"A Good Researcher Is a Good Story Writer"
Saeed Aas Khan Meo
Assalam o Alaikum,
Good evening, dear scholars.
Let me share with you how to structure your research article. Many times, we come across papers from the world's best journals such as Economic Modeling or Economic Letters that consist of only a few pages (6-9). We might think that it's an easy job and there's no need to worry about a lengthy write-up. However, these papers, despite being concise, are published in world-leading journals. How is that possible?
As newcomers, we often believe that a substantial literature review and a lengthy write-up are necessary to publish a paper (and indeed, a comprehensive literature review is important). But in practical terms, editors are not looking for an extensive collection of literature; they are interested in the story that an author presents after careful and deep study. The most appealing aspect of a research paper is the story it tells, and crafting a compelling story is not an easy task.
A research paper typically consists of the following sections:
Introduction
Literature review
Methodology
Results and discussion
Conclusion
Let's start from the very beginning.
Make a good first impression with your title and abstract. The title and abstract are incredibly important components of a manuscript as they are the first elements a journal editor sees. Based on advice I have received from editors, reviewers, and colleagues, as well as insights from academic conferences, here's what I've learned:
The title should summarize the main theme of the article and reflect your contribution to the theory.
The abstract should be carefully crafted and encompass the aim and scope of the study, the key problem to be addressed, the theory, the method used, the data set, key findings, limitations, and implications for theory and practice (source: Elsevier's "7 Steps to Publishing in a Scientific Journal").
Now let's move on to the introduction.
Write a compelling introduction. This is your opportunity to convince readers that you clearly understand why your work is useful. A good introduction should answer the following questions:
What is the problem to be solved?
Are there any existing solutions?
Which solution is the best?
What is its main limitation?
What do you hope to achieve?
Editors appreciate it when you provide a perspective consistent with the nature of the journal. You need to introduce the main scientific publications on which your work is based, citing a couple of original and important works, including recent review articles.
However, editors dislike improper citations of too many references that are irrelevant to the work or inappropriate judgments on your own achievements. They might perceive such practices as a lack of purpose.
Here are some additional tips for the introduction:
Be concise and to-the-point, avoiding unnecessary words. Long introductions can put readers off.
Although you may be eager to present your new data, remember to provide the whole picture first.
Organize the introduction from a global to a specific point of view, guiding the readers towards your objectives without mixing it with the results, discussion, and conclusion sections. Keep these sections separate to ensure logical flow within the manuscript.
Clearly state the purpose of the paper and the research strategy adopted to answer the question. Highlight the hypothesis and objectives at the end of the introduction.
Avoid using expressions like "novel," "the first time," "first ever," and "paradigm-changing" too frequently. Use them sparingly (source: Elsevier's article on "11 Steps to Structuring a Science Paper Editors Will Take Seriously").
Is there a standard proven pattern for writing an introduction? I would say no. The aforementioned points serve as the ingredients of a good introduction, but there isn't a proven pattern for structuring it. For example, if we are going to examine the impact of energy consumption on the environmental quality of Pakistan, we could structure the introduction by first discussing the global context of environmental quality, followed by worldwide concerns about the environment, and then narrowing it down to the country of interest. This approach presents a case, but it is not a standard pattern.
So, how should new scholars structure their research papers? As a fellow newcomer in research, here's what I do: I download several good papers from reputable journals on my topic. Then, I read each paper one by one until I find a paper that is easy for me to understand. I read and reread that paper until I am satisfied. Finally, I follow the structure of that paper, and I have found this approach to result in a good introduction.
Remember, practice makes a man perfect.
Continuation of the remaining parts...
