Tips for Writing a Successful Research Paper - Essay Example

Research methods Name Institution Date There are two motivations behind any research; curiosity of a researcher in pursuit to know more about an interesting topic. Such curiosity drives a researcher to want to know more, hence looks for more information to quench the thirst for knowledge. The second reason for research is intellectual ambition. To be ahead in any field of education, a student is required to be conversant with research, be able to think critically and come up with problem solving results. From the explanation above it is clear that research is not only confined to the academic field. Research that is done within the curriculum and schools should be taken seriously as it could mean the difference between a student graduating or not graduating based on the his/her success. Good research activity is key to the success of every research. A good research leads to student’s satisfaction and the same research can be used to solve a particular problem. The difference between a good research and an ant satisfactory research is how a researcher approaches the work he is undertaking, a good research should be systematic in its approach, and should be well planned from start to finish. Failing to plan a research is equal to failing in giving a satisfying research. Research should be based on a basic knowledge on what the researcher is already aware of in the field of research he or she is undertaking. From there a researcher can tackle fields that they have little knowledge in and finally can go towards the unknown. All researchers should work under a code of ethics to ensure that they call all work together in harmony for years to come. Researchers should give credit to previous researchers that have worked on the same field when they refer to their work in their research endeavors. No researcher should use another’s work without giving credit where it is due. Research requirements and needs vary with the type of research one is undertaking. This all depends on the type of topic one is researching on and the requirements that should be met by that particular research, whether work related research or academic research. To write a good research, a set of directions that have been used by successful researchers have been set down to guide every researcher and simplify the work as a well laid out method has been set. A full overview of a research process is comprised of two main steps, one step is the whole information you have as a researcher regarding the topic you are about to undertake and involve yourself fully to research about. This may include basic information, a simple clue about the information or you may be having a broad knowledge about the project you want to undertake. The second step involves what you do not know this is where real research starts, you may find that initially you are conversant with whatever you are undertaking but with time you will discover so much information that you didn’t know which brings me to say about the wonders of research work, it brings to a researchers attention so much work that they wouldn’t have known initially but because of research a researcher is exposed to so much information. In this text we are going to focus on a more detailed and well laid out process of research writing that is guaranteed to always give you a great research when followed [Fig 1] Flow chart of writing a successful research paper To write a great project the first and the most important thing you need to understand is the purpose of the project. Why are you researching one particular topic and not the other, how is it beneficial. You should be able to explain your reasons to people on why and the ways you are going to tackle the project. At this stage you should have all the basic knowledge of a project in your figure tips. A researcher should be able to choose a suitable topic for the research at this point. The major problems most searchers have at this phase are the transition of basic knowledge information about the topic you want to undertake to a more detailed more qualitative research. Most researchers have a problem of obtaining information from sources at this point due to lack of access of information especially in companies who keep their details confidential. It is always a major road block and frustrating to researchers who have undertaken such topics in management. Previous studies have shown that undertaking in projects that are less likely to involve major hiccups in collecting qualitative and detailed analysis could be better to undertake as compared to research that have confidential sources of information that a researcher is not able to reach. Better sources and detailed qualitative analysis leads to better results and research become comprehensive wholesome and more detailed. The next step in research is to consider the ethical issues. Ethical issues cover the whole reason for having research, which is to seek the truth answer questions; a good research should be free of falsified information, fabrication and stealing other researchers work. If a researcher is referring to previous researchers works, referencing and detailed information of where they got the information is crucial to ensure mutual respect and collaboration in future research works. Ethical norms have also been ensured by the law by ensuring there are penalties given to researchers who copy work; disclose other people’s ideas prematurely. Researchers want to be given credit for their work. The next step that should be followed while undertaking a successful research is to clarify basic assumptions. This is the details that have already been established before by previous researchers. This helps you to establish the reason you are undertaking the research, is it to improve on what has already been done or is it to give another approach to that particular topic that you as a researcher is undertaking This brings me to the next level which is a bit difficult; it is where the real research starts because now you are on a quest to build the research. In this stage a researcher should let literature be their guide on whatever topic they are undertaking, you should not be able to control the direction of the research but the finding from credible literature sources and if you have a qualified specialist in the field of study that is helping you out in your research. Researchers should not put too much content that is unwanted in their findings from texts and literature. Researchers tend to put too much unnecessary information on the findings from literature and sometime the researcher is unable to decipher whet information the researcher wanted to pass on. To avoid this researcher should only pick the information that is directly related to the research. The next step is to ensure generalizability of findings this is a stage where the researcher is able to use the information he has gotten from the research in other areas than it was originally meant for. A researcher should be able to generate knowledge from the literature review that is sourced from accredited sources and qualified writers. He should be able to get the strengths and the weaknesses from the review and find out on ways to improve on it At this point researcher can introduce questionnaires depending on the type of research one is undertaking, there are two types of questionnaires, they are the structures or semi structured. Structured method of research is mainly used in survey research and questions are put in exactly the same way and in the same order this enables a researcher to be able to do a comparative measure between people. Structured interviews enable researchers to have a definite way of comparing results, although not all questions and points can be given across in the same way always researchers are encourage to always ensuring there is a way of measuring the results definitely. In management research a researcher is encouraged to come up with multiple choice questions that enable the researcher to come up with major strengths and weaknesses that will enable one to come up with better approaches in future. A research is basically an extended piece of writing about a specific topic which is divided into chapters. A good researcher should ensure that the spelling of words, grammatical, tense and the literally expectations that come with the English language is as par A good researcher should always have a notebook which will help them to write information that can otherwise be forgotten while undertaking a research. This notebook acts as a great reference place when it comes down to writing down the final draft of a research which is report. A notebook with details of research has been known to serve researchers well while writing reports, people tend to forget about information written down is always helpful and a great reference. A good researcher should write as clearly as possible in the report. This will enable people to understand the message you meant to pass down and you can share the knowledge you got from the research with others. Information acquired through any form of research should be communicated in a report in a logically sequenced manner and also. [Fig 2] Contents in an individual section in a report Individual section Content section Title of the report Concise heading indicating what the research is about Table of contents List of major sections and headings with page numbers Abstract Direct and precise summary of the main findings of the research. Introduction What is researched and the reasons for researching Literature review Other relevant researches in this area Methodology What was involved in the research and how it was researched Results What was discovered from the research Discussion Relevance of the results and how they fit in the research area Conclusion Summary of the results Recommendation What needs to be done as a result of the discovery, in the research done. References and bibliography All references used in your results or referred to for background information during research Appendices Any additional material in the research A good report should have a title that gives the reader a bit of information about the research. The topic should be direct and precise and should be interesting enough to make the reader want to know more about the written topic It should also have a table of contents though it is not always s requirement in all reports. The table of content should consist of a list of information that is talked about and the pages you can acquire the information from. After having a table of contents a good report should have an abstract which should summarize the findings of the research. An introduction should have background information which should include a brief view of the literature already available on the topic a researcher is undertaking. In methodology a researcher should clearly outline the methods you used in the research, what was involved in the research and how it was done, all this must be clearly written done to ensure that any future researcher willing to undertake the same topic can refer or quote you. Diagrams and results musts are clearly drawn and well labeled. Results writing should just be well written down results from what you got through your methods. Discussion section should discuss the relevance of the results in connection to the research Conclusion should be the summary of the most significant results from the discussion and how they are useful to the research Recommendations should include suggestions that you can give as a researcher based on the findings. References and bibliography should include all sources of information you got while undertaking the research. Appendices are any additional information from the research. You should always go through your research to ensure there are no mistakes. If you can’t understand the feedback given by your support staff, need explanations and aren’t sure why an answer was wrong, then go over the text of the module until you have puzzled it. Research project work shares a number of characteristics with the day-to-day project work in which you engage as a manager, but it also has characteristics that make it different. From the above guidelines I can say that there is nothing difficult about doing good research, so long as you carefully follow a number of principles and procedural guidelines, and anyone can make a great researcher. References Luce, S. and Lynch, B. (1998). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. London: Random House. Directorate, Canadian Public Service Commission. Competency: Frameworks and Tool,. Research. Retrieved from www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/research/personnel/comp_frame_e.htm, accessed 10 March 2004. Anderson, V. (2004). Research Methods in Human Resource Management. London: CIPD. Belbin, R.M. (1981). Management Teams: Why they Succeed or Fail. London: Heinemann. Berger, P.L. and Luckmann, T. (1976). 1qqThe Social Nature of Reality. Harmondsworth: Penguin Read More