the little book of research writing

the little book of research writing

The Little Book of Research Writing

1. Introduction to Research Writing

All languages of the world can be used to write research articles. Students should be encouraged to read research papers in many languages. Efforts to translate important works into English should be well publicized. The decision to write in a particular language should be dictated ideally by the language in which the student has written the best fictional prose. Mathematics is best written in the language that is most transparent to the author. A work written in a language totally transparent to the author is the easiest to read. Work written in such a language, with all necessary explanatory notes, that resides outside any of the journals we have at the present time, should come with a warning that says, “This research paper is written in the language of Shakespeare with due respect shown to Indian and French classical literature.”

When I write a research paper, I always love to see if anyone has written a book on my little problem. Such books are usually excellent starting points for getting an overview of the problem and synthesizing the relevant literature. But to connect with relevant material one has to have an idea of where to look. This usually involves an extensive course on the subject matter. This little book may be a dirty scribble on the vast blackboard of the cosmos, but gives, nevertheless, young students an idea of the kind of problems one could address in a research paper and, more importantly, the kind of reasonings that are required. There are, doubtlessly, many such books chalked out on the cosmic blackboard. This one merely tries to capture the spirit of the time from the author’s 25 years of experience in mathematical research. We restrict our discussion to research writing within the primary subject of a particular discipline.

2. Key Components of a Research Paper

By reading each section and doing what is asked, you will have written a major part of your paper. You will also be well on your way to explaining it to your selected audience. If you know your subject well, you will not need to carry out extra research. The key to success is starting early, doing bits and pieces gradually, and being systematic. A research paper is not a mystery novel. Your reader should come away knowing the solution to the question that was addressed in the introduction. Any information that is not your own idea or hypothesis, or that is not common knowledge, should be documented. If you integrate your own thoughts into the paper, it will be difficult to spot the gap between your words and those of other writers.

A research paper is not a report. The research paper is your own argument about what you have learned from your research. The purpose of this kind of writing is clarity more than exactitude. The goal of writing is not to carry out set tasks and then hand them in so that your work can be checked off as completed. The goal is to learn how to express your thoughts on paper.

3. Effective Research Methods and Techniques

The important thing is to stick to the rules of scientific work: ask reasonable questions; use the tools provided by scientific methodology to obtain reasonable answers; present reasonable interpretations and conclusions; present facts and interpretations with the highest possible precision, logical depth, and clarity; further explore and discuss the inquiry with the search for alternative answers and the realization of further research. The work is presented as an integrated unit, considering the units of analysis and results produced. The research is stopped when the problem is unraveled, when the area of study is properly circumscribed.

Allow your structure to guide search carefully. The most rewarding part of research work comes from the actual discovery of an unresolved source of literature. Know that you are laying a step to unveil or check history. Newspapers and interviews add life to the subject being developed and help understand the present state of events. It may be necessary to do social research, and to collect data related to social problems that exist in developed countries, to use computer and mathematical models built to create scenarios capable of simulating reality. In addition, research may involve combinations of primary data collection methods with secondary data.

The original material found may represent a typical problem of an organized essay. For example, data may be found in letters written by several famous artists, while many books written by art critics may be bibliographically located. Research may also involve setting up an experiment, setting up an observation unit to visit people who perform a certain function in order to describe their concerns and anxieties; setting up an experiment or observation unit where forensic science aids in reconstructing a scene to give it reliability. No matter which method is used, research should always follow a logical process and scientific rigor in the interpretation of the facts found. Citing sources in the body of the essay only provides readers with advice on where they can continue the study.

There are numerous methods of doing research. You can use various combinations of available methods. The important thing to remember is that you must apply the correct method to accomplish the directive of your research. It is possible to do research and discover new factual and theoretical knowledge. With the manner in which your librarian is trained, you can approach him/her, or her assistant, with any problem of research. At the very beginning you should apply bibliographical research methods to locate and organize the existing material on your topic. It must be made clear that the original data to complete the research is not necessarily found in books.

4. Writing and Structuring a Compelling Argument

In academic and research writing, style is crucial in making such connections over distance. Conventions in presentation make things easier. A clear map of what you are doing where in your text proves invaluable for those reading in haste or on autopilot. Use this wayfinders for questions as well as answers. They can navigate the lines of your argument. A map need not be static. Indeed, that would be a mistake. Reflect back on the evidential direction once its outcome is known and see if it has been full, fair and true, or if it needs updating for future travelers. Keep refreshing and updating wayfinders throughout the argument for sophisticated readers who need little encouragement to argue back, but also for readers who experience long periods of drowsiness during the reading process.

Whichever ‘track’ of argument your writing is on, there are some general characteristics that good, compelling arguments share. At the simplest but perhaps most demanding level, a compelling argument is one that genuinely makes its audience think with curiosity and creative anxiety in the absence of settled answers. Achieving this ambition reflects good research practice: you draw on existing knowledge with discrimination, respect and understanding, but you recognize perfectly well that research is about knowledge creation as well as accountancy. What excites you in research and the arguments you make should equally excite your reader. If you have enjoyed bibliographic detective work, above any other feeling, then share your enjoyment. There are plenty of other emotions that a compelling research argument should evoke in its reader too: excitement, wonder, disbelief (which carries its own aesthetic pleasure), the constraints of obligation, curiosity, and anxiety.

5. Conclusions and Recommendations

Also, do not go over the top in the conclusions. Such things are so passé as “future research,” very common in many studies, scarcely lift up eyebrows. Similarly, while this goes for the concluding comments as well, the tone needs to be similar. At the crux, what did we learn? Which of your assumptions were proven right, while others failed as theoretical expectations? Were new hypotheses brought into light, or were hitherto stubborn ones confirmed by the empirical data? Did all the hypotheses work, or were some empirically refuted along the way? So, at the end of the day, where do we really stand in terms of the research questions or aims at the very beginning?

Conclusions and recommendations are the “icing” on the research project cake. The former present results or discover themes and trends, while recommendations suggest actions that can or should be taken. There is an important corollary, however, when it comes to recommendations, particularly if you do not make them in your study: it says that little is known about particular problems, and making and following through on concrete suggestions or recommendations show you have learned something and are willing to overview actual remedies to a certain degree of certainty.