integrating research writing a paper

integrating research writing a paper

Integrating Research: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Scholarly Paper

1. Introduction to Research Integration in Academic Writing

One of the roles that scholarly authors undertake is to make sure that their readers can easily understand their claims. The best authors make numerous attempts to explain their main point from different angles in a variety of ways. One way that authors make their main points particularly understandable is by illustrating their key ideas with examples. Sometimes authors create entire stories to demonstrate their main themes. At other times, authors may use a single image in order to help convey their point. Whatever the case, the goal of scholarly writing is to make sure that the conversation can be understood by others. When conversations in academic writing are easily followed, either due to the use of stories, images, or other aids, we say that a composition is “well-integrated.”

1. Introduction to Research Integration in Academic Writing Scholarly writing is like a conversation that you have with other scholars about a specific question or topic. When you read a scholarly book, essay, or article for the first time, it is often helpful to think about yourself as sitting down in a room to listen to a often complex conversation. As you know, conversations can be easy to follow or difficult to understand. The same is true of scholarly conversations. As you read or listen to what scholars are saying about a topic, you may come across statements that are rather simple and easy to understand. Scholarly authors make claims that appear to be clearly stated, are well-expressed, and supported by evidence. These types of claims are easy to interpret because they are self-contained. Other statements may be circular, obscure, or tedious to work through. These statements are harder to interpret because they require context in order to be understood.

Integrating Research: A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Scholarly Paper

2. Key Components of a Scholarly Paper

As previously mentioned in the last section of this article, the efficacy of a scholarly research paper relies heavily on its purpose, content, and tone. The most significant element, though, is its content: its theory and hypothesis should be empirically supported, its methodology should be clearly and relevantly developed, and its documentation should be cognitively and logically adequate. In addition, the tone of a scholarly paper should be appropriate for a learned and professional audience. Given the covariance of these factors, all are discussed at length in the remaining sections of this essay.

Arguably, the term “scholarly research paper” is a very exclusionary one. It suggests that the focus of academic writing should be academically-based or university-based. However, the basic elements of a scholarly research paper can be translated into any form of research paper writing — from high school term papers to master’s or PhD thesis work. These common elements include: a title, an abstract, introduction, thesis or statement of research, statement of methodology, a literature review, a documentation matrix, discussion, conclusion, and a bibliography. Each of these key elements, among others, will be reviewed in order to demonstrate the integration process. While no two research papers are entirely the same, similar elements are involved in the structuring of both.

3. Strategies for Incorporating Research in Writing

There are some strategies that writers have often used when researching and writing that you may find helpful in combining and coordinating these activities. If so, these tactics can become part of your larger strategy for conducting research and citing authoritative sources and becoming more of a research writer. Just as working with a broad outline can help you focus on and develop structure and rubric material, these related strategies can be helpful in working with material that needs to reflect thousands of words of research. They range from elementary research hosts that can help you control how you do online research, and making the most of the use of bibliographies and citations on how you cite relevant scholarly sources in your own work. By surveying and using a wide range of related resources, you may glean then conclusions that you may not have considered that help bolster the unique elements of your own research and writing in a given field.

4. Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism

The most important thing is to engage in the scholarly process, and actually use the content you find in your writing. This means taking notes on your source material, and generating original ideas from that material. By reframing the original content into your own words, you automatically produce original content that expresses an understanding of your sources. You will still need to properly cite your sources, but will avoid the charge of plagiarism. Additionally, by developing original content that presents others’ views in a vibrant, engaging light, you contribute substantial value to the academic conversation. In doing so, you exemplify the scholarly process.

You’ve heard it before, but its importance cannot be overstated – avoid plagiarism at all costs. Plagiarism simply means taking somebody else’s work and representing it as your own. This practice is not only unethical, it’s illegal. However, there are some acts of plagiarism that don’t fall clearly within the unethical or illegal areas. But best of all – it’s so easy to avoid plagiarism.

Avoiding Plagiarism

At the core of all of these types of academic writing is the notion of original thought. For example, writing a paper for a class should involve some higher level of critical thinking. Many of the sources of original information are not new. Those sources may be professional journal articles, book chapters, books, government reports, or white papers emanating from organizations such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). No matter the type of scholarly work, citing sources is important. When you write up your paper, you need to think about proper handling of sources, which will include in-text citations, work cited in a “reference” section or list and an in-text description within the body of the document, as well as the actual references. The dialectic reasoning and the principles of the scientific method require pluralism and call for objective evaluation and dialog. This dialog must take place within the conceptual, investigatory, behavioral, and decisional spheres of leading, following, guidance, intentional learning, and active participation of our leaders and our society as a whole. The abstraction of conceptual knowledge focuses on information, methodology, and the underlying beliefs behind the facts and the strategy and the approach for developing and preserving our cultures, communities, and democratic governance.

• Scientific or academic articles, such as those in the American Journal of Public Health • Book chapters and review articles • Books • Professional or advocacy documents • Dissertations • Theses • Class projects • Web sites and communication media • Mass media

In any research paper, dissertation, or scholarly article, it is critical that you give proper credit for someone else’s original work through the use of citations and references. Some common types of writing that require a balance of original thought and extensive examination of other works include:

5. Conclusion and Best Practices

Step into that unfamiliar territory with an open mind and a respectful nod to the writers whose work you engage, and you will benefit. It’s useful to see researching and writing as a problem-solving exercise – with clearly articulated expectations and equalized power relationships. Whenever you get lost or feel uncertain in the process, go back to the assignment, talk to your teacher, or confer with a knowledgeable friend. The strategies elaborated in this guide are designed to support your success as a writer. In summary, here are some good practices when writing a scholarly paper: Generate your topic by cultivating a question about which you are passionate. Address part of a professional conversation. Engage in a tradition with historical roots. Make sure your research questions are sharpened. Analyze your sources. Use sources conscientiously and constructively. Respect sources; respect the conversation of your peers. Show sophistication in integrating your research. Keep your eye on the ball in structuring your paper. Manage transitions as you develop your argument. Be a good reader.

In this guide, we have collected a helpful set of ideas, questions, and strategies that you can work through to find a topic for a scholarly paper, read critically, use source material effectively, and develop and organize your argument. We hope to impart a sense of the research process that enables you to manage the task of writing a scholarly paper. It often seems that people resist jumping into a research paper not because they don’t see the value of learning about the subject, but because the process of researching and writing is alien.