Scientific research is an organized and logical activity, so the report should be organical and logical. This article provides the basic procedures and techniques for carrying out an article on research results. Hope that the contents explained in the article can help you improve your skills in writing a scientific paper. Writing a research paper involves 5 main stages: developing a topic, researching your topic, building outline and research plan, doing research and doing the actual writing: write the research paper. The following are specific guidelines for doing a good scientific research:
HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY ARTICLE HOW TO DO A RESEARCH PAPER Subject : Writing C1.2 Student’s Name : Nguyen Thi Huyen Thuong Student’s number code: 155D1402310106 Class: K41B-English Language Teaching Supervisor’s Name : Tran Thi Minh Phuong Hanoi, 10th June 2018 Table of Contents Step 1: Develop a topic 1.Select a topic Select your instructor or supervisor Step 2: Research your topic Locate in formation Evaluate sources and analyse information Develop research questions Identify keywords 5 Do literature review 6 Formulate a hypothesis Identify the scope of study Materials, methods and procedure 8.1 Research design 8.2 Participants (Research objects) 8.3 Location and time of study 8.4 Selecting sample and sample size 8.5 Research instrument and methods for collecting information 8.6 Data analysis 8.7 Research ethics Step 3: Building outline and research plan Make an outline 1.1 Identify the purpose of the paper 1.2 Determine your audience you are writing for 1.3 Annotate your research and organize your notes 1.4 Construct a preliminary bibliography/references page 1.5 Determine your main points 1.6 Determine the format of your paper Step 4: Do research 1 Collect data Analyze data 10 Step 5: Write the research paper 10 Write the first draft 10 1.1 Compose a concise and descriptive title 10 1.2 Write the abstract 11 1.3 Write literature review 11 1.4 Write up methodologies 12 1.5 Write result 12 1.6 Write up the discussion 13 1.7 Write a clear conclusions and recommendations 13 1.8 Write a compelling introduction 14 1.9 Write the acknowledgements 14 1.10 Write up the references 15 Format your paper 15 Proof-read the paper and revise for comprehension 15 Write the final paper 16 CONCLUSION 16 REFERENCES 16 ARTICLE Topic: HOW TO DO A RESEARCH PAPER Scientific research is an organized and logical activity, so the report should be organical and logical This article provides the basic procedures and techniques for carrying out an article on research results Hope that the contents explained in the article can help you improve your skills in writing a scientific paper Writing a research paper involves main stages: developing a topic, researching your topic, building outline and research plan, doing research and doing the actual writing: write the research paper The following are specific guidelines for doing a good scientific research: STEP 1: Develop a topic The first step to a good research is to develop a good topic To develop a topic, you need to these following: 1.Select a topic Selecting your topic is the first and most important step in your research paper project Before selecting a topic or starting your research, make sure you understand your assignment and define the task unless you will waste a great deal of time The clear understanding of the assignment will allow you to focus on other aspects of the process, such as choosing a topic and identifying your audience Answer these questions: What is the assignment asking of you? Have you been assigned a field of study or can you choose your own? What is the research’s audience? How many pages/words you need to write? How long is your presentation? Do you need to include specific types of sources (e.g scholarly journal, book.)? When is the assignment due? How much time you have to research? How is cost of doing your research? When in doubt, consult with your instructor to define the task clearer After understanding your assignment and define the task clearly, begin selecting a topic There are two ways to select a topic: choose your own or ask your instructor for advice to choose a topic If you can choose your own, choose a topic that interests you and hold your attention So the research will be more enjoyable! First, you must identify a field of study that you would like to At the student level, you will either be assigned a topic during a course or a topic relating to your course or speciality Choose a subject that you love or that you find yourself drawn to, which will drive you to your best work possible In case you cannot think of a topic to research: Scan your textbook Read books, newspapers and other news sources Browse Encyclopedias Look at the researcher database for current "hot topics." Check the resources listed on the current topics guide Or get advice from your instructor, a supervisor or a classmate; or discuss with them to come up with a topic you feel excited most After choosing your topic, make sure your topic requires these following factors: there is enough research available on this topic, the topic is new and unique enough that you can offer fresh opinions, and it is pertinent to your class or occupation Don’t be afraid to change your topic As beginning researching, you realize that the topic you chose isn’t the right decision for you for some reasons Or in case your instructor disagrees the topic you chose Remember, as a first-time researcher, your knowledge of the process is quite limited; the instructor is experienced, and may have very precise reasons for choosing the topics he/she has offered to the class If he/she likes your topic, great! If not, not take it personally and choose another from your list Do not worry! Although it takes a bit more time, you are able to change your topic even after you begin researching others Select your instructor or supervisor Choosing the instructor or supervisor does not depend on the research topic you select There are two options: select the instructor previously then select the topic; or backwards, select the topic previously then find the instructor But in most case, in Vietnam, a research topic was specified after choosing the instructor The instructor is who help you a lot in your study: selecting subjects and methods, consulting materials, collecting and analysising data, etc But you are always active person in your work and you should not be passive, depend or rely completely on the design of your instructor because the instructor only directs and leads her/his students You should choose the instructor who is suitable with you and is ready to help and guide you during research process Notice to his/her personal scientific profile as well as personality characteristics, working methods, scientific opinion, professional experience, and priority researches, etc At the same time, it is important to equip yourself with the basic ideas of your interested research topic (through research sources or fact finding) Once prepared, make an appointment to your instructor and present your wishes After selecting your instructor, during the research process, you need to maintain periodic meeting with your instructor to he/she is able to monitor your research process, identify the achievements and failures, provide solutions to problems, discuss the nest steps, etc Make a suitable and specific schedule for the meeting with your instructor Be respected and ask your instructor for advice when you are difficulty STEP 2: Research your topic Locate in formation There are numerous places you can look for information such as books and ebooks, videos and images, encyclopedias and dictionaries, internet to find newspaper, journal or magazine articles, or websites Take time to look for professional resources who offer valid research and insight into your topic Try to use a minimum of five sources to vary your information Tips: Keep track of all of the information you find Write each source you use down on a flashcard, including citation information about sources such as the author, title, publication date, publisher/website, city in which it was published, page number for where you found the information, and so on; so that you can easily create your bibliography later Note circulation status Also, try to avoid plagiarism Evaluate sources and analyse information It is especially important when you using Internet sources (less reliable) Make sure your online sources are reputable If you are using the internet to find information about your topic, always make sure to double check any facts you find Stick with information gathered by known experts in the field you are researching, government agency websites, and scholarly journals Try to avoid forums and other sources that have no credible backing Develop research questions Once you have selected a topic, the next step is to develop research questions or identify a problem The research question is one of the most important parts of your research design It will be the main focus of your study It determines what you want to learn or understand and also helps to focus the study Your research question will also shape how you conduct your study since different questions require different methods of inquiry To help you develop a research question, you can visit your library or search online to find and read articles or books in the field related to the problem you are identified The research question should be based in a field that you have some familiarity with Once you have a chosen a topic that interests you, investigate some of the unanswered questions within that field or the problem that was limited or unanswered in previous researches Many articles will state some of the unanswered questions and speculate on future directions or suggest experiments that will be necessary in the future Use these as a springboard for your own ideas You can have more than one research question for a scientific study Decide on questions you want to study by writing down what you already know or don't know about the topic and from there develop questions You should use probing questions that start with “why?” or “what if?” and avoid “yes/no” questions You should start with a burning question and then narrow it down more to make it manageable to be researched effectively For example, "what is benefits of using ICT tools in teaching English?" is too broad for a research, but if that's what you're interested you could narrow it by limiting the type of ICT tools or focusing on teaching one English skill For example, "what is benefits of using ICT tools on teaching speaking English?'' or "what is benefits of using video on teaching English?" Have your instructor or professors or other researchers help you identify the best question that you could work on Revise the research question: After reading the literature more thoroughly or after asking your instructor for advice, you will likely need to revise your research question to encompass all that you have read Using your new knowledge, make your research questions more specific A good research question is clear, specific, and manageable; refers directly to the problem; and identifies a target group of participants Identify keywords The keywords you use can have a profound impact on the results of your research Using the “right” words will speed up the research process, while the “wrong” words can bring to it to a halt Before you can begin searching for information, you need to identify keywords related to your topic (about 3-6 words) Key terminology can be easily found by scanning your research questions; articles found from background research; or bibliographies found at the end of books and articles If you are still struggling, use a thesaurus to identify synonyms; find pictures related to your topic, then describe them; or brainstorm keywords with your instructor or supervisor Do literature review A literature review is a process of studying what others have written about your research question and particular topic Once you have defined your subject and the scope of the review, find the sources that are relevant to your topic from the library catalogue, subject specific databases and other search tools Read and evaluate the sources and to determine their suitability to the understanding of topic at your hand Then analyse, interpret and discuss the findings and conclusions of the sources you selected Then select some papers (about 30) that can be cited in your paper; these will be listed in the References You then draw up an analytical report that synthesizes and integrates the existing research (rather than simply presents a short summary of each study in chronological order) In other words, you are "researching the research" Formulate a hypothesis Hypotheses (or guessing responses) are based on prior researches or the author’s preliminary observations that are subjective with a limited number and may be true or false Basing on hypotheses, you will have search direction to verify and bring to an end Once you have specified your research questions you need to give a clear and concise articulation of your hypothesis How to develop the thesis statement of your article: Before writing the thesis statement, determine what kind of paper you are writing (an argumentative research paper or an analytic research paper) To write an effective hypothesis, choose a statement that answers a general question about your topic Check that your thesis is arguable and not factual, and make sure you can back it up your evidence Your thesis statement should be specific - it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidences For example, your thesis could be something like "ICT tools help teacher manage students in teaching and learning English skills." The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper Identify the scope of study To study deeply and thoroughly, the topic and scope of research should be limited Materials, methods and procedure This is the most important part that describes the stages of the research process, including sampling, data collection, techniques, analytical tools, and the explanation of the reasons for choosing the meaning as well as the reliability verification method of result Details are as follows: 8.1 Research design: descript the research model briefly Generally, there are types common of research qualitative, descriptive, and quantitative There are also kinds of information and data that are collected from available sources (books, audio tapes, advertisements, documents or research results of other works), questionnaire, or interview Quantitative studies including the impact from the outside to the subject to obtain results are very rare, which can explain the fact that it takes a lot of time and to process information is quite complex 8.2 Participants (Research objects): Define suitable research objects Information about characteristics of research object plays an important role for the reader to evaluate the concept and generalize your study Include the characteristics of the participants: age, sex, ethnicity, education, marriage, etc; selection criteria; and exclusion criteria: specify the variables 8.3 Location and time of study: location may affect research results Specify the location and time of research 8.4 Selecting sample and sample size: There is usually a sentence describing the sample size It is not necessary to be the formula, but the assumptions behind the calculation Sample is chosen in some ways such as random, convenient, or whole 8.5 Research instrument and methods for collecting information: tools, variables, testing The process of research and data collection includes research steps, data collection, interventions, intervention trials It is good to visualise in your mind at this stage what kind of methodology you are going to use i.e how are you going to collect data Each of the research methodologies has uses one or more techniques to collect empirical data, including interviews, participant observation, feedback from questionnaires, tests, fieldwork, archival research, documentary materials, etc Methodology, which is an important part of the project, help you know that whether your topic will have a feasible methodology or may require funding beyond your means This is specifically aimed at undergraduates with limited resources such as poor students lacking both time and money who are likely going to have to self-fund their projects In that way, you will be glad you did not waste time on projects that was not appropriate to you or you could not have completed on time How to pick approach research methodologies and methods for your thesis: At this stage, think about what kind of methodology you are going to use i.e how to collect data Methodology, which is also an important part of the project, help you know that whether your topic will have a feasible methodology or may require funding beyond your means, especially undergraduates with limited resources such as poor students lacking both time and money who are likely going to have to self-fund their projects In that way, you did not waste time on the inappropriate projects or worry about that you could not have completed on time How to pick research methodologies for your thesis: Your research will dictate the kinds of research methodologies you use to underpin your work and methods you use in order to collect data What kind of research methods are you going to use? Are they mostly: Quantitative, or qualitative, or a mixture of both? To determine your research methodologies, answer the following questions: What your methods you think will enable you to discover or prevent you from discovering? What kinds of research methods would be best suited to your kind of research and research questions? What sort of problems you envisage in setting up these methods? What are their benefits? What will you need to to ensure they gather useful data? If you wish to collect quantitative data, you can measure variables and verify existing theories or hypotheses and question them Quantitative data must be remembered, are also collected in accordance with certain research vehicles and underlying research questions However, collection of statistics and number are often not the answer to understanding meanings, beliefs and experience, which are better understood through qualitative data With mixture of both qualitative and quantitative method, this is a common approach and helps you back up one set of findings - for example, you might give out a questionnaire (normally quantitative) to gather statistical data about responses, and then back this up and research in more depth by interviewing (normally qualitative) selected members of your questionnaire sample 8.6 Data analysis: Explain how data is analysed; use data analysis tools or software or not using software Specifically note the variables (independent, dependent), statistical test, software use Visio, Minitab and Stata are all good software packages for advanced statistical data analysis However, in most cases, Microsoft Excel is the most useful decision-making tool Depending on the nature of the type of study and the task, the research will use different methods to produce results that ensure validity and reliability This can be said to be quite complicated because choosing the right analytical method will determine the value and significance of the work 8.7 Research ethics: if approved by the organization (number of certificates), actual implementation (consent, voluntary, harmful, confidential) STEP 3: Building outline and research plan Make an outline The next step is outlining the main contents of the research process An outline helps you keep track of large amounts of information and visualize how your essay will look It is also the text you will send to your supervisor for comments and suggestions in order to help you have a complete outline before continuing your research In addition, a plan attached to the implementation process with specific milestones will also be set up to help you schedule progress on time Outlines can be simple lists, idea webs or concept maps Begin with your thesis statement and then pick the three major ideas related to your thesis statement that you will want to cover in your essay Write down details about each main idea Your main ideas should support your thesis They should be the evidence that provides support to your argument How to create a good outline: 1.1 Identify the purpose of the paper: You need to identify the purpose of your paper (an argumentative research paper or an analytic research paper) to focus on the research and choose the writing style which should be identified prior to beginning a rough draft Aims (general objectives): including the purpose of research For example, the purpose of teaching English in Vietnam is to enhance the ability to communicate internationally in all areas, the means of receiving new knowledge, and to increase understanding between different ethnic groups The purpose is long term and general Objectives (specific objectives) are that need to achieve in order to reach to a common goal For example, at the end of the course, students may gain all four English skills at the intermediate level 1.2 Determine your audience you are writing for: You need to determine who would be reading this paper If you’re writing for academic peers, the information you include should reflect the information you already know; you don’t need to explain basic ideas or theories On the other hand, if you are writing for an audience who doesn’t know much about your subject, include explanations and examples of more fundamental ideas and theories related to your research 1.3 Annotate your research and organize your notes: After gathering all your research, print it out and gather post or anything you need to mark notes in the books or magazines you are using to refer Read through your research, highlight key facts and phrases, and take notes on what you think is important or can be put to use in your paper When marking off important pieces in the research, add your own commentary and notes explaining to yourself where you might use it in your paper as well as write down your ideas Finally, organize your notes by collecting all of your highlighted phrases and ideas into categories based on topic By this step, you will be easier to review your references 1.4 Construct a preliminary bibliography/references page: As you go through your notes, mark down the author, page number, title, and publishing information for each resource It will come in handy as you craft your bibliography or works cited page later 1.5 Determine your main points: The body of essay will revolve around the ideas that you judge to be most important List all the ideas you want to include in your paper and group ideas related together What ideas can you write whole paragraphs about? Which ideas to you have plenty of firm facts and research to back with evidence? It is important to put your main ideas in a specific order in the outline Arrange material in subsections from general to specific or from abstract to concrete Place your strongest points at the beginning and end of your essay, with more mediocre points placed in the middle or near the end of your essay List the major points that support your thesis and label them in Roman numbers (I, II, III, etc.) List supporting ideas or arguments for each major point and label them in capital letters (A, B, C, etc.) If applicable, continue to sub-divide each supporting idea until your outline is fully developed and label them 1, 2, 3, etc., and then a, b, c, etc 1.6 Determine the format of your paper: Depending on your assignment or formatting guidelines, you may have to outline the structure of your paper and organize your paper in a specific way For example, if you are due to write in APA format, you must organize your paper by headings including the introduction, methods, results, and discussion These guidelines will alter the way you craft your outline and final paper STEP 4: Do research Collect data With your research question and methods clearly defined, now it’s time to collect your data The form of data collection will depend on the research methodology that you determined previously As you collect and organize your data, remember to keep these important points in mind: Before you collect new data, determine what information could be collected from existing databases or sources on hand Collect this data first Determine a file storing and name system ahead of time to help you as well as all team members collaborate know to avoid repeating and save time If you need to gather data via observation or interviews, develop an interview template ahead of time to ensure consistency and save time Keep your collected data in a log with collection dates and add any source notes as you go (including any data normalization performed) Remember to make appointment with the interviewee or the organization where you are preparing to the research to ensure that the collecting data as well as your research schedule is on time Analyze data After having collected the right data to answer your research questions, it’s time for deeper data analysis Begin by manipulating your data in a number of different ways, such as by plotting it out and finding correlations or by creating a pivot table in Microsoft Excel A pivot table lets you sort and filter data by different variables and lets you calculate the mean, maximum, minimum and standard deviation of your data Excel is really a useful tool for you in calculating and evaluating data As you manipulate data, you may find you have the exact data you need, but more likely, you might need to revise your original question or collect more data STEP 5: Write the research paper Write the first draft Before you write the first draft, you need to determine the length of your manuscript An ideal length for a manuscript is 25 to 40 pages, double spaced, including essential data only Here are some general guidelines: Title: Short and informative Abstract: paragraph (