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How to Write a Research Paper

Name: How to Write a Research Paper
Rating: 4.8077 (52 reviews)
Author: Simon Kendal

by Simon Kendal

(52 ratings)

12 reviews

332

Language: English

Using small, simple, exercises and feedback this book aims to develop the practical and analytical skills needed to write a good research paper - assignments that many students at University face.

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By using small simple exercises and feedback 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 and M.Sc. 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.
Developing your understanding of research papers.
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.

Many books already exist to help with basic writing skills or even academic writing. Unlike those texts this book will focus solely on the skills required to write a research paper. Each chapter incorporates small exercises with solutions and feedback provided.

Just What is ‘Research’ Anyway?
1. Research – A Common Misunderstanding
2. What is Research?
3. What is Knowledge?
4. A Simplified Scientific Process
5. A Hypothesis…a Testable Theory
6. The Differences between Research Papers and Books
7. Research Papers are Scary
8. The Differences Continued
9. Good Quality Sources
10. Research Sources Ranked in Decreasing Order of Quality
11. How You Demonstrate the Use of Good Quality Sources
12. How to Write a Research Paper
13. Summary
Research – Changing our World
1. Researchers Change the World
2. Astronomy Research
3. Business Research
4. Computing Research
5. Construction Research
6. Engineering Research
7. Environmental Research
8. Humanities Research
9. Medical Research
10. Military Research
11. Psychology Research
12. Science Research (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics)
13. Robotics Research
14. Space, Aircraft and Automotive Research
15. Sports Research
16. Technology Research
17. Your Contribution to a Changing World
Finding Research Papers
1. An Unexpected Starting Point
2. Choosing a General Topic for your Research Paper
3. Tools for Finding Research Papers
4. Learning How to Find Research Papers
5. How to Find a Coherent Set of Research Papers
6. Choosing a Title for Your Research Paper
7. Choosing a Title for a Dissertation Research Chapter
8. Other Resource Discovery Services such as the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
9. Summary
Research Methodology
1. Research…an analogy
2. Scientific Method
3. Scientific Principles
4. Controlled Experiments
5. Empirical Research
6. Basic Research Criteria
7. Basic Research vs Applied Research
8. Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
9. Project Types
10. Alternatives to Laboratory Based Experiments
11. Data used to Generate a Hypothesis Cannot be Used to Verify the Hypothesis
12. Testing the Null Hypothesis
13. Testing Our Understanding of the Concepts
14. Flawed Research
15. Summary
Analysing the Contents of a Research Paper
1. Understanding What a Research Paper Looks Like
2. Not All Research Papers Are The Same…
3. Summary
Designing and Running Experiments
1. What Role do Experiments Play in Research?
2. Definition of an Experiment
3. Designing an Experiment
4. Setting up an Experiment
5. Recording the Results
6. Can We Trust the Results?
7. Analysis of the Results
8. Reaching Conclusions
9. Different Types of Experiment
10. Considering Different Types of Experiment
11. More Detailed Experimental Design
12. Summary
Bad Science and the Need for Critical Evaluation
1. Scepticism is Good and Science is Essential
2. But What about Bad Science?
3. Bad Science
4. Evaluating the Science
5. Poor Methodology…
6. Examples of Good or Bad Methodology
7. Big or Small Question Mark ? or ?
8. Flawed Discussion of Results…
9. An Example Discussion of the Results
10. False Positives verses False Negatives
11. Unjustified Conclusions…
12. An Example of a Researchers Conclusions
13. Accepting Conclusions as Valid
14. Learning More about Critical Evaluation
15. One Additional Thought…
16. Summary
Plagiarism, Citations and References
1. What is Plagiarism?
2. Citations and References
3. The British or Harvard System
4. The Reference List
5. The Impact of this on the Body of Your Research Paper
6. The Difference between a Reference List and a Bibliography
7. Summary
Practising Academic Writing
1. Moving from Opinion to Reasoned Argument
2. Presenting Relevant Conclusions
3. Considering Critical Evaluation
4. Practising Comparative Analysis
5. Practising Application of the Theory
6. Summary
Drafting a Research Paper
1. A Path Through the Forest
2. Drafting, Drafting, Drafting
3. A Day Starts by Getting out of Bed
4. Define General Structure and Headings
5. Write a Rough Introduction in Note Form
6. Add One Descriptive Section (i.e
7. summarise one research paper)
8. Add the Other Descriptive Sections
9. Evolve and Refine the Structure of Your Paper
10. Draft the Evaluation Sections
11. Drafting the Comparative Analysis and the Application of the Theory
12. Draft the Conclusions
13. Drafting the Abstract
14. Refine, Refine, Refine
15. Feedback from a Critical Friend
16. Your Own Brain Can Trick You
17. Check Formatting, Citations and References
18. Summary
Writing an Introduction
1. An Introduction as a Funnel
2. Using Those Less Relevant Papers
3. Considering Two Introductions
4. Summary
Writing the Body of a Paper and the Conclusions
1. Considering the Structure of Your Paper
2. Considering Your Evaluation Sections
3. Considering Where You Compare the Theories
4. Considering the Application of the Theory
5. Considering the Conclusions
6. Testing the Quality of Your Paper
7. Summary
Writing an Abstract
1. An Abstract Is Not An Introduction
2. Good and Bad Abstracts
3. Summary
Considering Research as Part of a Dissertation
1. The Similarities between a Research Paper and a Research Chapter
2. The Differences between a Research Paper and a Research Chapter
3. The Length of a Research Chapter
4. The Impact of the Research on a Project
5. Evaluating the Impact of the Research
6. Practical Projects Verses Research Projects
7. Summary
In Conclusion

Furaha

How to write a Research Paper by Dr.Kendal is a very informative and practical book that introduces the reader to the world of research through amazing levels of detail. The activity section of the book enables the reader to visualize real-world scenarios. I would recommend this book anytime to students getting into research or those taking research units/modules. It's indeed a good read.

Clark B

The information is structured in a user friendly way. The examples used to explain things to the reader are simple to understand. Very good guide to writing a research paper.

Grant Bulman

Very informative, yet easy to read.

Hrushikesh Kulkarni

This is really a nice book.. it clears all the doubts of beginners to want to start writing research articles..I am thankful to author of this book.

abdulhakim

helpful book for good scientific writing

MLTindale

This book is a well-written and easy to read. also being set out to how you would start a research paper, talking you through it; this book also contains activities throughout showing you how to do it at each step.

G.Hunter

Excellent book, well worth the read as without it I would have struggled to manage my Assignment.

Karl Holtom

I think this book is well presented and full of excellent examples that can really benefit the reader and help them understand more about research. I enjoyed reading this and using this as a tool to help me write a research proposal and a research paper. The sections were well designed to guide the reader along the way and I personally enjoy how the reader is engaged with the exercises the book has. I would personally recommend this book as it has helped me out every step of the way.

Karl Holtom

I think this book is well presented and full of excellent examples that can really help the reader to understand more about research and writing a proposal and a paper. I personally like how the reader engages into the book through the use of exercises. Truly remarkable piece of work. I would fully recommend this paper to anyone who wants to learn about writing a research paper.

Boikhutso Benitah Morgan

This book really helped me in writing my research proposal and research paper. I am currently doing ABC in Gaborone, Botswana.

Helpful and easy to understand. Really useful tool for the final year project.

Oteng Ramarea

This book provides very insightful ideas on research, it clears misconceptions about research that have been made before hand by different candidates. It is helping me a lot with my final year research paper and proposal. Thank you sir for the book. ABC student in Botswana.

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