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WritingaResearchPaperIntroduction–Astep-by-stepreference

Theintroductionisthefirstchapterofa

researchpaper

.Itstartsfromtheresearchproposalstage,butitiscriticaltounderstandthedifferencebetweentheintroductionofaresearchproposalandthatofaresearchpaper.Attheproposalstage,theintroductionispresentedinafuturetenseexpressingtheintensionsandexpectationsoftheresearcher,whereasthatoftheresearchpaperisinthepasttense,revealingwhatactuallyhappened.

AresearchpaperIntroductionplaysanessentialroleofpreparingthereader’smindtofollowthepaperasitunveilstheproblem,theresearcher’sintervention,intentionsandexpectations.

Sectionsofaresearchpaperintroduction

Theintroductionconstituentsandsequencemajorlydependonthetypeofresearchandformatundertaken.

Background:Revealsanidentifiedandwelldefinedproblem,exploringitshistoryandnaturewithreferencetotheexistingliterature.Itshouldindicatetherootoftheproblem,itsextent,theaffected,previousinvestigations,etc.;highlightingtheresearchpaperintroductioningeneral,andensuringproperperceptionofthesituationathand.

Statementoftheproblem:Isthecoreoftheissue/problemandmustbeclearlydefined.Itstatesexactlywhattheproblemis,justifyingthatthestudynarrowsorbridgesthegapbetweenwhatitisandwhatitoughttobe.

Purposeofthestudy:Isderivedfromthestatementoftheproblem.Itstateswhyonedecidestostudytheproblemandtheroleofhis/herresearchtosolvetheproblem.

Objectivesofthestudy:Theseconstitutethetargetsaresearcherintendstoachieve.Theyactasayardstickfortheresearchexerciseandmustbespecific,measurableandachievable.

Researchquestions:Theseareresearchguidingquestionsgeneratedfromobjectives.Theresearcherneedstoanswerthemaspartoftheinvestigation.

Hypotheses:Theseareguidingpredictionsoftheoutcomeofthestudy.Basingonresearchquestions,anassumptionderivedformexistingtheories,personalobservationsandexperienceismade.Ahypothesisprovidesatentativeanswertotheproblem,allowingforfurtherinvestigations.Hypothesesarecommonfordescriptiveandexplanatoryresearch.

Scopeofthestudy:Isexpressedintermsofageographicalarea,sayvillage,townorcity;andintermsofcontent–showingtheextentofknowledgecoverage.

Significanceofthestudy:Showshowmeaningfulandusefultheresearchis;aswellasindicatingthebeneficiarygroup(s).

Assumption:Situationsunderwhichtheresearchismaynotbeexact,soforeasyofworktheresearchermayassumewhathe/shehasexactlyconsideredinhis/herinvestigation.

Delimitations:Theseareadvantageousfactorsaffectingone’sresearchexercise.

Limitations:Thesearedisadvantageousfactorsaffectingone’sresearchexercise.

Definitionofkeyconcepts/terms:Duetoambiguityandvaryingmeaningsofwords/terms/concepts,theresearcherneedstobeprecisegivingexactmeaningofwhathe/sheintendstocommunicate.

Abbreviation:Abbreviationsmaybemisunderstood,soclearfullmeaningsavoidconfusion.

HowtoWriteaResearchProposal–Asuccessfulandwinningapproach

15November,2009

Researchexercisesarefirstplannedinresearchproposals.Itdeterminestheresearchdirection,itsenduranceorfailure.Aproposalservesasanactionplanforresearch,constitutingthreechapters;Introduction,LiteraturereviewandMethodologies.Itiscomplementedwithreferences,budgetandtimetable.Studentsobligedtodoresearchsubmitresearchproposalstotheirsupervisorsbeforerealresearchexercises.Supervisorsapprovetheproposalsforresearchexercisestocommence.Learninghowtowritearesearchproposaliskeyforresearchstudents.

Aresearchproposalispresentedinafuturetense,signifyingthetargetresearchaccomplishmentsandoperationmode.Beforedoinga

customresearchpaper

or

termpaperwriting

,planningisakeyrole.

Howtowritearesearchproposalinasimplerway

Understandtheintendedtopic,yourknowledgeaboutthesubject,youraudience’sinterestsandtheirknowledgeaboutthesubject.Understandthetypeofresearchresourcesandsourcesrequired.Ifyouunderstandhowtowritearesearchproposal,thenyourresearchexercisebecomeseasier.Your

essaywriting

tactics,highlyaidyourwritingskillsforaproposal.

?Chapterone(Introduction):-thisexpressestheintensionsandexpectationsoftheresearcherandplaysanessentialroleofpreparingthereader’smindasitrevealstheproblem,researcher’sintentions,whyhe/sheintendstointerveneandhis/herexpectations.

Theintroductioncontains;

1.backgroundofthestudy,

2.statementoftheproblem,

3.purposeofthestudy,

4.objectivesofthestudy,

5.researchquestionsand/or

6.hypotheses,

7.scopeofthestudy,

8.significanceofthestudy,

9.assumption,

10.delimitations,

11.limitationsand

12.definitionofkeyconcepts/terms

?Chaptertwo(Reviewofrelevantliterature):-Whenreviewingliteratureexaminethesourcesrelatedtothetopicofinterest.Avoidtheliteraturethatisnotconnectedtotheareaofstudy.Alwaysparaphraseandcitebasingonyourobjectivesandhypotheses.Ensurethatthereviewsavesyoutheburdenofrepeatingcompletedresearch,wastingtimeonfailedresearchandhelpingyoufindwhatthepreviousresearchershavenottackled.

Literaturereviewconstitutes;

1.Literaturemap:identifythevariablesandspecifythenecessaryresources,embarkingonpreviousandsimilarinterestresearchers.

2.Justificationofintendedresearch:showwhytheresearchisnecessary.

3.Extentandconstraintsofpreviousresearchers:whatdoestheresearcherneedtocover?Notelimitationsofpreviousresearchers.

?Chapterthree(Methodologies):-Theresearcheranalysesmethodstobeused,dependingonthetypeandaccuracyofdatarequired.

Themethodologiesconstitutethefollowing;

1.Researchdesign:givesthenecessarytypeofresearch.Involvingqualitativeandquantitativedescriptivestudies.

2.Sampling:theresearcherchooseswaystoundertakeforstudysamples.Samplingmethodsmayberandom,stratified,andpurposiveandsoon.

3.Toolsandinstruments:datacollecttoolsinvolvequestionnaires,interviews;focusdiscussiongroupsandsoon.

4.Procedure:showshowdatacollectionwillbeadministered.

5.Datacollection:identifytheprimaryandsecondarysources.

6.Dataprocessingandanalysis:focusonrawdata,sorting,editing,codingandrepresentingit.

Howtowritearesearchproposaltakesvariousundertakingsfrominstitutiontoinstitution.Youcanfurtheryourguidanceusing

researchpapersamples

.

MethodologyWritingforyourResearchPaper

2December,2009

Beforeyoucarryoutyourresearch,youhavetoanalyzetherationaleandfeasibilityofparticularmethodsforagivenstudy.Thisisnormallywritteninyourresearchproposal,whiletheexplanationforthemethodsundertakeniswritteninthe

researchpaper

methodology.Differentkindsofissuesrequiredifferentformsofapproachduringdatacollectionandprocessingwithinagivenresearchexercise.Theseareexactlywhattheresearcherhandlesinhis/hermethodologywriting.

Whileanalyzingthemethodstoemployduringthestudy,youneedto;

Seekforrelevantmethodstohandlethethesisorargumentinyour

researchpaper

or

termpaper.

Carryoutadequatetestsforthefeasibilityofthemethodofyourchoice.

Accuratelyestablishtheresultslevelyourselectedmethodcanattain.

Ensurethatthefindingsacquiredbyyourselectedmethodscangeneralizesituationsbeyondyourimmediateorganization.

Alwaysrememberthatthechoiceofyourmethodologywillhighlydependonthepurposeoftheresearchandthetypeofproblemunderstudy.Themethodologyinyourproposalisonlyasuggestionandiswritteninafuturetense,whereasthatinyourresearchpaperisinpasttenserevealinghowyouactuallyadministeredyourstudymethodically.

TheStructureofyourMethodologyWriting

Themethodologyconstitutesanumberofareascoveringhowyouaregoingtocarryoutyourresearchexercise.Itgivesalayoutofthespecificmethodstohandleparticularsituations.Themethodologycanbeoutlinedasfollows:

Researchdesign:Thismaybequalitativeanddescriptiveinwhichthequalityofasituationisstudiedoranalyzedanddescribedaccordingly.Itmayalsobequantitative,wheretheresultsarenumericalinnature.

Sampling:Samplesmaybeusedasarepresentationofalargepopulation.Asamplecanbenon-probabilityorprobabilitysampling.Thesealsohaveanumberofsubcategories.

ToolsandInstruments:Theseareusedtoestablishthefactsfromrespondents.Theymayincludequestionnaires,interviews,observations,recording,focusedgroupdiscussions,testsanddiary.

Procedure:Thisrevealsthestagestobeundertakenwhilecarryingoutyourresearchexercise.Youneedtobesystematic