Writing research papers has become inevitable while in college. This is because, in each module that you study, you are expected to do a research to prompt your thinking and reasoning. It is therefore important to have the required skills as you draft your paper for proper understanding to the readers. It should be noted that writing research papers is a test of how best you understand the subject.
This article will outline some tips to writing the best research paper while also giving some interesting research paper ideas for your consideration.
When choosing a research paper idea, one thing is for sure; it has to be interesting. It should not bore your readers. The best ideas are those that are intriguing to the readers and those that motivate the readers to read your research paper in its entirety.
The following are some tips to coming up with interesting research paper ideas:
Choose a topic that’s in your field of interest
When you’re directly interested in a certain subject, you will be highly psyched up to write it. In fact, you will be enthusiastic about writing it, and this enthusiasm will be reflected in the research paper. You will also have more to write about the subject since you will be highly motivated to explore additional resources.
Choose one that is Unambiguous
When a research idea is not ambiguous, you will be able to understand it. You will conceptualize it easily and know what’s expected of you while researching and writing the subject. The more you understand the substance of a research paper idea, the more likely you’re going to write one that’s excellent. When a research paper topic seems ambiguous or abstract, it is advisable to leave it and choose another one that’s clearer.
Choose one that encourages innovativeness
The research paper idea that you should settle on should encourage innovativeness. This will enhance the writing process as it will enable you to approach issues from different perspectives. It enables you to explore your creativity when presenting issues and forming thesis statements. It also cuts down on rigidity in research which can greatly hamper the progress and development of your research paper.
Settle on one that has a broad scope
Research paper ideas and topics that are broad are the best ones since they offer you many points to develop your research paper. Select the broad topic and then narrow it down to the specifics that are required in your research paper.
In light of the above, let’s consider some interesting research paper topics and ideas for your research paper.
There are many research paper topics and ideas for your consideration. When you settle on one topic to write on, the following steps should be taken to write the best research paper.
This should be the first thing that you ought to do. Planning keeps you focused on the work ahead of you. It involves creating your own schedule and allocating time for the research paper. Of course, you’ll not spend the entire day writing your research. Slot in some breaks to break the monotony and more thinking space.
It’s highly advised to create your own deadlines, especially in your data collection process and analysis. Data collection could take a lot of time in cases whereby you’re conducting on individuals. Time management is key during your research as you need to meet the deadlines on time. This will give you an opportunity to correct and add any information that you could have missed on earlier.
Narrowing down to a certain aspect of a broad topic allows you to concentrate on a single subject. It should be noted that narrowing on specific topic clears your mind from any distraction from other areas. One may choose to write about their areas of interests or areas that could be challenging to them for deeper understanding. As a writer, you should be extra careful not to choose a topic that’s too general, therefore specificity is crucial.
A good research paper entails detailed information on your topic of choice. One can get more information by surfing the internet and referring to books and journals from the library. One could use the catalog computers in the library to make research easier. Researching on information could also be from news all over the world. As long as it’s detailed with relevant information regarding the topic chosen, then it is considered as a good research paper.
A writer should ensure that they have enough resources in carrying out their research. This includes acute internet and a collection of books. Finding more information could also entail data collection. Data collection can be through questionnaires and carrying out interviews. A good research entails going a notch higher and coming up with a well-condensed document.
Organizing your research work is key. This helps you to identify your findings and put more information into them accordingly. Key findings will help you to come up with the discussion for each key finding. Good organization skills are essential as they make research appear more coordinated. In most cases, it attracts the eyes of the audience.
Your recommendations should come from your last part, whereby you recommend and advise the audience on better measures to put in place. It should have the different sections which should be tabulated appropriately. Acknowledgements and table of contents should be as well included. Be confident in communicating your insights and thoughts as it should be an interactive piece.
This is important as you’re able to find out their expectations on the paper. Analyse what expectations they have. This greatly improves your clarity, and your audience is more certain that you have the best paper.
Be confident of your findings. How you present and explain each finding matters and the audience really wants to see how you can argue and reason at the same time. Be aware that the report may be read by different people – stick to the issue you had addressed and aim at fulfilling the expectations of your audience.
After your rich research, you may now move on to drafting an outline with all the areas and important information you may have come across. The outline will help you organize your work in that you are now able to know where to write your introduction, content, and conclusion. It enables you to remember the important points you may have forgotten. Your research will now have a flow.
Coming up with your first draft acts like an eye opener to the rest of the paper. This is because it gives you morale to keep writing. It’s basically a summary that enables you to condense the collected information in sentences and paragraphs and it brings the flow of information as you compile your research.
This entails what methods you used in carrying out your research. A good research paper should consist of at least three ways in which you carried out your research. The reader needs to understand why you chose a different methodology from the rest.
Analyse the Prompt Thoroughly
First and foremost, take three minutes to think about your research. You can go ahead and divide the research into phrases to look at each aspect keenly.
Some questions should be running through your mind by now. What exactly do you think the reader wants to know? Well, these questions may take some time, but in the long run, they will save you a lot of time as you write your research.
This is your own statement as a writer. It should express your belief and position. Your discussion should, therefore, have information to support and acknowledge your belief. Remember it should not be contradictory to your research and findings.
Once you’re done with your research; it’s highly advisable to have another person with you so that you can read the final copy out loud and check for any grammatical errors. Be careful with some of the punctuation marks; they may bring a difference in meaning to some words.
Plagiarism and Grammatical Errors
The internet has eased everything. One can check if they could be having plagiarism errors and grammatical too. It is important to ensure that your research is free of plagiarism and such errors as they could be used to penalize you.
The highlighted tips are sure to give you a good research topic and paper. The stated research topics can be used among others to come up with interesting research papers.