By Ma Feiya
GOMBAK, 26 April 2019 – Research papers are written based on valuable production practices or research topics. With original and unique papers, it reflects the scientific facts rather than the author’s writing level.
The Psychology Secretariat recently organised a “Research Writing Workshop” to give IIUM students a clear understanding of how to write research papers.
Touching on the format of a research paper, Dr. Haffiezhah An-nadiah Azlan of the Department of Psychology, said that the first part should be the overall concept of the research, including the purpose of the research, the summary of the previous research, the significance of the research, the subject on the description of the planning and application of the study.
She said a research paper can only have one theme. This theme should be specific to the grass-roots level of the problem, not the domain in which the problem belongs, let alone the subject in which the problem lies. The theme of the research should not be too large.
Research papers are academic works, so their expressions should be rigorous and concise, with prominent emphasis. Professional common sense should be abbreviated or not written. They should be clear in level, reliable in data, concise in writing, thorough in explanation, rigorous in reasoning and correct in an argument, avoiding the use of the non-academic language of literary or emotional nature. If it’s a non-universal new term, a new term or new concept appears in the paper, it needs to be explained immediately.
The title of the thesis should reflect the main content of the work of thesis in a concise manner. The title of the thesis should be accurate and specific description of the research object. This description generally reflects the research conclusion to a certain extent. Therefore, the title of the thesis should not only tell the readers what the problem is in this paper, but also to tell the readers that the research has drawn the conclusion.
The abstract of the research paper is a high-level summary of the research content of the paper. Therefore, the abstract should include a description of the problem and the purpose of the research, a brief introduction to the method used, and the research process. It’s a brief summary of the conclusion of the study. The abstract should be independent and should be a complete paper.
The introduction of a research paper roughly contains the questions, the background, and significance of topic selected, literature review, research methods, and the structure of the paper. It cannot incorporate other people’s research results indiscriminately. There should be an organic link between the chapters, which conform to the logical order.
The conclusion is to refine and summarise the main research results and arguments of research papers. It should be accurate, concise, complete and organised so that people can fully understand the significance, purpose, and contents of the papers after reading them. It mainly expounds its creative work and the status, role, and significance of the research results in this academic field.
At the same time, we should strictly distinguish our own achievements from those of our tutors and others.***