Essential Elements of a Good Research Project

Writing a research paper is by far one of the most daunting tasks that a student has to accomplish during their academic life. A good research paper describes in details how the researcher collected and analyzed data that are relevant in solving a significant research problem. It must also be written so well that another person can use the write up to replicate your research. It then follows that you should write this type of formal academic document using a conventional writing format. Most importantly, it is always advisable to ensure that your research paper is original as plagiarism is a grave academic offense.

An acceptable research paper is supposed to have the following essential elements; an abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results and discussion as well as a list of references. An abstract is basically the summary of your work. In other words, when writing an abstract, you are expected to summarize the main parts of your research project.  A well written abstract should be able to tell the reader what your research project is all about.

One of the most essential parts of a research project is the introduction. This is the part that sets the context as well as the background of your research project. In this section, you are expected to clearly state the research problem, objectives and the research questions or the hypothesis as the case may be. It is in this section that you are expected to convince the reader that you have a significant research problem.

The literature review is yet another essential element of a research project. In this chapter, you are expected to provide a synthesis and a critique of the literature that is relevant to your research problem. Every research is built on another research and this means that you are supposed to show how your research project fits into the existing literature. The chapter that follows literature review is the methodology chapter. In this chapter, you are supposed to clearly describe the methods that you used in collecting and analyzing data.

Lastly, a valid research project should have the result and discussion chapter. This is the chapter where you present your findings and their interpretation. It is worth to point that the discussion should be backed up by verifiable evidence as there is no room for speculation when writing a research paper. It is also good to note that an acceptable research paper should have a properly written list of references.