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Writing Each Section of Your Applied Research Paper

• Writing Lab Reports from Trent U
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Chapter 11: Presenting Your Research

Writing a Research Report in American Psychological Association (APA) Style

Learning Objectives

• Identify the major sections of an APA-style research report and the basic contents of each section.
• Plan and write an effective APA-style research report.

In this section, we look at how to write an APA-style empirical research report , an article that presents the results of one or more new studies. Recall that the standard sections of an empirical research report provide a kind of outline. Here we consider each of these sections in detail, including what information it contains, how that information is formatted and organized, and tips for writing each section. At the end of this section is a sample APA-style research report that illustrates many of these principles.

Sections of a Research Report

Title page and abstract.

An APA-style research report begins with a  title page . The title is centred in the upper half of the page, with each important word capitalized. The title should clearly and concisely (in about 12 words or fewer) communicate the primary variables and research questions. This sometimes requires a main title followed by a subtitle that elaborates on the main title, in which case the main title and subtitle are separated by a colon. Here are some titles from recent issues of professional journals published by the American Psychological Association.

• Sex Differences in Coping Styles and Implications for Depressed Mood
• Effects of Aging and Divided Attention on Memory for Items and Their Contexts
• Computer-Assisted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Child Anxiety: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial
• Virtual Driving and Risk Taking: Do Racing Games Increase Risk-Taking Cognitions, Affect, and Behaviour?

Below the title are the authors’ names and, on the next line, their institutional affiliation—the university or other institution where the authors worked when they conducted the research. As we have already seen, the authors are listed in an order that reflects their contribution to the research. When multiple authors have made equal contributions to the research, they often list their names alphabetically or in a randomly determined order.

In some areas of psychology, the titles of many empirical research reports are informal in a way that is perhaps best described as “cute.” They usually take the form of a play on words or a well-known expression that relates to the topic under study. Here are some examples from recent issues of the Journal Psychological Science .

• “Smells Like Clean Spirit: Nonconscious Effects of Scent on Cognition and Behavior”
• “Time Crawls: The Temporal Resolution of Infants’ Visual Attention”
• “Scent of a Woman: Men’s Testosterone Responses to Olfactory Ovulation Cues”
• “Apocalypse Soon?: Dire Messages Reduce Belief in Global Warming by Contradicting Just-World Beliefs”
• “Serial vs. Parallel Processing: Sometimes They Look Like Tweedledum and Tweedledee but They Can (and Should) Be Distinguished”
• “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Words: The Social Effects of Expressive Writing”

Individual researchers differ quite a bit in their preference for such titles. Some use them regularly, while others never use them. What might be some of the pros and cons of using cute article titles?

For articles that are being submitted for publication, the title page also includes an author note that lists the authors’ full institutional affiliations, any acknowledgments the authors wish to make to agencies that funded the research or to colleagues who commented on it, and contact information for the authors. For student papers that are not being submitted for publication—including theses—author notes are generally not necessary.

The  abstract  is a summary of the study. It is the second page of the manuscript and is headed with the word  Abstract . The first line is not indented. The abstract presents the research question, a summary of the method, the basic results, and the most important conclusions. Because the abstract is usually limited to about 200 words, it can be a challenge to write a good one.

Introduction

The  introduction  begins on the third page of the manuscript. The heading at the top of this page is the full title of the manuscript, with each important word capitalized as on the title page. The introduction includes three distinct subsections, although these are typically not identified by separate headings. The opening introduces the research question and explains why it is interesting, the literature review discusses relevant previous research, and the closing restates the research question and comments on the method used to answer it.

The Opening

The  opening , which is usually a paragraph or two in length, introduces the research question and explains why it is interesting. To capture the reader’s attention, researcher Daryl Bem recommends starting with general observations about the topic under study, expressed in ordinary language (not technical jargon)—observations that are about people and their behaviour (not about researchers or their research; Bem, 2003 [1] ). Concrete examples are often very useful here. According to Bem, this would be a poor way to begin a research report:

Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance received a great deal of attention during the latter part of the 20th century (p. 191)

The following would be much better:

The individual who holds two beliefs that are inconsistent with one another may feel uncomfortable. For example, the person who knows that he or she enjoys smoking but believes it to be unhealthy may experience discomfort arising from the inconsistency or disharmony between these two thoughts or cognitions. This feeling of discomfort was called cognitive dissonance by social psychologist Leon Festinger (1957), who suggested that individuals will be motivated to remove this dissonance in whatever way they can (p. 191).

After capturing the reader’s attention, the opening should go on to introduce the research question and explain why it is interesting. Will the answer fill a gap in the literature? Will it provide a test of an important theory? Does it have practical implications? Giving readers a clear sense of what the research is about and why they should care about it will motivate them to continue reading the literature review—and will help them make sense of it.

Breaking the Rules

Researcher Larry Jacoby reported several studies showing that a word that people see or hear repeatedly can seem more familiar even when they do not recall the repetitions—and that this tendency is especially pronounced among older adults. He opened his article with the following humourous anecdote:

A friend whose mother is suffering symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) tells the story of taking her mother to visit a nursing home, preliminary to her mother’s moving there. During an orientation meeting at the nursing home, the rules and regulations were explained, one of which regarded the dining room. The dining room was described as similar to a fine restaurant except that tipping was not required. The absence of tipping was a central theme in the orientation lecture, mentioned frequently to emphasize the quality of care along with the advantages of having paid in advance. At the end of the meeting, the friend’s mother was asked whether she had any questions. She replied that she only had one question: “Should I tip?” (Jacoby, 1999, p. 3)

Although both humour and personal anecdotes are generally discouraged in APA-style writing, this example is a highly effective way to start because it both engages the reader and provides an excellent real-world example of the topic under study.

The Literature Review

Immediately after the opening comes the  literature review , which describes relevant previous research on the topic and can be anywhere from several paragraphs to several pages in length. However, the literature review is not simply a list of past studies. Instead, it constitutes a kind of argument for why the research question is worth addressing. By the end of the literature review, readers should be convinced that the research question makes sense and that the present study is a logical next step in the ongoing research process.

Like any effective argument, the literature review must have some kind of structure. For example, it might begin by describing a phenomenon in a general way along with several studies that demonstrate it, then describing two or more competing theories of the phenomenon, and finally presenting a hypothesis to test one or more of the theories. Or it might describe one phenomenon, then describe another phenomenon that seems inconsistent with the first one, then propose a theory that resolves the inconsistency, and finally present a hypothesis to test that theory. In applied research, it might describe a phenomenon or theory, then describe how that phenomenon or theory applies to some important real-world situation, and finally suggest a way to test whether it does, in fact, apply to that situation.

Looking at the literature review in this way emphasizes a few things. First, it is extremely important to start with an outline of the main points that you want to make, organized in the order that you want to make them. The basic structure of your argument, then, should be apparent from the outline itself. Second, it is important to emphasize the structure of your argument in your writing. One way to do this is to begin the literature review by summarizing your argument even before you begin to make it. “In this article, I will describe two apparently contradictory phenomena, present a new theory that has the potential to resolve the apparent contradiction, and finally present a novel hypothesis to test the theory.” Another way is to open each paragraph with a sentence that summarizes the main point of the paragraph and links it to the preceding points. These opening sentences provide the “transitions” that many beginning researchers have difficulty with. Instead of beginning a paragraph by launching into a description of a previous study, such as “Williams (2004) found that…,” it is better to start by indicating something about why you are describing this particular study. Here are some simple examples:

Another example of this phenomenon comes from the work of Williams (2004).

Williams (2004) offers one explanation of this phenomenon.

An alternative perspective has been provided by Williams (2004).

We used a method based on the one used by Williams (2004).

Finally, remember that your goal is to construct an argument for why your research question is interesting and worth addressing—not necessarily why your favourite answer to it is correct. In other words, your literature review must be balanced. If you want to emphasize the generality of a phenomenon, then of course you should discuss various studies that have demonstrated it. However, if there are other studies that have failed to demonstrate it, you should discuss them too. Or if you are proposing a new theory, then of course you should discuss findings that are consistent with that theory. However, if there are other findings that are inconsistent with it, again, you should discuss them too. It is acceptable to argue that the  balance  of the research supports the existence of a phenomenon or is consistent with a theory (and that is usually the best that researchers in psychology can hope for), but it is not acceptable to  ignore contradictory evidence. Besides, a large part of what makes a research question interesting is uncertainty about its answer.

The Closing

The  closing  of the introduction—typically the final paragraph or two—usually includes two important elements. The first is a clear statement of the main research question or hypothesis. This statement tends to be more formal and precise than in the opening and is often expressed in terms of operational definitions of the key variables. The second is a brief overview of the method and some comment on its appropriateness. Here, for example, is how Darley and Latané (1968) [2] concluded the introduction to their classic article on the bystander effect:

These considerations lead to the hypothesis that the more bystanders to an emergency, the less likely, or the more slowly, any one bystander will intervene to provide aid. To test this proposition it would be necessary to create a situation in which a realistic “emergency” could plausibly occur. Each subject should also be blocked from communicating with others to prevent his getting information about their behaviour during the emergency. Finally, the experimental situation should allow for the assessment of the speed and frequency of the subjects’ reaction to the emergency. The experiment reported below attempted to fulfill these conditions. (p. 378)

Thus the introduction leads smoothly into the next major section of the article—the method section.

The  method section  is where you describe how you conducted your study. An important principle for writing a method section is that it should be clear and detailed enough that other researchers could replicate the study by following your “recipe.” This means that it must describe all the important elements of the study—basic demographic characteristics of the participants, how they were recruited, whether they were randomly assigned, how the variables were manipulated or measured, how counterbalancing was accomplished, and so on. At the same time, it should avoid irrelevant details such as the fact that the study was conducted in Classroom 37B of the Industrial Technology Building or that the questionnaire was double-sided and completed using pencils.

The method section begins immediately after the introduction ends with the heading “Method” (not “Methods”) centred on the page. Immediately after this is the subheading “Participants,” left justified and in italics. The participants subsection indicates how many participants there were, the number of women and men, some indication of their age, other demographics that may be relevant to the study, and how they were recruited, including any incentives given for participation.

After the participants section, the structure can vary a bit. Figure 11.1 shows three common approaches. In the first, the participants section is followed by a design and procedure subsection, which describes the rest of the method. This works well for methods that are relatively simple and can be described adequately in a few paragraphs. In the second approach, the participants section is followed by separate design and procedure subsections. This works well when both the design and the procedure are relatively complicated and each requires multiple paragraphs.

What is the difference between design and procedure? The design of a study is its overall structure. What were the independent and dependent variables? Was the independent variable manipulated, and if so, was it manipulated between or within subjects? How were the variables operationally defined? The procedure is how the study was carried out. It often works well to describe the procedure in terms of what the participants did rather than what the researchers did. For example, the participants gave their informed consent, read a set of instructions, completed a block of four practice trials, completed a block of 20 test trials, completed two questionnaires, and were debriefed and excused.

In the third basic way to organize a method section, the participants subsection is followed by a materials subsection before the design and procedure subsections. This works well when there are complicated materials to describe. This might mean multiple questionnaires, written vignettes that participants read and respond to, perceptual stimuli, and so on. The heading of this subsection can be modified to reflect its content. Instead of “Materials,” it can be “Questionnaires,” “Stimuli,” and so on.

The  results section  is where you present the main results of the study, including the results of the statistical analyses. Although it does not include the raw data—individual participants’ responses or scores—researchers should save their raw data and make them available to other researchers who request them. Several journals now encourage the open sharing of raw data online.

Although there are no standard subsections, it is still important for the results section to be logically organized. Typically it begins with certain preliminary issues. One is whether any participants or responses were excluded from the analyses and why. The rationale for excluding data should be described clearly so that other researchers can decide whether it is appropriate. A second preliminary issue is how multiple responses were combined to produce the primary variables in the analyses. For example, if participants rated the attractiveness of 20 stimulus people, you might have to explain that you began by computing the mean attractiveness rating for each participant. Or if they recalled as many items as they could from study list of 20 words, did you count the number correctly recalled, compute the percentage correctly recalled, or perhaps compute the number correct minus the number incorrect? A third preliminary issue is the reliability of the measures. This is where you would present test-retest correlations, Cronbach’s α, or other statistics to show that the measures are consistent across time and across items. A final preliminary issue is whether the manipulation was successful. This is where you would report the results of any manipulation checks.

The results section should then tackle the primary research questions, one at a time. Again, there should be a clear organization. One approach would be to answer the most general questions and then proceed to answer more specific ones. Another would be to answer the main question first and then to answer secondary ones. Regardless, Bem (2003) [3] suggests the following basic structure for discussing each new result:

• Remind the reader of the research question.
• Give the answer to the research question in words.
• Present the relevant statistics.
• Qualify the answer if necessary.
• Summarize the result.

Notice that only Step 3 necessarily involves numbers. The rest of the steps involve presenting the research question and the answer to it in words. In fact, the basic results should be clear even to a reader who skips over the numbers.

The  discussion  is the last major section of the research report. Discussions usually consist of some combination of the following elements:

• Summary of the research
• Theoretical implications
• Practical implications
• Limitations
• Suggestions for future research

The discussion typically begins with a summary of the study that provides a clear answer to the research question. In a short report with a single study, this might require no more than a sentence. In a longer report with multiple studies, it might require a paragraph or even two. The summary is often followed by a discussion of the theoretical implications of the research. Do the results provide support for any existing theories? If not, how  can  they be explained? Although you do not have to provide a definitive explanation or detailed theory for your results, you at least need to outline one or more possible explanations. In applied research—and often in basic research—there is also some discussion of the practical implications of the research. How can the results be used, and by whom, to accomplish some real-world goal?

The theoretical and practical implications are often followed by a discussion of the study’s limitations. Perhaps there are problems with its internal or external validity. Perhaps the manipulation was not very effective or the measures not very reliable. Perhaps there is some evidence that participants did not fully understand their task or that they were suspicious of the intent of the researchers. Now is the time to discuss these issues and how they might have affected the results. But do not overdo it. All studies have limitations, and most readers will understand that a different sample or different measures might have produced different results. Unless there is good reason to think they  would have, however, there is no reason to mention these routine issues. Instead, pick two or three limitations that seem like they could have influenced the results, explain how they could have influenced the results, and suggest ways to deal with them.

Most discussions end with some suggestions for future research. If the study did not satisfactorily answer the original research question, what will it take to do so? What  new  research questions has the study raised? This part of the discussion, however, is not just a list of new questions. It is a discussion of two or three of the most important unresolved issues. This means identifying and clarifying each question, suggesting some alternative answers, and even suggesting ways they could be studied.

Finally, some researchers are quite good at ending their articles with a sweeping or thought-provoking conclusion. Darley and Latané (1968) [4] , for example, ended their article on the bystander effect by discussing the idea that whether people help others may depend more on the situation than on their personalities. Their final sentence is, “If people understand the situational forces that can make them hesitate to intervene, they may better overcome them” (p. 383). However, this kind of ending can be difficult to pull off. It can sound overreaching or just banal and end up detracting from the overall impact of the article. It is often better simply to end when you have made your final point (although you should avoid ending on a limitation).

The references section begins on a new page with the heading “References” centred at the top of the page. All references cited in the text are then listed in the format presented earlier. They are listed alphabetically by the last name of the first author. If two sources have the same first author, they are listed alphabetically by the last name of the second author. If all the authors are the same, then they are listed chronologically by the year of publication. Everything in the reference list is double-spaced both within and between references.

Appendices, Tables, and Figures

Appendices, tables, and figures come after the references. An  appendix  is appropriate for supplemental material that would interrupt the flow of the research report if it were presented within any of the major sections. An appendix could be used to present lists of stimulus words, questionnaire items, detailed descriptions of special equipment or unusual statistical analyses, or references to the studies that are included in a meta-analysis. Each appendix begins on a new page. If there is only one, the heading is “Appendix,” centred at the top of the page. If there is more than one, the headings are “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” and so on, and they appear in the order they were first mentioned in the text of the report.

After any appendices come tables and then figures. Tables and figures are both used to present results. Figures can also be used to illustrate theories (e.g., in the form of a flowchart), display stimuli, outline procedures, and present many other kinds of information. Each table and figure appears on its own page. Tables are numbered in the order that they are first mentioned in the text (“Table 1,” “Table 2,” and so on). Figures are numbered the same way (“Figure 1,” “Figure 2,” and so on). A brief explanatory title, with the important words capitalized, appears above each table. Each figure is given a brief explanatory caption, where (aside from proper nouns or names) only the first word of each sentence is capitalized. More details on preparing APA-style tables and figures are presented later in the book.

Sample APA-Style Research Report

Figures 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, and 11.5 show some sample pages from an APA-style empirical research report originally written by undergraduate student Tomoe Suyama at California State University, Fresno. The main purpose of these figures is to illustrate the basic organization and formatting of an APA-style empirical research report, although many high-level and low-level style conventions can be seen here too.

Key Takeaways

• An APA-style empirical research report consists of several standard sections. The main ones are the abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references.
• The introduction consists of an opening that presents the research question, a literature review that describes previous research on the topic, and a closing that restates the research question and comments on the method. The literature review constitutes an argument for why the current study is worth doing.
• The method section describes the method in enough detail that another researcher could replicate the study. At a minimum, it consists of a participants subsection and a design and procedure subsection.
• The results section describes the results in an organized fashion. Each primary result is presented in terms of statistical results but also explained in words.
• The discussion typically summarizes the study, discusses theoretical and practical implications and limitations of the study, and offers suggestions for further research.
• Practice: Look through an issue of a general interest professional journal (e.g.,  Psychological Science ). Read the opening of the first five articles and rate the effectiveness of each one from 1 ( very ineffective ) to 5 ( very effective ). Write a sentence or two explaining each rating.
• Practice: Find a recent article in a professional journal and identify where the opening, literature review, and closing of the introduction begin and end.
• Practice: Find a recent article in a professional journal and highlight in a different colour each of the following elements in the discussion: summary, theoretical implications, practical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Long Descriptions

Figure 11.1 long description: Table showing three ways of organizing an APA-style method section.

In the simple method, there are two subheadings: “Participants” (which might begin “The participants were…”) and “Design and procedure” (which might begin “There were three conditions…”).

In the typical method, there are three subheadings: “Participants” (“The participants were…”), “Design” (“There were three conditions…”), and “Procedure” (“Participants viewed each stimulus on the computer screen…”).

In the complex method, there are four subheadings: “Participants” (“The participants were…”), “Materials” (“The stimuli were…”), “Design” (“There were three conditions…”), and “Procedure” (“Participants viewed each stimulus on the computer screen…”). [Return to Figure 11.1]

• Bem, D. J. (2003). Writing the empirical journal article. In J. M. Darley, M. P. Zanna, & H. R. Roediger III (Eds.),  The compleat academic: A practical guide for the beginning social scientist  (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ↵
• Darley, J. M., & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4 , 377–383. ↵

A type of research article which describes one or more new empirical studies conducted by the authors.

The page at the beginning of an APA-style research report containing the title of the article, the authors’ names, and their institutional affiliation.

A summary of a research study.

The third page of a manuscript containing the research question, the literature review, and comments about how to answer the research question.

An introduction to the research question and explanation for why this question is interesting.

A description of relevant previous research on the topic being discusses and an argument for why the research is worth addressing.

The end of the introduction, where the research question is reiterated and the method is commented upon.

The section of a research report where the method used to conduct the study is described.

The main results of the study, including the results from statistical analyses, are presented in a research article.

Section of a research report that summarizes the study's results and interprets them by referring back to the study's theoretical background.

Part of a research report which contains supplemental material.

Research Methods in Psychology - 2nd Canadian Edition Copyright © 2015 by Paul C. Price, Rajiv Jhangiani, & I-Chant A. Chiang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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13.1 Formatting a Research Paper

Learning objectives.

• Identify the major components of a research paper written using American Psychological Association (APA) style.
• Apply general APA style and formatting conventions in a research paper.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use APA style , the documentation and formatting style followed by the American Psychological Association, as well as MLA style , from the Modern Language Association. There are a few major formatting styles used in academic texts, including AMA, Chicago, and Turabian:

• AMA (American Medical Association) for medicine, health, and biological sciences
• APA (American Psychological Association) for education, psychology, and the social sciences
• Chicago—a common style used in everyday publications like magazines, newspapers, and books
• MLA (Modern Language Association) for English, literature, arts, and humanities
• Turabian—another common style designed for its universal application across all subjects and disciplines

While all the formatting and citation styles have their own use and applications, in this chapter we focus our attention on the two styles you are most likely to use in your academic studies: APA and MLA.

If you find that the rules of proper source documentation are difficult to keep straight, you are not alone. Writing a good research paper is, in and of itself, a major intellectual challenge. Having to follow detailed citation and formatting guidelines as well may seem like just one more task to add to an already-too-long list of requirements.

Following these guidelines, however, serves several important purposes. First, it signals to your readers that your paper should be taken seriously as a student’s contribution to a given academic or professional field; it is the literary equivalent of wearing a tailored suit to a job interview. Second, it shows that you respect other people’s work enough to give them proper credit for it. Finally, it helps your reader find additional materials if he or she wishes to learn more about your topic.

Furthermore, producing a letter-perfect APA-style paper need not be burdensome. Yes, it requires careful attention to detail. However, you can simplify the process if you keep these broad guidelines in mind:

• Work ahead whenever you can. Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” includes tips for keeping track of your sources early in the research process, which will save time later on.
• Get it right the first time. Apply APA guidelines as you write, so you will not have much to correct during the editing stage. Again, putting in a little extra time early on can save time later.
• Use the resources available to you. In addition to the guidelines provided in this chapter, you may wish to consult the APA website at http://www.apa.org or the Purdue University Online Writing lab at http://owl.english.purdue.edu , which regularly updates its online style guidelines.

General Formatting Guidelines

This chapter provides detailed guidelines for using the citation and formatting conventions developed by the American Psychological Association, or APA. Writers in disciplines as diverse as astrophysics, biology, psychology, and education follow APA style. The major components of a paper written in APA style are listed in the following box.

These are the major components of an APA-style paper:

Body, which includes the following:

• Headings and, if necessary, subheadings to organize the content
• In-text citations of research sources
• References page

All these components must be saved in one document, not as separate documents.

The title page of your paper includes the following information:

• Title of the paper
• Author’s name
• Name of the institution with which the author is affiliated
• Header at the top of the page with the paper title (in capital letters) and the page number (If the title is lengthy, you may use a shortened form of it in the header.)

List the first three elements in the order given in the previous list, centered about one third of the way down from the top of the page. Use the headers and footers tool of your word-processing program to add the header, with the title text at the left and the page number in the upper-right corner. Your title page should look like the following example.

The next page of your paper provides an abstract , or brief summary of your findings. An abstract does not need to be provided in every paper, but an abstract should be used in papers that include a hypothesis. A good abstract is concise—about one hundred fifty to two hundred fifty words—and is written in an objective, impersonal style. Your writing voice will not be as apparent here as in the body of your paper. When writing the abstract, take a just-the-facts approach, and summarize your research question and your findings in a few sentences.

In Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” , you read a paper written by a student named Jorge, who researched the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate diets. Read Jorge’s abstract. Note how it sums up the major ideas in his paper without going into excessive detail.

Write an abstract summarizing your paper. Briefly introduce the topic, state your findings, and sum up what conclusions you can draw from your research. Use the word count feature of your word-processing program to make sure your abstract does not exceed one hundred fifty words.

Depending on your field of study, you may sometimes write research papers that present extensive primary research, such as your own experiment or survey. In your abstract, summarize your research question and your findings, and briefly indicate how your study relates to prior research in the field.

Margins, Pagination, and Headings

APA style requirements also address specific formatting concerns, such as margins, pagination, and heading styles, within the body of the paper. Review the following APA guidelines.

Use these general guidelines to format the paper:

• Set the top, bottom, and side margins of your paper at 1 inch.
• Use double-spaced text throughout your paper.
• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, in a legible size (10- to 12-point).
• Use continuous pagination throughout the paper, including the title page and the references section. Page numbers appear flush right within your header.
• Section headings and subsection headings within the body of your paper use different types of formatting depending on the level of information you are presenting. Additional details from Jorge’s paper are provided.

Begin formatting the final draft of your paper according to APA guidelines. You may work with an existing document or set up a new document if you choose. Include the following:

• Your title page
• The abstract you created in Note 13.8 “Exercise 1”
• Correct headers and page numbers for your title page and abstract

APA style uses section headings to organize information, making it easy for the reader to follow the writer’s train of thought and to know immediately what major topics are covered. Depending on the length and complexity of the paper, its major sections may also be divided into subsections, sub-subsections, and so on. These smaller sections, in turn, use different heading styles to indicate different levels of information. In essence, you are using headings to create a hierarchy of information.

The following heading styles used in APA formatting are listed in order of greatest to least importance:

• Section headings use centered, boldface type. Headings use title case, with important words in the heading capitalized.
• Subsection headings use left-aligned, boldface type. Headings use title case.
• The third level uses left-aligned, indented, boldface type. Headings use a capital letter only for the first word, and they end in a period.
• The fourth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are boldfaced and italicized.
• The fifth level follows the same style used for the previous level, but the headings are italicized and not boldfaced.

Visually, the hierarchy of information is organized as indicated in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” .

Table 13.1 Section Headings

A college research paper may not use all the heading levels shown in Table 13.1 “Section Headings” , but you are likely to encounter them in academic journal articles that use APA style. For a brief paper, you may find that level 1 headings suffice. Longer or more complex papers may need level 2 headings or other lower-level headings to organize information clearly. Use your outline to craft your major section headings and determine whether any subtopics are substantial enough to require additional levels of headings.

Working with the document you developed in Note 13.11 “Exercise 2” , begin setting up the heading structure of the final draft of your research paper according to APA guidelines. Include your title and at least two to three major section headings, and follow the formatting guidelines provided above. If your major sections should be broken into subsections, add those headings as well. Use your outline to help you.

Because Jorge used only level 1 headings, his Exercise 3 would look like the following:

Citation Guidelines

In-text citations.

Throughout the body of your paper, include a citation whenever you quote or paraphrase material from your research sources. As you learned in Chapter 11 “Writing from Research: What Will I Learn?” , the purpose of citations is twofold: to give credit to others for their ideas and to allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired. Your in-text citations provide basic information about your source; each source you cite will have a longer entry in the references section that provides more detailed information.

In-text citations must provide the name of the author or authors and the year the source was published. (When a given source does not list an individual author, you may provide the source title or the name of the organization that published the material instead.) When directly quoting a source, it is also required that you include the page number where the quote appears in your citation.

This information may be included within the sentence or in a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence, as in these examples.

Epstein (2010) points out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Here, the writer names the source author when introducing the quote and provides the publication date in parentheses after the author’s name. The page number appears in parentheses after the closing quotation marks and before the period that ends the sentence.

Addiction researchers caution that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (Epstein, 2010, p. 137).

Here, the writer provides a parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence that includes the author’s name, the year of publication, and the page number separated by commas. Again, the parenthetical citation is placed after the closing quotation marks and before the period at the end of the sentence.

As noted in the book Junk Food, Junk Science (Epstein, 2010, p. 137), “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive.”

Here, the writer chose to mention the source title in the sentence (an optional piece of information to include) and followed the title with a parenthetical citation. Note that the parenthetical citation is placed before the comma that signals the end of the introductory phrase.

David Epstein’s book Junk Food, Junk Science (2010) pointed out that “junk food cannot be considered addictive in the same way that we think of psychoactive drugs as addictive” (p. 137).

Another variation is to introduce the author and the source title in your sentence and include the publication date and page number in parentheses within the sentence or at the end of the sentence. As long as you have included the essential information, you can choose the option that works best for that particular sentence and source.

Citing a book with a single author is usually a straightforward task. Of course, your research may require that you cite many other types of sources, such as books or articles with more than one author or sources with no individual author listed. You may also need to cite sources available in both print and online and nonprint sources, such as websites and personal interviews. Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.2 “Citing and Referencing Techniques” and Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provide extensive guidelines for citing a variety of source types.

Writing at Work

APA is just one of several different styles with its own guidelines for documentation, formatting, and language usage. Depending on your field of interest, you may be exposed to additional styles, such as the following:

• MLA style. Determined by the Modern Languages Association and used for papers in literature, languages, and other disciplines in the humanities.
• Chicago style. Outlined in the Chicago Manual of Style and sometimes used for papers in the humanities and the sciences; many professional organizations use this style for publications as well.
• Associated Press (AP) style. Used by professional journalists.

References List

The brief citations included in the body of your paper correspond to the more detailed citations provided at the end of the paper in the references section. In-text citations provide basic information—the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number if necessary—while the references section provides more extensive bibliographical information. Again, this information allows your reader to follow up on the sources you cited and do additional reading about the topic if desired.

The specific format of entries in the list of references varies slightly for different source types, but the entries generally include the following information:

• The name(s) of the author(s) or institution that wrote the source
• The year of publication and, where applicable, the exact date of publication
• The full title of the source
• For books, the city of publication
• For articles or essays, the name of the periodical or book in which the article or essay appears
• For magazine and journal articles, the volume number, issue number, and pages where the article appears
• For sources on the web, the URL where the source is located

The references page is double spaced and lists entries in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an entry continues for more than one line, the second line and each subsequent line are indented five spaces. Review the following example. ( Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” provides extensive guidelines for formatting reference entries for different types of sources.)

In APA style, book and article titles are formatted in sentence case, not title case. Sentence case means that only the first word is capitalized, along with any proper nouns.

Key Takeaways

• Following proper citation and formatting guidelines helps writers ensure that their work will be taken seriously, give proper credit to other authors for their work, and provide valuable information to readers.
• Working ahead and taking care to cite sources correctly the first time are ways writers can save time during the editing stage of writing a research paper.
• APA papers usually include an abstract that concisely summarizes the paper.
• APA papers use a specific headings structure to provide a clear hierarchy of information.
• In APA papers, in-text citations usually include the name(s) of the author(s) and the year of publication.
• In-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, which provide detailed bibliographical information about a source.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing the Experimental Report: Overview, Introductions, and Literature Reviews

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Experimental reports (also known as "lab reports") are reports of empirical research conducted by their authors. You should think of an experimental report as a "story" of your research in which you lead your readers through your experiment. As you are telling this story, you are crafting an argument about both the validity and reliability of your research, what your results mean, and how they fit into other previous work.

These next two sections provide an overview of the experimental report in APA format. Always check with your instructor, advisor, or journal editor for specific formatting guidelines.

General-specific-general format

Experimental reports follow a general to specific to general pattern. Your report will start off broadly in your introduction and discussion of the literature; the report narrows as it leads up to your specific hypotheses, methods, and results. Your discussion transitions from talking about your specific results to more general ramifications, future work, and trends relating to your research.

Experimental reports in APA format have a title page. Title page formatting is as follows:

• A running head and page number in the upper right corner (right aligned)
• A definition of running head in IN ALL CAPS below the running head (left aligned)
• Vertically and horizontally centered paper title, followed by author and affiliation

Please see our sample APA title page .

Crafting your story

Before you begin to write, carefully consider your purpose in writing: what is it that you discovered, would like to share, or would like to argue? You can see report writing as crafting a story about your research and your findings. Consider the following.

• What is the story you would like to tell?
• What literature best speaks to that story?
• How do your results tell the story?
• How can you discuss the story in broad terms?

During each section of your paper, you should be focusing on your story. Consider how each sentence, each paragraph, and each section contributes to your overall purpose in writing. Here is a description of one student's process.

Briel is writing an experimental report on her results from her experimental psychology lab class. She was interested in looking at the role gender plays in persuading individuals to take financial risks. After her data analysis, she finds that men are more easily persuaded by women to take financial risks and that men are generally willing to take more financial risks.

When Briel begins to write, she focuses her introduction on financial risk taking and gender, focusing on male behaviors. She then presents relevant literature on financial risk taking and gender that help illuminate her own study, but also help demonstrate the need for her own work. Her introduction ends with a study overview that directly leads from the literature review. Because she has already broadly introduced her study through her introduction and literature review, her readers can anticipate where she is going when she gets to her study overview. Her methods and results continue that story. Finally, her discussion concludes that story, discussing her findings, implications of her work, and the need for more research in the area of gender and financial risk taking.

The abstract gives a concise summary of the contents of the report.

• Abstracts should be brief (about 100 words)
• Abstracts should be self-contained and provide a complete picture of what the study is about
• Abstracts should be organized just like your experimental report—introduction, literature review, methods, results and discussion
• Abstracts should be written last during your drafting stage

Introduction

The introduction in an experimental article should follow a general to specific pattern, where you first introduce the problem generally and then provide a short overview of your own study. The introduction includes three parts: opening statements, literature review, and study overview.

Opening statements: Define the problem broadly in plain English and then lead into the literature review (this is the "general" part of the introduction). Your opening statements should already be setting the stage for the story you are going to tell.

Literature review: Discusses literature (previous studies) relevant to your current study in a concise manner. Keep your story in mind as you organize your lit review and as you choose what literature to include. The following are tips when writing your literature review.

• You should discuss studies that are directly related to your problem at hand and that logically lead to your own hypotheses.
• You do not need to provide a complete historical overview nor provide literature that is peripheral to your own study.
• Studies should be presented based on themes or concepts relevant to your research, not in a chronological format.
• You should also consider what gap in the literature your own research fills. What hasn't been examined? What does your work do that others have not?

Study overview: The literature review should lead directly into the last section of the introduction—your study overview. Your short overview should provide your hypotheses and briefly describe your method. The study overview functions as a transition to your methods section.

You should always give good, descriptive names to your hypotheses that you use consistently throughout your study. When you number hypotheses, readers must go back to your introduction to find them, which makes your piece more difficult to read. Using descriptive names reminds readers what your hypotheses were and allows for better overall flow.

In our example above, Briel had three different hypotheses based on previous literature. Her first hypothesis, the "masculine risk-taking hypothesis" was that men would be more willing to take financial risks overall. She clearly named her hypothesis in the study overview, and then referred back to it in her results and discussion sections.

Thais and Sanford (2000) recommend the following organization for introductions.

• Provide an introduction to your topic
• Provide a very concise overview of the literature
• State your hypotheses and how they connect to the literature
• Provide an overview of the methods for investigation used in your research

Bem (2006) provides the following rules of thumb for writing introductions.

• Write in plain English
• Take the time and space to introduce readers to your problem step-by-step; do not plunge them into the middle of the problem without an introduction
• Use examples to illustrate difficult or unfamiliar theories or concepts. The more complicated the concept or theory, the more important it is to have clear examples
• Open with a discussion about people and their behavior, not about psychologists and their research

APA 7th Edition: Download/Edit APA Paper Template

• Download/Edit APA Paper Template
• Abstract Page
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• Cite a YouTube Video or Website
• Missing Information from Source
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• Sample APA Paper
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Monroe College & APA Style

Monroe college uses  apa 7 style guidelines for all student papers. , you can download our detailed apa 7 formatting tutorial here ., if your instructor's directions conflict with any apa rules, follow the instructor's directions., apa 7th edition template.

• APA 7 Student Paper Template (.docx) Download this 7th-edition template, and use it to format your APA-style Research Paper. Simply download and save a new copy of the document and paste the contents of your paper into the appropriate fields within the template.
• APA 7 Paper Template WITH ABSTRACT This version of the template includes the ABSTRACT page. Ask your instructor whether the Abstract is required for your paper.
• APA 7 Student Paper Template PDF

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What is Applied Research? Definition, Types, Examples

Appinio Research · 10.01.2024 · 35min read

Ever wondered how groundbreaking solutions to real-world challenges are developed, or how innovations come to life? Applied research holds the key. In this guide, we will delve deep into the world of applied research, uncovering its principles, methodologies, and real-world impact.  From harnessing cutting-edge technology to address healthcare crises to revolutionizing industries through data-driven insights, we'll explore the diverse domains where applied research thrives.

What is Applied Research?

Applied research is a systematic and organized inquiry aimed at solving specific real-world problems or improving existing practices, products, or services. Unlike basic research, which focuses on expanding general knowledge, applied research is all about using existing knowledge to address practical issues.

The primary purpose of applied research is to generate actionable insights and solutions that have a direct impact on practical situations. It seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice by taking existing knowledge and applying it in real-world contexts. Applied research is driven by the need to address specific challenges, make informed decisions, and drive innovation in various domains.

Importance of Applied Research

Applied research holds immense significance across various fields and industries. Here's a list of reasons why applied research is crucial:

• Problem Solving:  Applied research provides effective solutions to real-world problems, improving processes, products, and services.
• Innovation:  It drives innovation by identifying opportunities for enhancement and developing practical solutions.
• Evidence-Based Decision-Making:  Policymakers and decision-makers rely on applied research findings to make informed choices and shape effective policies.
• Competitive Advantage:  In business, applied research can lead to improved products, increased efficiency, and a competitive edge in the market.
• Social Impact:  Applied research contributes to solving societal issues, from healthcare improvements to environmental sustainability.
• Technological Advancement:  In technology and engineering, it fuels advancements by applying scientific knowledge to practical applications.

Applied Research vs. Basic Research

Applied research differs from basic research in several key ways:

• Objectives:  Applied research aims to address specific practical problems or improve existing processes, while basic research seeks to expand general knowledge.
• Focus:  Applied research focuses on solving real-world challenges, whereas basic research explores fundamental principles and concepts.
• Applicability:  Applied research findings are directly applicable to practical situations, while basic research often lacks immediate practical applications.
• Immediate Impact:  Applied research has a more immediate impact on solving problems and improving practices, whereas basic research may have longer-term or indirect effects on knowledge and innovation.
• Research Questions:  Applied research formulates research questions related to practical issues, while basic research poses questions to explore theoretical or fundamental concepts.

Understanding these distinctions is essential for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders in various fields, as it guides the choice of research approach and the expected outcomes of a research endeavor.

Types of Applied Research

Applied research encompasses various types, each tailored to specific objectives and domains. Understanding these types is essential for choosing the right approach to address real-world problems effectively. Here are some common types of applied research, each with its distinct focus and methodologies.

Evaluation Research

Purpose:  Evaluation research assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of programs, interventions, or policies. It aims to determine whether these initiatives meet their intended goals and objectives.

Methodology:  Researchers employ a range of quantitative and qualitative methods , including surveys, interviews, observations, and data analysis, to evaluate the outcomes and outcomes of programs or interventions.

Example:  Evaluating the impact of a public health campaign aimed at reducing smoking rates by analyzing pre- and post-campaign survey data on smoking habits and attitudes.

Action Research

Purpose:  Action research focuses on solving practical problems within a specific organizational or community context. It involves collaboration between researchers and practitioners to implement and assess solutions.

Methodology:  Action research is iterative and participatory, with researchers and stakeholders working together to identify problems, develop interventions, and assess their effectiveness. It often involves cycles of planning, action, reflection, and adjustment.

Example:  Teachers collaborating with researchers to improve classroom teaching methods and student outcomes by implementing and refining innovative teaching strategies.

Case Study Research

Purpose:   Case study research investigates a particular individual, organization, or situation in-depth to gain a comprehensive understanding of a specific phenomenon or issue.

Methodology:  Researchers collect and analyze a wealth of data, which may include interviews, documents, observations, and archival records. The goal is to provide a detailed and context-rich description of the case.

Example:  A detailed examination of a successful startup company's growth strategies and challenges, offering insights into factors contributing to its success.

Applied Experimental Research

Purpose:  Applied experimental research seeks to establish causal relationships between variables by manipulating one or more factors and observing their impact on outcomes. It helps determine cause-and-effect relationships in real-world settings.

Methodology:  Researchers conduct controlled experiments, similar to those in basic research, but within practical contexts. They manipulate variables and use statistical analysis to assess their effects on specific outcomes.

Example:  Testing the impact of different website designs on user engagement and conversion rates by randomly assigning visitors to various design versions and measuring their interactions.

Survey Research

Purpose:   Survey research involves collecting data from a sample of individuals or organizations to understand their opinions, attitudes, behaviors, or characteristics. It is commonly used to gather quantitative data on specific topics.

Methodology:  Researchers design surveys with carefully crafted questions and administer them to a representative sample of the target population . Statistical analysis is used to draw conclusions based on survey responses.

Example:  Conducting a national survey to assess public sentiment and preferences on environmental conservation initiatives and policies.

These types of applied research provide a framework for approaching real-world challenges systematically. Researchers can choose the most appropriate type based on their research goals, objectives, and the nature of the problem or phenomenon they seek to address. By selecting the right approach, applied researchers can generate valuable insights and practical solutions in various fields and disciplines.

How to Prepare for Applied Research?

In the preparatory phase of your applied research journey, you'll lay the groundwork for a successful study. This phase involves a series of crucial steps that will shape the direction and ethics of your research project.

Identifying Research Questions

One of the key starting points for any applied research endeavor is identifying the right research questions. Your research questions should be clear, specific, and directly related to the problem or issue you aim to address.

• Engage with Stakeholders:  Reach out to individuals or groups who are affected by or have an interest in the issue you're researching. Their perspectives can help you formulate relevant questions.
• Consider Feasibility:  Ensure that your research questions are feasible within your available resources, including time, budget, and access to data or participants.
• Prioritize Impact:  Focus on questions that have the potential to create meaningful change or provide valuable insights in your chosen field.

Formulating Hypotheses

Hypotheses serve as the guiding stars of your research, providing a clear direction for your investigation. Formulating hypotheses is a critical step that sets the stage for testing and validating your ideas.

• Testable Predictions:  Your hypotheses should be testable and capable of being proven or disproven through empirical research.
• Informed by Literature:  Base your hypotheses on existing knowledge and insights gained from the literature review. They should build upon what is already known and aim to expand that knowledge.
• Clarity and Precision:  Write your hypotheses in a clear and precise manner, specifying the expected relationship or outcome you intend to explore.

Literature Review

Conducting a thorough literature review is like embarking on a treasure hunt through existing knowledge in your field. It's a comprehensive exploration of what other researchers have already discovered and what gaps in knowledge still exist.

• Search Strategies:  Utilize academic databases, journals, books, and credible online sources to search for relevant literature.
• Analyze Existing Research:  Examine the findings, methodologies, and conclusions of previous studies related to your research topic.
• Identify Research Gaps:  Look for areas where current knowledge is insufficient or contradictory. These gaps will be the foundation for your own research.

Data Collection Methods

Selecting the proper data collection methods is crucial to gather the information needed to address your research questions. The choice of methods will depend on the nature of your research and the type of data you require.

• Quantitative vs. Qualitative:  Decide whether you will collect numerical data (quantitative) or focus on descriptive insights and narratives (qualitative).
• Survey Design :  If surveys are part of your data collection plan, carefully design questions that are clear, unbiased, and aligned with your research goals.
• Sampling Strategies:  Determine how you will select participants or data points to ensure representativeness and reliability.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are at the heart of responsible research. Ensuring that your study is conducted ethically and with integrity is paramount.

• Informed Consent:  Obtain informed consent from participants, ensuring they understand the purpose of the research, potential risks, and their right to withdraw at any time.
• Confidentiality:  Safeguard participants' personal information and ensure their anonymity when reporting findings.
• Minimizing Harm:  Take measures to mitigate any physical or emotional harm that participants may experience during the research process.
• Ethical Reporting:  Accurately represent your research findings, avoiding manipulation or selective reporting that may mislead readers or stakeholders.

By diligently addressing these aspects of research preparation, you are building a solid foundation for your applied research project, setting the stage for effective data collection and meaningful analysis in the subsequent phases of your study.

How to Design Your Research Study?

When it comes to applied research, the design of your study is paramount. It shapes the entire research process, from data collection to analysis and interpretation. In this section, we will explore the various elements that make up the foundation of your research design.

Research Design Types

Your choice of research design is like selecting the blueprint for your research project. Different research design types offer unique advantages and are suited for different research questions. Here are some common research design types:

• Experimental Design :  In this design, researchers manipulate one or more variables to observe their impact on outcomes. It allows for causal inference but may not always be feasible in applied research due to ethical or practical constraints.
• Descriptive Design:  This design aims to describe a phenomenon or population without manipulating variables. It is often used when researchers want to provide a snapshot of a situation or gain insights into a specific context.
• Correlational Design :  In this design, researchers examine relationships between variables without manipulating them. It helps identify associations but does not establish causation.
• Longitudinal Design :   Longitudinal studies involve collecting data from the same subjects over an extended period. They are valuable for tracking changes or developments over time.
• Cross-Sectional Design :  This design involves data collection from a diverse group of subjects at a single point in time. It's helpful in studying differences or variations among groups.

Sampling Methods

Sampling methods determine who or what will be included in your study. The choice of sampling method has a significant impact on the generalizability of your findings. Here are some standard sampling methods:

• Random Sampling:  This method involves selecting participants or data points entirely at random from the population. It ensures every element has an equal chance of being included, which enhances representativeness .
• Stratified Sampling:  In stratified sampling, the population is divided into subgroups or strata, and then random samples are drawn from each stratum. This method ensures that each subgroup is adequately represented.
• Convenience Sampling:  Researchers choose subjects or data points that are readily available and accessible. While convenient, this method may lead to sampling bias as it may not accurately represent the entire population.
• Purposive Sampling:  In purposive sampling, researchers deliberately select specific individuals or groups based on their expertise, experience, or relevance to the research topic. It is often used when seeking specialized knowledge.

Data Collection Tools

Selecting the right data collection tools is essential to gather accurate and relevant information. Your choice of tools will depend on the research design and objectives. Standard data collection tools include:

• Questionnaires and Surveys:  These structured instruments use standardized questions to gather data from participants. They are suitable for collecting large amounts of quantitative data.
• Interviews:   Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. They provide an opportunity to gather in-depth, qualitative insights from participants.
• Observation:  Direct observation involves systematically watching and recording behaviors or events. It's valuable for studying behaviors or phenomena in their natural context.
• Secondary Data :  Researchers can also utilize existing data sources, such as government reports, databases, or historical records, for their research.

Variables and Measurement

Defining variables and choosing appropriate measurement methods is crucial for ensuring the reliability and validity of your research. Variables are characteristics, phenomena, or factors that can change or vary in your study. They can be categorized into:

• Independent Variables:  These are the variables you manipulate or control in your study to observe their effects on other variables.
• Dependent Variables:  These are the variables you measure to assess the impact of the independent variables.

Choosing the right measurement techniques, scales, or instruments is essential to accurately quantify variables and collect valid data. It's crucial to establish clear operational definitions for each variable to ensure consistency in measurement.

Data Analysis Techniques

Once you have collected your data, the next step is to analyze it effectively. Data analysis involves:

• Data Cleaning:  Removing any errors, inconsistencies, or outliers from your dataset to ensure data quality.
• Statistical Analysis :  Depending on your research design and data type, you may use various statistical techniques such as regression analysis , t-tests, ANOVA, or chi-square tests.
• Qualitative Analysis:  For qualitative data, techniques like thematic analysis, content analysis, or discourse analysis help uncover patterns and themes.
• Data Visualization:  Using graphs, charts, and visual representations to present your data effectively.

Chi-Square Calculator :

t-Test Calculator :

One-way ANOVA Calculator :

Selecting the appropriate analysis techniques depends on your research questions, data type, and objectives. Proper data analysis is crucial for drawing meaningful conclusions and insights from your research.

With a solid understanding of research design, sampling methods, data collection tools, variables, and measurement, you are well-equipped to embark on your applied research journey. These elements lay the groundwork for collecting valuable data and conducting meaningful analyses in the subsequent phases of your study.

How to Conduct Applied Research?

Now that you've prepared and designed your research study, it's time to delve into the practical aspects of conducting applied research. This phase involves the execution of your research plan, from collecting data to drawing meaningful conclusions. Let's explore the critical components in this stage.

Data Collection Phase

The data collection phase is where your research plan comes to life. It's a crucial step that requires precision and attention to detail to ensure the quality and reliability of your data.

• Implement Data Collection Methods:   Execute the data collection methods you've chosen, whether they involve surveys, interviews, observations, or the analysis of existing datasets.
• Maintain Consistency:  Ensure that data collection is carried out consistently according to your research design and protocols. Minimize any variations or deviations that may introduce bias .
• Document the Process:  Keep thorough records of the data collection process. Note any challenges, unexpected occurrences, or deviations from your original plan. Documentation is essential for transparency and replication.
• Quality Assurance:  Continuously monitor the quality of the data you collect. Check for errors, missing information, or outliers. Implement data validation and cleaning procedures to address any issues promptly.
• Participant Engagement:  If your research involves human participants, maintain open and respectful communication with them. Address any questions or concerns and ensure participants' comfort and willingness to participate.

Data Analysis Phase

Once you've collected your data, it's time to make sense of the information you've gathered. The data analysis phase involves transforming raw data into meaningful insights and patterns.

• Data Preparation:  Start by organizing and cleaning your data. This includes dealing with missing values, outliers, and ensuring data consistency.
• Selecting Analysis Methods:  Depending on your research design and data type, choose the appropriate statistical or qualitative analysis methods. Common techniques include regression analysis , content analysis, or thematic coding .
• Conducting Analysis:  Perform the chosen analysis systematically and according to established protocols. Ensure that your analysis is reproducible by documenting every step.
• Interpreting Results:  Interpretation involves making sense of your findings in the context of your research questions and hypotheses. Consider the statistical significance of the results and any practical implications they may have.
• Visualization:  Create visual representations of your data, such as graphs, charts, or tables, to convey your findings effectively. Visualizations make complex data more accessible to a broader audience.

Interpretation of Results

Interpreting research results is a critical step that bridges the gap between data analysis and drawing conclusions. This process involves making sense of the patterns and insights that emerge from your analysis.

• Relate to Hypotheses:  Determine whether your results support or refute your hypotheses. Be prepared to explain any unexpected findings.
• Contextualize Findings:  Consider the broader context in which your research takes place. How do your results fit into the larger body of knowledge in your field?
• Identify Patterns :  Highlight significant trends, correlations, or relationships you've uncovered. Discuss their practical implications and relevance.
• Acknowledge Limitations:  Be transparent about any limitations in your study that may affect the interpretation of results. This includes sample size, data quality, and potential biases.

Drawing Conclusions

Drawing conclusions is the ultimate goal of your research. It involves synthesizing your findings and answering the research questions you initially posed.

• Answer Research Questions:  Explicitly address the research questions you formulated at the beginning of your study. State whether your findings confirm or challenge your initial hypotheses.
• Highlight Insights:  Emphasize the key insights and contributions of your research. Discuss the practical implications of your findings and their relevance to the field.
• Recommend Actions:  Based on your conclusions, suggest practical steps, recommendations, or future research directions. How can your research contribute to addressing the problem or challenge you investigated?
• Consider Implications:  Reflect on the broader implications of your research for stakeholders, policymakers, or practitioners in your field.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

During the data collection, analysis, interpretation, and conclusion-drawing phases, it's essential to be aware of common pitfalls that can affect the quality and integrity of your research.

• Sampling Bias :  Ensure that your sample is representative of the population you intend to study. Address any bias that may have been introduced during data collection.
• Data Manipulation:  Avoid manipulating or selectively reporting data to fit preconceived notions. Maintain transparency in your analysis and reporting.
• Overinterpretation:  Be cautious of drawing overly broad conclusions based on limited data. Acknowledge the limitations of your study.
• Ignoring Ethical Considerations:  Continuously uphold ethical standards in your research, from data collection to reporting. Protect participants' rights and privacy.
• Lack of Validation:  Ensure that the methods and tools you use for data collection and analysis are valid and reliable. Validation helps establish the credibility of your findings.

By navigating the data collection, analysis, interpretation, and conclusion-drawing phases with care and attention to detail, you'll be well-prepared to confidently share your research findings and contribute to advancing knowledge in your field.

How to Report Applied Research Results?

Now that you've conducted your applied research and drawn meaningful conclusions, it's time to share your insights with the world. Effective reporting and communication are crucial to ensure that your research has a real impact and contributes to the broader knowledge base.

Writing Research Reports

Writing a comprehensive research report is the cornerstone of communicating your findings. It provides a detailed account of your research process, results, and conclusions. Here's what you need to consider:

Structure of a Research Report

• Title:  Create a concise, informative title that reflects the essence of your research.
• Abstract:  Summarize your research in a clear and concise manner, highlighting key objectives, methods, results, and conclusions.
• Introduction:  Provide an overview of your research topic, objectives, significance, and research questions.
• Literature Review:  Summarize relevant literature and identify gaps in existing knowledge that your research addresses.
• Methodology:  Describe your research design, sampling methods, data collection tools, and data analysis techniques.
• Results:  Present your findings using tables, charts, and narratives. Be transparent and objective in reporting your results.
• Discussion:  Interpret your results, discuss their implications, and relate them to your research questions and hypotheses.
• Conclusion:  Summarize your main findings, their significance, and the implications for future research or practical applications.
• References:  Cite all sources and studies you referenced in your report using a consistent citation style (e.g., APA, MLA).

Writing Tips

• Use clear and concise language, avoiding jargon or overly technical terms.
• Organize your report logically, with headings and subheadings for easy navigation.
• Provide evidence and data to support your claims and conclusions.
• Consider your target audience and tailor the report to their level of expertise and interest.

Creating Visualizations

Visualizations are powerful tools for conveying complex data and making your research findings more accessible. Here are some types of visualizations commonly used in research reports:

Charts and Graphs

• Bar Charts:  Ideal for comparing categories or groups.
• Line Charts:  Effective for showing trends or changes over time.
• Pie Charts:  Useful for displaying proportions or percentages.
• Data Tables:  Present numerical data in an organized format.
• Cross-tabulations:  Show relationships between variables.

Diagrams and Maps

• Flowcharts:  Visualize processes or workflows.
• Concept Maps:  Illustrate connections between concepts.
• Geographic Maps:  Display spatial data and patterns.

When creating visualizations:

• Choose the correct type of visualization for your data and research questions.
• Ensure that visualizations are labeled, clear, and easy to understand.
• Provide context and explanations to help readers interpret the visuals.

Presenting Your Research

Presenting your research to an audience is an opportunity to engage, educate, and inspire. Whether it's through a conference presentation, seminar, or webinar, effective communication is vital.

• Know Your Audience:  Tailor your presentation to the interests and expertise of your audience.
• Practice:  Rehearse your presentation to ensure a smooth delivery and confident demeanor.
• Use Visual Aids:  Enhance your presentation with visual aids such as slides, images, or videos.
• Engage with Questions:  Encourage questions and discussions to foster interaction and clarify points.
• Stay within Time Limits:  Respect time constraints and stay on schedule.

Peer Review Process

Before your research is published, it typically undergoes a peer review process. This involves experts in your field evaluating the quality, validity, and significance of your work. The peer review process aims to ensure the integrity and credibility of your research.

• Submission:  Submit your research manuscript to a journal or conference for review.
• Editorial Review:  The editorial team assesses your submission's fit with the journal's scope and may conduct an initial review for quality and compliance.
• Peer Review:  Your manuscript is sent to peer reviewers who evaluate it for methodology, validity, significance, and adherence to ethical standards.
• Feedback and Revision:  Based on reviewers' feedback, you may be asked to revise and improve your research.
• Acceptance or Rejection:  After revisions, the manuscript is reevaluated, and a decision is made regarding publication.

Publishing Your Research

Publishing your research is the final step in sharing your findings with the broader scientific community. It allows others to access and build upon your work. Consider the following when choosing where to publish:

• Journal Selection:  Choose a reputable journal that aligns with your research field and target audience.
• Review Process:  Understand the journal's peer review process and requirements for submission.
• Open Access:  Consider whether you want your research to be open access, freely accessible to all.

Once published, actively promote your research through academic networks, conferences, and social media to maximize its reach and impact.

By effectively reporting and communicating your research findings, you contribute to the advancement of knowledge, inspire others, and ensure that your hard work has a meaningful impact on your field and beyond.

Applied Research Examples

To provide a deeper understanding of applied research's impact and relevance, let's delve into specific real-world examples that demonstrate how this type of research has addressed pressing challenges and improved our lives in tangible ways.

Applied Medical Research: mRNA Vaccines

Example:  mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine technology, exemplified by the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, is a remarkable achievement in the field of applied medical research.

Applied researchers in this domain utilized mRNA technology to create vaccines that provide immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Unlike traditional vaccines, which use weakened or inactivated viruses, mRNA vaccines instruct cells to produce a harmless spike protein found on the virus's surface. The immune system then recognizes this protein and mounts a defense, preparing the body to combat the actual virus.

Impact:  The rapid development and deployment of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic have been groundbreaking. They've played a crucial role in controlling the spread of the virus and saving countless lives worldwide. This example underscores how applied research can revolutionize healthcare and respond swiftly to global health crises.

Environmental Science and Applied Research: Ocean Cleanup

Example:  The Ocean Cleanup Project, founded by Boyan Slat, is an ambitious endeavor rooted in applied research to combat plastic pollution in the world's oceans.

This project employs innovative technology, such as large-scale floating barriers and autonomous systems, to collect and remove plastic debris from the ocean. Applied researchers have played a pivotal role in designing, testing, and optimizing these systems to make them efficient and environmentally friendly.

Impact:  The Ocean Cleanup Project is a testament to the power of applied research in addressing pressing environmental challenges. By removing plastic waste from the oceans, it mitigates harm to marine ecosystems and raises awareness about the urgent need for sustainable waste management.

Business and Applied Research: E-commerce Personalization

Example:   E-commerce giants like Amazon and Netflix use applied research to develop sophisticated personalization algorithms that tailor product recommendations and content to individual users.

Applied researchers in data science and machine learning analyze user behavior, preferences, and historical data to create recommendation systems. These algorithms utilize predictive analytics to suggest products, movies, or shows that align with a user's interests.

Impact:  The application of research-driven personalization has transformed the e-commerce and streaming industries. It enhances user experiences, increases customer engagement, and drives sales by presenting customers with products or content they are more likely to enjoy.

Agriculture and Applied Research: Precision Agriculture

Example:  Precision agriculture employs data-driven technology and applied research to optimize farming practices.

Farmers utilize satellite imagery, sensors, and data analytics to monitor crop conditions, soil health, and weather patterns. Applied research guides the development of precision farming techniques, enabling more efficient resource allocation and reducing environmental impact.

Impact:  Precision agriculture increases crop yields, conserves resources (such as water and fertilizer), and minimizes the ecological footprint of farming. This approach contributes to sustainable and economically viable agriculture.

These real-world examples underscore the versatility and impact of applied research across diverse domains. From healthcare and environmental conservation to business, education, and agriculture, applied research continually drives innovation, addresses critical challenges, and enhances the quality of life for individuals and communities worldwide.

Conclusion for Applied Research

Applied research is a powerful force for solving real-world problems and driving progress. By applying existing knowledge and innovative thinking, we can address healthcare challenges, protect our environment, improve businesses, enhance education, and revolutionize agriculture. Through this guide, you've gained valuable insights into the what, why, and how of applied research, unlocking the potential to make a positive impact in your field. So, go forth, conduct meaningful research, and be part of the solution to the world's most pressing issues. Remember, applied research is not just a concept; it's a practical approach that empowers individuals and teams to create solutions that matter. As you embark on your own applied research endeavors, keep the spirit of inquiry alive, remain open to new ideas, and never underestimate the transformative power of knowledge put into action.

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• What is Applied Research? + [Types, Examples & Method]

Every research begins with a clear delineation of the purpose of the investigation as this goes a long way to determine the research process or methodology adopted. In this sense, a researcher may choose to carry out basic research or applied research. 

Applied research is set on providing answers to specific questions in a bid to provide a solution to a defined problem. In this article, we will outline the features of this method of systematic investigation as well as how it differs from other approaches to research. 

What is Applied Research?

Applied research is a type of research design that seeks to solve a specific problem or provide innovative solutions to issues affecting an individual, group or society. It is often referred to as a scientific method of inquiry or contractual research because it involves the practical application of scientific methods to everyday problems. 

When conducting applied research, the researcher takes extra care to identify a problem, develop a research hypothesis and goes ahead to test these hypotheses via an experiment. In many cases, this research approach employs empirical methods in order to solve practical problems. 

Applied research is sometimes considered to be a non-systematic inquiry because  of its direct approach in  seeking a solution to a problem. It is typically a follow-up research design that further investigates the findings of pure or basic research in order to validate these findings and apply them to create innovative solutions.     

Types of Applied Research

There are 3 types of applied research. These are evaluation research, research and development, and action research.

• Evaluation Research

Evaluation research is a type of applied research that analyses existing information about a research subject to arrive at objective research outcomes or reach informed decisions. This type of applied research is mostly applied in business contexts, for example, an organisation may adopt evaluation research to determine how to cut down  overhead costs.

• Research and Development

Research and development is a type of applied research that is focused on developing new products and services based on the needs of target markets. It focuses on gathering information about marketing needs and finding ways to improve on an existing product or create new products that satisfy the identified needs.

• Action Research

Action research is a type of applied research that is set on providing practical solutions to specific business problems by pointing the business in the right directions. Typically, action research is a process of reflective inquiry that is limited to specific contexts and situational in nature.

Examples of Applied Research 

Applied research is relevant in different fields of study; especially science and social science-related fields. Examples of applied research can be seen in medicine, education, business, engineering, psychology and health, and these would be further explicated below. 

Applied Research Example in Business

Applied research is used in business to build knowledge and develop product solutions. It enables organisations to identify the peculiar needs of target markets and this would help them to create different business strategies that would allow them to satisfy these needs. 

In addition, conducting contractual research would help business owners to get insightful feedback on product gaps that may have, otherwise, been ignored. This is a great way to get first-hand information on target market reactions which can inform brand decisions. 

Applied research also helps employers of labour to identify and address the productivity needs of their workforce. For instance, an organization may carry out applied research in order to measure the effectiveness of its recruitment practices or of its organisational structure. 

• Applied research to improve an organization’s hiring process.
• Applied research to improve workplace efficiency and organizational policies.
• Applied research to bridge skill gaps in the workplace.

Applied Research Examples in Education  

In education, applied research is used to test pedagogic processes in order to discover the best teaching and learning methods. It is also used to test educational policies before implementation and to address different issues associated with teaching paradigms and classroom dynamics for a better learning experience. 

Educational applied research attempts solving a problem by gathering data from primary sources using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. This data serves as empirical evidence which is then subjected to rigorous analysis and description in order to arrive at valid conclusions.

The goal of this research methodology is to determine the applicability of educational theory and principles by way of subjecting hypotheses to experimentation within specific settings. Applied research in education is also more utilitarian as it gathers practical evidence that can inform pragmatic solutions to problems. 

Characteristics of Applied Research in Education 

• It clearly highlights generalizations and hypotheses that inform the research findings.
• It relies on empirical evidence.
• It is set at providing solutions to a defined problem.
• It requires accurate observation and description.
• A study into the way to improve teacher-learner classroom engagements.
• A study into the way to improve a school’s readiness for its students.
• A study to build students’ interests in Mathematics.

Applied Research Example in Science

In itself, applied research is a scientific method of investigation because it applies existing scientific knowledge to practical situations. It is useful in different fields including thermodynamics, physics, material sciences and microbiology. 

Examples of applied research in science include the following: 

• Applied research to improve agricultural crop production
• Applied research to treat or cure a specific disease.

Applied Research Examples in Psychology  

There are different reasons psychologists would make use of applied research in the course of their work. In many cases, industrial-psychologists concerned with workplace behavior, human resources and organisational development combine psychological principles with applied research to proffer solutions. 

Examples of applied research in psychology include:

• Applied research to improve workplace commitment by arriving at practical worker-motivation strategies.
• Investigating treatment and management options for anxiety and panic attacks.
• Investigating factors that improve worker’s productivity.

Applied Research Example in Health   

In health and medical sciences, applied research serves as the background to evidence-based and solution-oriented medicine. It effectively merges scientific knowledge and methods with health experiences in order to arrive at accurate and verifiable results; using empirical research data or evidence. 

The adaptation of applied research to medicine is referred to as applied clinical research . Many health and medical practitioners use applied research to measure the extent to which the findings of basic or pure research can be adopted or modified into a solution-oriented approach.

Examples of applied research in health include:

• An investigation to identify the healing properties of a specific herb.
• An investigation to identify the side effects of using a particular drug.

APPLIED RESEARCH METHODS

Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods are used in applied research to gather empirical evidence that is further subjected to experimentation in order to arrive at valid research outcomes. The following are data collection methods in applied research:

An interview is a qualitative method of data collection that involves having a one-on-one interaction or discussion with the research subjects in order to gather relevant information that can serve as empirical data. It can be conducted with the use of an audio recorder, digital camera or camcorder.

Even though it is time-consuming and expensive, interviews allow the researcher to gather the most relevant data which gives him or her in-depth knowledge about the research subjects. An interview may be structured, semi-structured or unstructured; depending on the research purpose. 

• Surveys/Questionnaires

A questionnaire is an instrument that is typically used for quantitative data gathering . It outlines a series of questions relating to the research context and requires the research subjects to choose or provide responses that reflect their knowledge and experiences.

There are different types of questions that can be contained in a questionnaire including rating scale question s, close and open-ended questions and fixed alternatives. You can create and administer your applied research survey using data-collection platforms like Formplus . 

You can also start choosing from our over 200 online survey/questionnaire templates.

Here is a step-by-step guide on  how to create and administer questionnaires for applied research using Formplus

Sign in to Formplus

In the Formplus builder, you can easily create different questionnaires for applied research by dragging and dropping preferred fields into your form. To access the Formplus builder, you will need to create an account on Formplus. 

Once you do this, sign in to your account and click on “Create Form ” to begin.

Edit Form Title

Click on the field provided to input your form title, for example, “Applied Research Questionnaire”.

Click on the edit button to edit the form.

i. Add Fields: Drag and drop preferred form fields into your form in the Formplus builder inputs column. There are several field input options for questionnaires in the Formplus builder. 

ii. Edit fields

iii. Click on “Save”

iv. Preview form. 

Form Customization

With the form customization options in the form builder, you can easily improve on the appearance of your questionnaire and make it more unique and personalized. Formplus allows you to change your form theme, add background images and even change the font according to your needs. 

Multiple Sharing Options

Formplus also provides multiple form sharing options which enables you to easily share your questionnaire with respondents. With the direct social media sharing buttons, you can swiftly share your applied research questionnaire link to your organization’s social media pages. 

You can send out your questionnaire as email invitations to your research subjects too. Formplus also allows you to share your form’s QR code or embed it in your organization’s website for easy access. 

• Data Reporting

The process of gathering useful information about a research subject which can be used for further research. This can be done through not-for-profit reports, newspapers, website articles and hospital records.

It helps you  gather relevant data that results in more insightful decisions.  However, it is susceptible to bias because the information can easily be exaggerated by the individual or group collecting the data. 

• Observation

A type of data gathering method in applied research that requires the researcher to pay close attention to a subject (s) in order to gather useful information about it. Although bias may arise with this method, observation is widely considered as a universally accepted research practice.

Observation helps the researcher to gather empirical data and thus, it is the starting point for the formulation of a hypothesis. There are different techniques for observation including complete observer, complete participant, participant as observer and observer as participant. 

• Focus Groups

A focus group is a type of qualitative data collection process that allows the researcher to gather information about the disposition, feelings and opinions of the research subjects about a specific issue.

Here, the researcher engages a group comprising 6-10 individuals with a range of open-ended questions with the aim of gathering feedback about their emotional disposition to the issue at hand. This method is cost-effective compared to one-on-one interviews, and the information obtained is insightful and detailed. 

How is Applied Research Different from Basic Research?

Applied research and basic research are common methods of inquiry, based on purpose or utility. However, there are key differences between these 2 research approaches and these would be clearly outlined below: 

Applied research is a type of research that is aimed at the practical application of science in order to solve practical problems. On the other hand, basic research is a type of research that is aimed at expanding knowledge rather than solving problems. 

Basic research is theoretical in nature while applied research is practical and descriptive in nature. Basic research explores and generates theories that may be abstract while applied research tests these theories in order to solve a problem. 

Basic research is universal while applied research is limited. Basic research can focus on diverse or multiple contexts while applied research focuses on specific contexts with the aim of providing a solution to an identified problem. 

Applied research is focused on providing answers or solutions to a specific research question while basic research focuses on multiple concepts at the same time in its quest to expand knowledge. 

• Applied research pays attention to external validity while basic research is more focused on internal validity .

Characteristics of Applied Research 

• Applied research is solution-specific and it addresses practical problems. Unlike basic research that is aimed at theorizing and expanding knowledge, applied research focuses on addressing a particular problem using a range of science-based approaches.
• Applied research is descriptive in nature as it arrives at solutions by experimenting on empirical evidence and describing research outcomes.
• Usually, applied research tests theories arrived at by pure research in order to determine the usefulness of these theories in solving practical problems.
• It describes the relationship between research variables by measuring the characteristics of dependent and independent variables.
• Applied research relies on empirical evidence in order to arrive at valid research outcomes.
• It is not theoretical and it is not directly concerned with the expansion of knowledge.
• Applied research is synthetic in nature.
• It is aimed at the cost-effective reduction of social problems.
• Applied research is action-oriented.

Advantages of Applied Research

• Validity: Applied research is unbiased in nature because it tests empirical evidence in order to arrive at valid research outcomes. It employs carefully mapped-out procedures, and this makes it a more valid research approach.
• It is useful in solving specific problems. It helps individuals and organizations to find solutions to specific problems.

Disadvantages of Applied Research 

• It is not flexible in nature as it is restricted to a stipulated deadline.
• Applied research is limited in nature and it cannot be generalized. In other words, the findings from applied research cannot be generalized.

Conclusion 

Applied research is an important research approach because it helps organisations to arrive at practical solutions to specific problems while improving their productivity and output. Unlike basic research that focuses on generating theories that explain phenomena, applied research pays attention to describing empirical evidence with the aim of providing solutions. 

In carrying out applied research, the researcher combines a number of qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods including questionnaires, observation methods, and interviews. This helps the researcher to gather empirical evidence that is then subjected to experimentation depending on the type of applied research and the overall focus. 

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• Research paper

How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

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The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

Scribbr’s professional editors can help with the revision process with our award-winning proofreading services.

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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25 Applied Research Examples

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Applied research is research intended to solve specific and practical problems faced by the researcher and their shareholders.

Grimsgaard (2023) defines it below:

“Applied research tends to drill down more toward solving specific problems that affect people in the here and now.”

It is contrasted to basic research , which is research for its own sake. Bentley, Gulbrandsen and Kyvik (2015) define basic research as “research undertaken with a primary purpose of the advancement of knowledge for its own sake.”

The key benefit of applied research is that it helps solve problems in the real world – it is the embodiment of the concept of ‘invention is the mother of invention. But if we only did applied research, we wouldn’t achieve any of the blue skies breakthroughs that are achieved through basis research.

In fact, applied research often follows up from basic research, finding ways to apply that basic research to real-life needs in society.

Applied Research Examples

• Medicine: Development of a new vaccine to combat a specific viral strain.
• Computer Science: Creating an algorithm to enhance image recognition in smartphones.
• Agriculture: Introducing a genetically modified crop variety to improve yield and pest resistance.
• Psychology: Implementing cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques to treat anxiety disorders.
• Environmental Science: Designing a method to purify water using solar energy in remote areas.
• Engineering: Developing a more efficient and lightweight battery for electric cars.
• Education: Evaluating the effectiveness of online teaching methods on student performance.
• Economics: Assessing the impact of a new taxation policy on consumer spending.
• Sociology: Creating community programs based on studies of urban youth engagement.
• Architecture: Designing earthquake-resistant buildings based on geological research.
• Nutrition: Formulating a diet plan to mitigate the effects of type 2 diabetes.
• Linguistics: Developing language learning apps based on cognitive linguistics research.
• Sports Science: Designing a training regimen to enhance the performance of long-distance runners.
• Marketing: Analyzing consumer behavior to optimize product placement in retail stores.
• Geology: Creating risk assessment tools for communities near active volcanoes.
• Transportation: Designing an urban transportation system based on traffic flow research.
• Marine Biology: Establishing sustainable fishing guidelines based on studies of fish populations.
• Chemistry: Developing a new drug formulation for faster pain relief.
• Physics: Creating more efficient solar panels based on the study of photovoltaic materials.
• Communication Studies: Implementing crisis communication strategies for corporations based on media research.
• Aerospace Engineering: Designing a new airplane wing for reduced fuel consumption.
• Biotechnology: Producing biofuels from algae after studying their growth and energy properties.
• Musicology: Enhancing acoustics in concert halls based on sound wave research.
• Pharmacology: Testing a new drug to treat a rare form of cancer.
• Urban Planning: Designing green spaces in cities based on studies of residents’ mental well-being.

Case Studies

1. the invention of the internet.

One of the most celebrated examples of applied research leading to a groundbreaking invention is the development of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tim Berners-Lee, a British engineer and computer scientist, was working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. His task was to find a way to allow scientists to share data and research results efficiently across the world. The challenge was significant because, at that time, there were no universally accepted and easy-to-use methods for data sharing and retrieval across different computer networks and platforms.

In solving this problem, Berners-Lee developed the three fundamental technologies that remain the foundation of today’s Web (and which you may recognize!):

• HTML : HyperText Markup Language
• URI : Uniform Resource Identifier
• HTTP : Hypertext Transfer Protocol

These technologies enabled the creation and retrieval of linked documents and multimedia across a network of computers. Berners-Lee also created the first web browser and web server to demonstrate and utilize these technologies.

The invention of the World Wide Web has had a profound and transformative impact on society, affecting almost every aspect of our daily lives, including communication, education, business, and entertainment. Berners-Lee’s applied research, initially aimed at solving a specific problem related to scientific data sharing, ended up unleashing a revolutionary tool that reshaped the world.

2. The Discovery of Penicillin

The discovery and development of penicillin, an antibiotic, by Alexander Fleming and its subsequent mass production shows how applied research can lead to revolutionary inventions.

In 1928, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist, observed that a mold called Penicillium notatum was able to kill bacteria in a petri dish. This discovery was quite accidental and came while Fleming was researching staphylococci, a type of bacteria. At this point, it was just basic research .

But in 1939, Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain took Fleming’s discovery from a useful laboratory finding to a life-saving drug through extensive research and development. They conducted systematic, applied research to figure out how to mass-produce and purify penicillin.

By 1941, the team had successfully treated its first patient with penicillin, marking a major milestone in medicinal history.

But it was in the years of World War II that penicillin really became a life safer – literally. During World War II, the production of penicillin was scaled up massively to treat wounded soldiers, saving countless lives that might have been lost to bacterial infections.

Fleming’s initial discovery and the subsequent applied research by Florey, Chain, and their team transformed penicillin into a practical, widely available antibiotic.

The development and mass production of penicillin marked the beginning of the antibiotic era, fundamentally altering medicine by providing an effective treatment for bacterial infections.

Applied vs Basic Research

Unlike applied research, basic research seeks to expand knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles and theories without immediate application in mind (Abeysekera, 2019; Bentley, Gulbrandsen & Kyvik, 2015).

Basic research is exploratory and often driven by curiosity or the academic interests of the researcher. The results may not have immediate practical implications but can form the foundation for future applied research (Grimsgaard, 2023).

Applied research , on the other hand, is aimed at addressing specific problems or questions, with the intent of applying the findings to practical solutions or actions (Abeysekera, 2019; Baimyrzaeva, 2018).

It is more structured, systematic, and focused on practical problem-solving or enhancing existing methods. The results are typically intended for immediate application, with direct, observable implications.

Benefits and Limitations of Applied Research

Applied research is specifically designed to address immediate problems, which is one of its greatest advantages.

It helps businesses, industries and policy makers improve operations, products, services or policies, thereby providing practical and immediate solutions (Baimyrzaeva, 2018).

Moreover, its impact can be quantified, making it easier to secure funding. However, the main disadvantage is that it is narrowly focused and its findings may not be universally applicable.

However, the desire for quick, practical results can constrain the methodology, perhaps limiting creativity or ignoring broader implications (Baimyrzaeva, 2018; Marotti de Mello & Wood 2019).

The pressure for immediate usability can also drive researchers towards safe, predictable projects rather than innovative or risky ones.

Abeysekera, A. (2019). Basic research and applied research.  Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka ,  47 (3).

Baimyrzaeva, M. (2018). Beginners’ guide for applied research process: What is it, and why and how to do it.  University of Central Asia ,  4 (8).

Bentley, P. J., Gulbrandsen, M., & Kyvik, S. (2015). The relationship between basic and applied research in universities.  Higher Education ,  70 , 689-709. ( Source )

Dunn, D. S. (2012). Research Methods for Social Psychology (2nd ed.). Wiley Global Education.

Grimsgaard, W. (2023). Design and strategy: a step by step guide . New York: Taylor & Francis.

Marotti de Mello, A., & Wood Jr, T. (2019). What is applied research anyway?.  Revista de Gestão ,  26 (4), 338-339. ( Source )

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Home » Research Report – Example, Writing Guide and Types

Research Report – Example, Writing Guide and Types

Table of Contents

Research Report

Definition:

Research Report is a written document that presents the results of a research project or study, including the research question, methodology, results, and conclusions, in a clear and objective manner.

The purpose of a research report is to communicate the findings of the research to the intended audience, which could be other researchers, stakeholders, or the general public.

Components of Research Report

Components of Research Report are as follows:

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for the research report and provides a brief overview of the research question or problem being investigated. It should include a clear statement of the purpose of the study and its significance or relevance to the field of research. It may also provide background information or a literature review to help contextualize the research.

Literature Review

The literature review provides a critical analysis and synthesis of the existing research and scholarship relevant to the research question or problem. It should identify the gaps, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the literature and show how the current study addresses these issues. The literature review also establishes the theoretical framework or conceptual model that guides the research.

Methodology

The methodology section describes the research design, methods, and procedures used to collect and analyze data. It should include information on the sample or participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques. The methodology should be clear and detailed enough to allow other researchers to replicate the study.

The results section presents the findings of the study in a clear and objective manner. It should provide a detailed description of the data and statistics used to answer the research question or test the hypothesis. Tables, graphs, and figures may be included to help visualize the data and illustrate the key findings.

The discussion section interprets the results of the study and explains their significance or relevance to the research question or problem. It should also compare the current findings with those of previous studies and identify the implications for future research or practice. The discussion should be based on the results presented in the previous section and should avoid speculation or unfounded conclusions.

The conclusion summarizes the key findings of the study and restates the main argument or thesis presented in the introduction. It should also provide a brief overview of the contributions of the study to the field of research and the implications for practice or policy.

The references section lists all the sources cited in the research report, following a specific citation style, such as APA or MLA.

The appendices section includes any additional material, such as data tables, figures, or instruments used in the study, that could not be included in the main text due to space limitations.

Types of Research Report

Types of Research Report are as follows:

Thesis is a type of research report. A thesis is a long-form research document that presents the findings and conclusions of an original research study conducted by a student as part of a graduate or postgraduate program. It is typically written by a student pursuing a higher degree, such as a Master’s or Doctoral degree, although it can also be written by researchers or scholars in other fields.

Research Paper

Research paper is a type of research report. A research paper is a document that presents the results of a research study or investigation. Research papers can be written in a variety of fields, including science, social science, humanities, and business. They typically follow a standard format that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion sections.

Technical Report

A technical report is a detailed report that provides information about a specific technical or scientific problem or project. Technical reports are often used in engineering, science, and other technical fields to document research and development work.

Progress Report

A progress report provides an update on the progress of a research project or program over a specific period of time. Progress reports are typically used to communicate the status of a project to stakeholders, funders, or project managers.

Feasibility Report

A feasibility report assesses the feasibility of a proposed project or plan, providing an analysis of the potential risks, benefits, and costs associated with the project. Feasibility reports are often used in business, engineering, and other fields to determine the viability of a project before it is undertaken.

Field Report

A field report documents observations and findings from fieldwork, which is research conducted in the natural environment or setting. Field reports are often used in anthropology, ecology, and other social and natural sciences.

Experimental Report

An experimental report documents the results of a scientific experiment, including the hypothesis, methods, results, and conclusions. Experimental reports are often used in biology, chemistry, and other sciences to communicate the results of laboratory experiments.

Case Study Report

A case study report provides an in-depth analysis of a specific case or situation, often used in psychology, social work, and other fields to document and understand complex cases or phenomena.

Literature Review Report

A literature review report synthesizes and summarizes existing research on a specific topic, providing an overview of the current state of knowledge on the subject. Literature review reports are often used in social sciences, education, and other fields to identify gaps in the literature and guide future research.

Research Report Example

Following is a Research Report Example sample for Students:

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Academic Performance among High School Students

This study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students. The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The findings indicate that there is a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students. The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers, as they highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities.

Introduction:

Social media has become an integral part of the lives of high school students. With the widespread use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, students can connect with friends, share photos and videos, and engage in discussions on a range of topics. While social media offers many benefits, concerns have been raised about its impact on academic performance. Many studies have found a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance among high school students (Kirschner & Karpinski, 2010; Paul, Baker, & Cochran, 2012).

Given the growing importance of social media in the lives of high school students, it is important to investigate its impact on academic performance. This study aims to address this gap by examining the relationship between social media use and academic performance among high school students.

Methodology:

The study utilized a quantitative research design, which involved a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of 200 high school students. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies and was designed to measure the frequency and duration of social media use, as well as academic performance.

The participants were selected using a convenience sampling technique, and the survey questionnaire was distributed in the classroom during regular school hours. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

The findings indicate that the majority of high school students use social media platforms on a daily basis, with Facebook being the most popular platform. The results also show a negative correlation between social media use and academic performance, suggesting that excessive social media use can lead to poor academic performance among high school students.

Discussion:

The results of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. The negative correlation between social media use and academic performance suggests that strategies should be put in place to help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. For example, educators could incorporate social media into their teaching strategies to engage students and enhance learning. Parents could limit their children’s social media use and encourage them to prioritize their academic responsibilities. Policymakers could develop guidelines and policies to regulate social media use among high school students.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the negative impact of social media on academic performance among high school students. The findings highlight the need for strategies that can help students balance their social media use and academic responsibilities. Further research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms by which social media use affects academic performance and to develop effective strategies for addressing this issue.

Limitations:

One limitation of this study is the use of convenience sampling, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other populations. Future studies should use random sampling techniques to increase the representativeness of the sample. Another limitation is the use of self-reported measures, which may be subject to social desirability bias. Future studies could use objective measures of social media use and academic performance, such as tracking software and school records.

Implications:

The findings of this study have important implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. Educators could incorporate social media into their teaching strategies to engage students and enhance learning. For example, teachers could use social media platforms to share relevant educational resources and facilitate online discussions. Parents could limit their children’s social media use and encourage them to prioritize their academic responsibilities. They could also engage in open communication with their children to understand their social media use and its impact on their academic performance. Policymakers could develop guidelines and policies to regulate social media use among high school students. For example, schools could implement social media policies that restrict access during class time and encourage responsible use.

References:

• Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook® and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(6), 1237-1245.
• Paul, J. A., Baker, H. M., & Cochran, J. D. (2012). Effect of online social networking on student academic performance. Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology, 8(1), 1-19.
• Pantic, I. (2014). Online social networking and mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(10), 652-657.
• Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948-958.

Note*: Above mention, Example is just a sample for the students’ guide. Do not directly copy and paste as your College or University assignment. Kindly do some research and Write your own.

Applications of Research Report

Research reports have many applications, including:

• Communicating research findings: The primary application of a research report is to communicate the results of a study to other researchers, stakeholders, or the general public. The report serves as a way to share new knowledge, insights, and discoveries with others in the field.
• Informing policy and practice : Research reports can inform policy and practice by providing evidence-based recommendations for decision-makers. For example, a research report on the effectiveness of a new drug could inform regulatory agencies in their decision-making process.
• Supporting further research: Research reports can provide a foundation for further research in a particular area. Other researchers may use the findings and methodology of a report to develop new research questions or to build on existing research.
• Evaluating programs and interventions : Research reports can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and interventions in achieving their intended outcomes. For example, a research report on a new educational program could provide evidence of its impact on student performance.
• Demonstrating impact : Research reports can be used to demonstrate the impact of research funding or to evaluate the success of research projects. By presenting the findings and outcomes of a study, research reports can show the value of research to funders and stakeholders.
• Enhancing professional development : Research reports can be used to enhance professional development by providing a source of information and learning for researchers and practitioners in a particular field. For example, a research report on a new teaching methodology could provide insights and ideas for educators to incorporate into their own practice.

How to write Research Report

Here are some steps you can follow to write a research report:

• Identify the research question: The first step in writing a research report is to identify your research question. This will help you focus your research and organize your findings.
• Conduct research : Once you have identified your research question, you will need to conduct research to gather relevant data and information. This can involve conducting experiments, reviewing literature, or analyzing data.
• Organize your findings: Once you have gathered all of your data, you will need to organize your findings in a way that is clear and understandable. This can involve creating tables, graphs, or charts to illustrate your results.
• Write the report: Once you have organized your findings, you can begin writing the report. Start with an introduction that provides background information and explains the purpose of your research. Next, provide a detailed description of your research methods and findings. Finally, summarize your results and draw conclusions based on your findings.
• Proofread and edit: After you have written your report, be sure to proofread and edit it carefully. Check for grammar and spelling errors, and make sure that your report is well-organized and easy to read.
• Include a reference list: Be sure to include a list of references that you used in your research. This will give credit to your sources and allow readers to further explore the topic if they choose.
• Format your report: Finally, format your report according to the guidelines provided by your instructor or organization. This may include formatting requirements for headings, margins, fonts, and spacing.

Purpose of Research Report

The purpose of a research report is to communicate the results of a research study to a specific audience, such as peers in the same field, stakeholders, or the general public. The report provides a detailed description of the research methods, findings, and conclusions.

Some common purposes of a research report include:

• Sharing knowledge: A research report allows researchers to share their findings and knowledge with others in their field. This helps to advance the field and improve the understanding of a particular topic.
• Identifying trends: A research report can identify trends and patterns in data, which can help guide future research and inform decision-making.
• Addressing problems: A research report can provide insights into problems or issues and suggest solutions or recommendations for addressing them.
• Evaluating programs or interventions : A research report can evaluate the effectiveness of programs or interventions, which can inform decision-making about whether to continue, modify, or discontinue them.
• Meeting regulatory requirements: In some fields, research reports are required to meet regulatory requirements, such as in the case of drug trials or environmental impact studies.

When to Write Research Report

A research report should be written after completing the research study. This includes collecting data, analyzing the results, and drawing conclusions based on the findings. Once the research is complete, the report should be written in a timely manner while the information is still fresh in the researcher’s mind.

In academic settings, research reports are often required as part of coursework or as part of a thesis or dissertation. In this case, the report should be written according to the guidelines provided by the instructor or institution.

In other settings, such as in industry or government, research reports may be required to inform decision-making or to comply with regulatory requirements. In these cases, the report should be written as soon as possible after the research is completed in order to inform decision-making in a timely manner.

Overall, the timing of when to write a research report depends on the purpose of the research, the expectations of the audience, and any regulatory requirements that need to be met. However, it is important to complete the report in a timely manner while the information is still fresh in the researcher’s mind.

Characteristics of Research Report

There are several characteristics of a research report that distinguish it from other types of writing. These characteristics include:

• Objective: A research report should be written in an objective and unbiased manner. It should present the facts and findings of the research study without any personal opinions or biases.
• Systematic: A research report should be written in a systematic manner. It should follow a clear and logical structure, and the information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand and follow.
• Detailed: A research report should be detailed and comprehensive. It should provide a thorough description of the research methods, results, and conclusions.
• Accurate : A research report should be accurate and based on sound research methods. The findings and conclusions should be supported by data and evidence.
• Organized: A research report should be well-organized. It should include headings and subheadings to help the reader navigate the report and understand the main points.
• Clear and concise: A research report should be written in clear and concise language. The information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand, and unnecessary jargon should be avoided.
• Citations and references: A research report should include citations and references to support the findings and conclusions. This helps to give credit to other researchers and to provide readers with the opportunity to further explore the topic.

Advantages of Research Report

Research reports have several advantages, including:

• Communicating research findings: Research reports allow researchers to communicate their findings to a wider audience, including other researchers, stakeholders, and the general public. This helps to disseminate knowledge and advance the understanding of a particular topic.
• Providing evidence for decision-making : Research reports can provide evidence to inform decision-making, such as in the case of policy-making, program planning, or product development. The findings and conclusions can help guide decisions and improve outcomes.
• Supporting further research: Research reports can provide a foundation for further research on a particular topic. Other researchers can build on the findings and conclusions of the report, which can lead to further discoveries and advancements in the field.
• Demonstrating expertise: Research reports can demonstrate the expertise of the researchers and their ability to conduct rigorous and high-quality research. This can be important for securing funding, promotions, and other professional opportunities.
• Meeting regulatory requirements: In some fields, research reports are required to meet regulatory requirements, such as in the case of drug trials or environmental impact studies. Producing a high-quality research report can help ensure compliance with these requirements.

Limitations of Research Report

Despite their advantages, research reports also have some limitations, including:

• Time-consuming: Conducting research and writing a report can be a time-consuming process, particularly for large-scale studies. This can limit the frequency and speed of producing research reports.
• Expensive: Conducting research and producing a report can be expensive, particularly for studies that require specialized equipment, personnel, or data. This can limit the scope and feasibility of some research studies.
• Limited generalizability: Research studies often focus on a specific population or context, which can limit the generalizability of the findings to other populations or contexts.
• Potential bias : Researchers may have biases or conflicts of interest that can influence the findings and conclusions of the research study. Additionally, participants may also have biases or may not be representative of the larger population, which can limit the validity and reliability of the findings.
• Accessibility: Research reports may be written in technical or academic language, which can limit their accessibility to a wider audience. Additionally, some research may be behind paywalls or require specialized access, which can limit the ability of others to read and use the findings.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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SC TEACHER publishes their first report capturing data on principals and assistant principals across South Carolina in the 2022–23 Administrator Workforce Profile

The latest publication from SC TEACHER explores the demographics of administrators in the state, alongside trend data and national comparisons. The report follows a similar format to other workforce reports published by the research consortium, including the Teacher Workforce Profile in South Carolina for 2021–22 .

Access the report: https://sc-teacher.org/south-carolina-administrator-workforce-profile-for-2022-23/

What it is:

• SC TEACHER’s administrator workforce profile examines characteristics of principals and assistant principals, including educational attainment, race/ethnicity, gender, evaluations, and tenure.
• The report also examines data from other states, the country, and across time to capture significant patterns and comparisons.
• Graphs, charts, and data visualizations are included in the overview and report.

Why it matters: This report includes an analysis of preliminary data needed to better understand principals’ and assistant principals’ influence in the school ecosystem. Further collection of data on principal turnover, job satisfaction, and working conditions could significantly inform retention strategies and provide insights to positively impact educational outcomes for students and the educators serving them.

Housed in the USC College of Education, SC TEACHER is a research consortium focused on connecting data from South Carolina’s educator pipeline with statewide policies. The consortium is in its third year of legislative funding and releases new research each month.

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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Analysts Offer Insights on Financial Companies: Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI), Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) and Allstate (ALL)

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Texas Capital Bancshares (TCBI)

Truist Financial analyst Brandon King assigned a Hold rating to Texas Capital Bancshares today. The company’s shares closed last Friday at $67.55.

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Currently, the analyst consensus on Texas Capital Bancshares is a Hold with an average price target of $66.80.

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Needham analyst John Todaro maintained a Buy rating on Applied Digital Corporation today and set a price target of $11.00 . The company’s shares closed last Friday at $4.55.

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GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar: Key features, spread, and implications for preempting evidence manipulation

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Academic journals, archives, and repositories are seeing an increasing number of questionable research papers clearly produced using generative AI. They are often created with widely available, general-purpose AI applications, most likely ChatGPT, and mimic scientific writing. Google Scholar easily locates and lists these questionable papers alongside reputable, quality-controlled research. Our analysis of a selection of questionable GPT-fabricated scientific papers found in Google Scholar shows that many are about applied, often controversial topics susceptible to disinformation: the environment, health, and computing. The resulting enhanced potential for malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base, particularly in politically divisive domains, is a growing concern.

Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås, Sweden

Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden

Division of Environmental Communication, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

Research Questions

• Where are questionable publications produced with generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) that can be found via Google Scholar published or deposited?
• What are the main characteristics of these publications in relation to predominant subject categories?
• How are these publications spread in the research infrastructure for scholarly communication?
• How is the role of the scholarly communication infrastructure challenged in maintaining public trust in science and evidence through inappropriate use of generative AI?

research note Summary

• A sample of scientific papers with signs of GPT-use found on Google Scholar was retrieved, downloaded, and analyzed using a combination of qualitative coding and descriptive statistics. All papers contained at least one of two common phrases returned by conversational agents that use large language models (LLM) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google Search was then used to determine the extent to which copies of questionable, GPT-fabricated papers were available in various repositories, archives, citation databases, and social media platforms.
• Roughly two-thirds of the retrieved papers were found to have been produced, at least in part, through undisclosed, potentially deceptive use of GPT. The majority (57%) of these questionable papers dealt with policy-relevant subjects (i.e., environment, health, computing), susceptible to influence operations. Most were available in several copies on different domains (e.g., social media, archives, and repositories).
• Two main risks arise from the increasingly common use of GPT to (mass-)produce fake, scientific publications. First, the abundance of fabricated “studies” seeping into all areas of the research infrastructure threatens to overwhelm the scholarly communication system and jeopardize the integrity of the scientific record. A second risk lies in the increased possibility that convincingly scientific-looking content was in fact deceitfully created with AI tools and is also optimized to be retrieved by publicly available academic search engines, particularly Google Scholar. However small, this possibility and awareness of it risks undermining the basis for trust in scientific knowledge and poses serious societal risks.

Implications

The use of ChatGPT to generate text for academic papers has raised concerns about research integrity. Discussion of this phenomenon is ongoing in editorials, commentaries, opinion pieces, and on social media (Bom, 2023; Stokel-Walker, 2024; Thorp, 2023). There are now several lists of papers suspected of GPT misuse, and new papers are constantly being added. 1 See for example Academ-AI, https://www.academ-ai.info/ , and Retraction Watch, https://retractionwatch.com/papers-and-peer-reviews-with-evidence-of-chatgpt-writing/ . While many legitimate uses of GPT for research and academic writing exist (Huang & Tan, 2023; Kitamura, 2023; Lund et al., 2023), its undeclared use—beyond proofreading—has potentially far-reaching implications for both science and society, but especially for their relationship. It, therefore, seems important to extend the discussion to one of the most accessible and well-known intermediaries between science, but also certain types of misinformation, and the public, namely Google Scholar, also in response to the legitimate concerns that the discussion of generative AI and misinformation needs to be more nuanced and empirically substantiated  (Simon et al., 2023).

Google Scholar, https://scholar.google.com , is an easy-to-use academic search engine. It is available for free, and its index is extensive (Gusenbauer & Haddaway, 2020). It is also often touted as a credible source for academic literature and even recommended in library guides, by media and information literacy initiatives, and fact checkers (Tripodi et al., 2023). However, Google Scholar lacks the transparency and adherence to standards that usually characterize citation databases. Instead, Google Scholar uses automated crawlers, like Google’s web search engine (Martín-Martín et al., 2021), and the inclusion criteria are based on primarily technical standards, allowing any individual author—with or without scientific affiliation—to upload papers to be indexed (Google Scholar Help, n.d.). It has been shown that Google Scholar is susceptible to manipulation through citation exploits (Antkare, 2020) and by providing access to fake scientific papers (Dadkhah et al., 2017). A large part of Google Scholar’s index consists of publications from established scientific journals or other forms of quality-controlled, scholarly literature. However, the index also contains a large amount of gray literature, including student papers, working papers, reports, preprint servers, and academic networking sites, as well as material from so-called “questionable” academic journals, including paper mills. The search interface does not offer the possibility to filter the results meaningfully by material type, publication status, or form of quality control, such as limiting the search to peer-reviewed material.

To understand the occurrence of ChatGPT (co-)authored work in Google Scholar’s index, we scraped it for publications, including one of two common ChatGPT responses (see Appendix A) that we encountered on social media and in media reports (DeGeurin, 2024). The results of our descriptive statistical analyses showed that around 62% did not declare the use of GPTs. Most of these GPT-fabricated papers were found in non-indexed journals and working papers, but some cases included research published in mainstream scientific journals and conference proceedings. 2 Indexed journals mean scholarly journals indexed by abstract and citation databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, where the indexation implies journals with high scientific quality. Non-indexed journals are journals that fall outside of this indexation. More than half (57%) of these GPT-fabricated papers concerned policy-relevant subject areas susceptible to influence operations. To avoid increasing the visibility of these publications, we abstained from referencing them in this research note. However, we have made the data available in the Harvard Dataverse repository.

The publications were related to three issue areas—health (14.5%), environment (19.5%) and computing (23%)—with key terms such “healthcare,” “COVID-19,” or “infection”for health-related papers, and “analysis,” “sustainable,” and “global” for environment-related papers. In several cases, the papers had titles that strung together general keywords and buzzwords, thus alluding to very broad and current research. These terms included “biology,” “telehealth,” “climate policy,” “diversity,” and “disrupting,” to name just a few.  While the study’s scope and design did not include a detailed analysis of which parts of the articles included fabricated text, our dataset did contain the surrounding sentences for each occurrence of the suspicious phrases that formed the basis for our search and subsequent selection. Based on that, we can say that the phrases occurred in most sections typically found in scientific publications, including the literature review, methods, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, background, motivation or societal relevance, and even discussion. This was confirmed during the joint coding, where we read and discussed all articles. It became clear that not just the text related to the telltale phrases was created by GPT, but that almost all articles in our sample of questionable articles likely contained traces of GPT-fabricated text everywhere.

Evidence hacking and backfiring effects

Generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) can be used to produce texts that mimic scientific writing. These texts, when made available online—as we demonstrate—leak into the databases of academic search engines and other parts of the research infrastructure for scholarly communication. This development exacerbates problems that were already present with less sophisticated text generators (Antkare, 2020; Cabanac & Labbé, 2021). Yet, the public release of ChatGPT in 2022, together with the way Google Scholar works, has increased the likelihood of lay people (e.g., media, politicians, patients, students) coming across questionable (or even entirely GPT-fabricated) papers and other problematic research findings. Previous research has emphasized that the ability to determine the value and status of scientific publications for lay people is at stake when misleading articles are passed off as reputable (Haider & Åström, 2017) and that systematic literature reviews risk being compromised (Dadkhah et al., 2017). It has also been highlighted that Google Scholar, in particular, can be and has been exploited for manipulating the evidence base for politically charged issues and to fuel conspiracy narratives (Tripodi et al., 2023). Both concerns are likely to be magnified in the future, increasing the risk of what we suggest calling evidence hacking —the strategic and coordinated malicious manipulation of society’s evidence base.

The authority of quality-controlled research as evidence to support legislation, policy, politics, and other forms of decision-making is undermined by the presence of undeclared GPT-fabricated content in publications professing to be scientific. Due to the large number of archives, repositories, mirror sites, and shadow libraries to which they spread, there is a clear risk that GPT-fabricated, questionable papers will reach audiences even after a possible retraction. There are considerable technical difficulties involved in identifying and tracing computer-fabricated papers (Cabanac & Labbé, 2021; Dadkhah et al., 2023; Jones, 2024), not to mention preventing and curbing their spread and uptake.

However, as the rise of the so-called anti-vaxx movement during the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing obstruction and denial of climate change show, retracting erroneous publications often fuels conspiracies and increases the following of these movements rather than stopping them. To illustrate this mechanism, climate deniers frequently question established scientific consensus by pointing to other, supposedly scientific, studies that support their claims. Usually, these are poorly executed, not peer-reviewed, based on obsolete data, or even fraudulent (Dunlap & Brulle, 2020). A similar strategy is successful in the alternative epistemic world of the global anti-vaccination movement (Carrion, 2018) and the persistence of flawed and questionable publications in the scientific record already poses significant problems for health research, policy, and lawmakers, and thus for society as a whole (Littell et al., 2024). Considering that a person’s support for “doing your own research” is associated with increased mistrust in scientific institutions (Chinn & Hasell, 2023), it will be of utmost importance to anticipate and consider such backfiring effects already when designing a technical solution, when suggesting industry or legal regulation, and in the planning of educational measures.

Recommendations

Solutions should be based on simultaneous considerations of technical, educational, and regulatory approaches, as well as incentives, including social ones, across the entire research infrastructure. Paying attention to how these approaches and incentives relate to each other can help identify points and mechanisms for disruption. Recognizing fraudulent academic papers must happen alongside understanding how they reach their audiences and what reasons there might be for some of these papers successfully “sticking around.” A possible way to mitigate some of the risks associated with GPT-fabricated scholarly texts finding their way into academic search engine results would be to provide filtering options for facets such as indexed journals, gray literature, peer-review, and similar on the interface of publicly available academic search engines. Furthermore, evaluation tools for indexed journals 3 Such as LiU Journal CheckUp, https://ep.liu.se/JournalCheckup/default.aspx?lang=eng . could be integrated into the graphical user interfaces and the crawlers of these academic search engines. To enable accountability, it is important that the index (database) of such a search engine is populated according to criteria that are transparent, open to scrutiny, and appropriate to the workings of  science and other forms of academic research. Moreover, considering that Google Scholar has no real competitor, there is a strong case for establishing a freely accessible, non-specialized academic search engine that is not run for commercial reasons but for reasons of public interest. Such measures, together with educational initiatives aimed particularly at policymakers, science communicators, journalists, and other media workers, will be crucial to reducing the possibilities for and effects of malicious manipulation or evidence hacking. It is important not to present this as a technical problem that exists only because of AI text generators but to relate it to the wider concerns in which it is embedded. These range from a largely dysfunctional scholarly publishing system (Haider & Åström, 2017) and academia’s “publish or perish” paradigm to Google’s near-monopoly and ideological battles over the control of information and ultimately knowledge. Any intervention is likely to have systemic effects; these effects need to be considered and assessed in advance and, ideally, followed up on.

Our study focused on a selection of papers that were easily recognizable as fraudulent. We used this relatively small sample as a magnifying glass to examine, delineate, and understand a problem that goes beyond the scope of the sample itself, which however points towards larger concerns that require further investigation. The work of ongoing whistleblowing initiatives 4 Such as Academ-AI, https://www.academ-ai.info/ , and Retraction Watch, https://retractionwatch.com/papers-and-peer-reviews-with-evidence-of-chatgpt-writing/ . , recent media reports of journal closures (Subbaraman, 2024), or GPT-related changes in word use and writing style (Cabanac et al., 2021; Stokel-Walker, 2024) suggest that we only see the tip of the iceberg. There are already more sophisticated cases (Dadkhah et al., 2023) as well as cases involving fabricated images (Gu et al., 2022). Our analysis shows that questionable and potentially manipulative GPT-fabricated papers permeate the research infrastructure and are likely to become a widespread phenomenon. Our findings underline that the risk of fake scientific papers being used to maliciously manipulate evidence (see Dadkhah et al., 2017) must be taken seriously. Manipulation may involve undeclared automatic summaries of texts, inclusion in literature reviews, explicit scientific claims, or the concealment of errors in studies so that they are difficult to detect in peer review. However, the mere possibility of these things happening is a significant risk in its own right that can be strategically exploited and will have ramifications for trust in and perception of science. Society’s methods of evaluating sources and the foundations of media and information literacy are under threat and public trust in science is at risk of further erosion, with far-reaching consequences for society in dealing with information disorders. To address this multifaceted problem, we first need to understand why it exists and proliferates.

Finding 1: 139 GPT-fabricated, questionable papers were found and listed as regular results on the Google Scholar results page. Non-indexed journals dominate.

Most questionable papers we found were in non-indexed journals or were working papers, but we did also find some in established journals, publications, conferences, and repositories. We found a total of 139 papers with a suspected deceptive use of ChatGPT or similar LLM applications (see Table 1). Out of these, 19 were in indexed journals, 89 were in non-indexed journals, 19 were student papers found in university databases, and 12 were working papers (mostly in preprint databases). Table 1 divides these papers into categories. Health and environment papers made up around 34% (47) of the sample. Of these, 66% were present in non-indexed journals.

Finding 2: GPT-fabricated, questionable papers are disseminated online, permeating the research infrastructure for scholarly communication, often in multiple copies. Applied topics with practical implications dominate.

The 20 papers concerning health-related issues are distributed across 20 unique domains, accounting for 46 URLs. The 27 papers dealing with environmental issues can be found across 26 unique domains, accounting for 56 URLs.  Most of the identified papers exist in multiple copies and have already spread to several archives, repositories, and social media. It would be difficult, or impossible, to remove them from the scientific record.

As apparent from Table 2, GPT-fabricated, questionable papers are seeping into most parts of the online research infrastructure for scholarly communication. Platforms on which identified papers have appeared include ResearchGate, ORCiD, Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology (JPTCP), Easychair, Frontiers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE), and X/Twitter. Thus, even if they are retracted from their original source, it will prove very difficult to track, remove, or even just mark them up on other platforms. Moreover, unless regulated, Google Scholar will enable their continued and most likely unlabeled discoverability.

A word rain visualization (Centre for Digital Humanities Uppsala, 2023), which combines word prominences through TF-IDF 5 Term frequency–inverse document frequency , a method for measuring the significance of a word in a document compared to its frequency across all documents in a collection. scores with semantic similarity of the full texts of our sample of GPT-generated articles that fall into the “Environment” and “Health” categories, reflects the two categories in question. However, as can be seen in Figure 1, it also reveals overlap and sub-areas. The y-axis shows word prominences through word positions and font sizes, while the x-axis indicates semantic similarity. In addition to a certain amount of overlap, this reveals sub-areas, which are best described as two distinct events within the word rain. The event on the left bundles terms related to the development and management of health and healthcare with “challenges,” “impact,” and “potential of artificial intelligence”emerging as semantically related terms. Terms related to research infrastructures, environmental, epistemic, and technological concepts are arranged further down in the same event (e.g., “system,” “climate,” “understanding,” “knowledge,” “learning,” “education,” “sustainable”). A second distinct event further to the right bundles terms associated with fish farming and aquatic medicinal plants, highlighting the presence of an aquaculture cluster.  Here, the prominence of groups of terms such as “used,” “model,” “-based,” and “traditional” suggests the presence of applied research on these topics. The two events making up the word rain visualization, are linked by a less dominant but overlapping cluster of terms related to “energy” and “water.”

The bar chart of the terms in the paper subset (see Figure 2) complements the word rain visualization by depicting the most prominent terms in the full texts along the y-axis. Here, word prominences across health and environment papers are arranged descendingly, where values outside parentheses are TF-IDF values (relative frequencies) and values inside parentheses are raw term frequencies (absolute frequencies).

Finding 3: Google Scholar presents results from quality-controlled and non-controlled citation databases on the same interface, providing unfiltered access to GPT-fabricated questionable papers.

Google Scholar’s central position in the publicly accessible scholarly communication infrastructure, as well as its lack of standards, transparency, and accountability in terms of inclusion criteria, has potentially serious implications for public trust in science. This is likely to exacerbate the already-known potential to exploit Google Scholar for evidence hacking (Tripodi et al., 2023) and will have implications for any attempts to retract or remove fraudulent papers from their original publication venues. Any solution must consider the entirety of the research infrastructure for scholarly communication and the interplay of different actors, interests, and incentives.

We searched and scraped Google Scholar using the Python library Scholarly (Cholewiak et al., 2023) for papers that included specific phrases known to be common responses from ChatGPT and similar applications with the same underlying model (GPT3.5 or GPT4): “as of my last knowledge update” and/or “I don’t have access to real-time data” (see Appendix A). This facilitated the identification of papers that likely used generative AI to produce text, resulting in 227 retrieved papers. The papers’ bibliographic information was automatically added to a spreadsheet and downloaded into Zotero. 6 An open-source reference manager, https://zotero.org .

We employed multiple coding (Barbour, 2001) to classify the papers based on their content. First, we jointly assessed whether the paper was suspected of fraudulent use of ChatGPT (or similar) based on how the text was integrated into the papers and whether the paper was presented as original research output or the AI tool’s role was acknowledged. Second, in analyzing the content of the papers, we continued the multiple coding by classifying the fraudulent papers into four categories identified during an initial round of analysis—health, environment, computing, and others—and then determining which subjects were most affected by this issue (see Table 1). Out of the 227 retrieved papers, 88 papers were written with legitimate and/or declared use of GPTs (i.e., false positives, which were excluded from further analysis), and 139 papers were written with undeclared and/or fraudulent use (i.e., true positives, which were included in further analysis). The multiple coding was conducted jointly by all authors of the present article, who collaboratively coded and cross-checked each other’s interpretation of the data simultaneously in a shared spreadsheet file. This was done to single out coding discrepancies and settle coding disagreements, which in turn ensured methodological thoroughness and analytical consensus (see Barbour, 2001). Redoing the category coding later based on our established coding schedule, we achieved an intercoder reliability (Cohen’s kappa) of 0.806 after eradicating obvious differences.

The ranking algorithm of Google Scholar prioritizes highly cited and older publications (Martín-Martín et al., 2016). Therefore, the position of the articles on the search engine results pages was not particularly informative, considering the relatively small number of results in combination with the recency of the publications. Only the query “as of my last knowledge update” had more than two search engine result pages. On those, questionable articles with undeclared use of GPTs were evenly distributed across all result pages (min: 4, max: 9, mode: 8), with the proportion of undeclared use being slightly higher on average on later search result pages.

To understand how the papers making fraudulent use of generative AI were disseminated online, we programmatically searched for the paper titles (with exact string matching) in Google Search from our local IP address (see Appendix B) using the googlesearch – python library(Vikramaditya, 2020). We manually verified each search result to filter out false positives—results that were not related to the paper—and then compiled the most prominent URLs by field. This enabled the identification of other platforms through which the papers had been spread. We did not, however, investigate whether copies had spread into SciHub or other shadow libraries, or if they were referenced in Wikipedia.

We used descriptive statistics to count the prevalence of the number of GPT-fabricated papers across topics and venues and top domains by subject. The pandas software library for the Python programming language (The pandas development team, 2024) was used for this part of the analysis. Based on the multiple coding, paper occurrences were counted in relation to their categories, divided into indexed journals, non-indexed journals, student papers, and working papers. The schemes, subdomains, and subdirectories of the URL strings were filtered out while top-level domains and second-level domains were kept, which led to normalizing domain names. This, in turn, allowed the counting of domain frequencies in the environment and health categories. To distinguish word prominences and meanings in the environment and health-related GPT-fabricated questionable papers, a semantically-aware word cloud visualization was produced through the use of a word rain (Centre for Digital Humanities Uppsala, 2023) for full-text versions of the papers. Font size and y-axis positions indicate word prominences through TF-IDF scores for the environment and health papers (also visualized in a separate bar chart with raw term frequencies in parentheses), and words are positioned along the x-axis to reflect semantic similarity (Skeppstedt et al., 2024), with an English Word2vec skip gram model space (Fares et al., 2017). An English stop word list was used, along with a manually produced list including terms such as “https,” “volume,” or “years.”

• Artificial Intelligence
• / Search engines

Cite this Essay

Haider, J., Söderström, K. R., Ekström, B., & Rödl, M. (2024). GPT-fabricated scientific papers on Google Scholar: Key features, spread, and implications for preempting evidence manipulation. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review . https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-156

• / Appendix B

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This research has been supported by Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, through the research program Mistra Environmental Communication (Haider, Ekström, Rödl) and the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg Foundation [2020.0004] (Söderström).

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

The research described in this article was carried out under Swedish legislation. According to the relevant EU and Swedish legislation (2003:460) on the ethical review of research involving humans (“Ethical Review Act”), the research reported on here is not subject to authorization by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (“etikprövningsmyndigheten”) (SRC, 2017).

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author and source are properly credited.

Data Availability

All data needed to replicate this study are available at the Harvard Dataverse: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/WUVD8X

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the article manuscript as well as the editorial group of Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review for their thoughtful feedback and input.