABC’)

In the introduction you paint the landscape to place your research in, then narrow
the focus towards your own work. In the discussion, you begin by assessing your
work, then draw the focus out to leave the reader with a clear impression of how it
impacts on the landscape you described in the introduction. You should also use
the discussion to address the strengths and weaknesses of your research.

Elsevier’s JournalFinder Tool: http://journalfinder.elsevier.com - simply

enter your manuscript title and abstract, then select the relevant discipline
to match your research to an Elsevier journal.
Springer’s Journal Suggester: http://journalsuggester.springer.com -
as above simply enter your manuscript title and abstract, the n select the
relevant discipline to match your research to a Springer journal.